congregation tonight as we continue our study of the I am's of the suffering servant we turn now to John chapter 10 John chapter 10 where we actually find two of the I am statements of our Lord tonight we consider the first and the Lord willing next Sunday evening we will consider the second together. We want to read together verses 1 through 10 of John chapter 10, our text being verse 9 tonight. Chapter 9, you will recall, is the episode of Jesus healing the man born blind and the Pharisees going forth to investigate the healing and to figure out what has taken place here, even going so far as to getting upset with the man who was healed and kicking him out of the temple. John chapter 10 beginning at verse 1. Hear now the word of God. I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate but climbs in by some other way is a thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what He was telling them. Therefore, Jesus said again, I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before Me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters through Me will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life and have it to the full. Verse 9 again, I am the gate. Whoever enters through Me will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture. Beloved of the Lord, for the people of Jesus' day, the I am's of the suffering servant that no doubt hit closest to home, at least in practicality, were the two that we find in John chapter 10. I am the gate for the sheep, and I am the good shepherd. Although all of the I am's pointed to very practical aspects of life, you remember the bread and the light, for example, these here dealing with sheep and shepherd pointed more directly to the life and the culture of many of that day. I'm not sure, but I suspect that many, if any of us here, that not many, if any of us here has ever really been a shepherd in care of a flock of sheep. At least not the way these were in our Lord's day. For me, I remember that I used to chase my grandfather's sheep around the farm. And now I understand why they ran away from me. Because I was a foreign object to the sheep. I was a sign of danger. They didn't recognize my voice. But of these two I am statements in John chapter 10, the one that probably gets the most attention is the second. I am the good shepherd. Now of course, both of these statements are closely related and they have the same context again, which is chapter 9 in the episode of the man born blind who was healed by Christ. Yet these I am's must be distinguished. Our Lord teaches something specific with regard to each of them. And as our Lord gives His own definition about who He is, He teaches us a beautiful truth about Himself, not only as the Good Shepherd, but also as we want to consider tonight that He is the gate for the sheep. Now first of all, the word gate, along with the portion of Scripture that we read, gives to us the practical picture. We know that the shepherd-sheep theme representing God's relationship to His people is a major theme throughout Scripture, especially the Old Testament. Many, many passages that we could consider to talk about this very thing. But we learn that already as young children in the church as we are taught Psalm 23, even at a very early age, the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not be in want. And again, this was fitting for God's people because shepherding and sheep was an important part of their lives and their history and their culture. And as we said, this was even true in our Lord's day. The shepherding vocation was very important in the ancient Jewish community. And therefore, our Lord's sermon here in John 10 would have been something that they could identify with. Now in verse 1 of chapter 10, Jesus talks about the sheep pen and the man who does not enter by the gate versus the shepherd who does enter by the gate. The sheep know the shepherd's voice. He brings them out. And he leads the sheep where he wants them to go. During the day, the shepherd would lead the sheep out into the open pastures. When the shepherd is near, the sheep stay close by and follow him. They will not follow the voice of a stranger. But if the shepherd was not with the sheep, they tend to go off on their own. They get into trouble. Because they cannot take care of themselves. But the shepherd, as Psalm 23 says, leads the sheep beside quiet waters and into green pastures. At night, the sheep are brought into the sheep pen. And it was common that any number of flocks of sheep would be put together for the night. Most sheep pens were built of stone. So that the sheep were surrounded on every side by a very strong and solid and fairly high and tall wall of stone. And this sheep pen, you see, was a literal fortress that gave shelter and protection to the sheep and was built to keep the sheep safe from thieves and robbers and wild animals. The tops of the walls did not have the barbed wire going around them like many prison fences, but apparently they had briars or thorny bushes or something like that attached to the top in order to discourage would-be intruders. And of course, there had to be a way to get in and out of the sheep pen. And therefore, it had a door or a gate. And there would be one person in charge of guarding the gate. The sheep pen was a place of safety, protection, refuge. And the entrance was the gate. The gate was the proper entrance. And it was the only entrance. And that gate served a two-fold purpose. On the one hand, it was the way in to that which belonged inside, namely the sheep and the shepherd. But on the other hand, it was to keep out those who didn't belong, those who should not be admitted like thieves and robbers and wild animals. The door or gate, you see, is a symbol of access, getting into, or restriction, keeping out, as well as a symbol of protection and safety. The thief would come to steal and to kill and destroy. He wouldn't use the gate because he didn't belong. He wouldn't have access, so he would try to climb over the wall. But the shepherd would go through the gate because he had the right to be there with his sheep. Now, beloved, I trust that it's clear even for the boys and girls that Jesus uses here a practical picture of that which was a common, real-life, earthly situation in order to teach a higher truth. Very simply, He teaches about the Kingdom of God. God has a sheep pen, as it were, for His people. He has a place of safety and refuge and everlasting peace and protection. And this place of refuge includes His very presence. God is our mighty fortress. In Hebrews 9, verses 19 and 20, it says, We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain where Jesus who went before us has entered on our behalf. You see, congregation, we are already in His presence, in that safe refuge through Jesus Christ who is the anchor that holds firm. And we are connected to Him by faith. Jesus says, I am the gate. He is the perfect portal. Boys and girls, a portal is simply a doorway, a gateway, a passageway, He is the perfect portal. He is the one and only. And He is the certain way into the kingdom of God, into His very presence. The church of Jesus Christ is the flock of God and the only way to become a part of that flock and to enter into the refuge of the mighty fortress of God is through Christ. It's interesting that in the context the man Jesus healed who had been born blind, He angered the Pharisees by in essence professing and faith in Christ. So what did they do? Chapter 9, verse 34 says again, To this they replied, You were steeped in sin at birth. How dare you lecture us? And they threw him out. You see, to put it in our terms today, they excommunicated him out of their church. Out of the temple. This man couldn't stay in the temple because he didn't come in by their doctrine. Instead of believing the Gospel according to the Pharisees, this man believed the gospel of Jesus Christ. In fact, to the chief priests and the scribes and the Pharisees, Jesus Himself was a thief and a robber trying to steal from them because He did not come by them. He didn't submit to their teaching. But the truth was that the religious leaders of that day were the thieves and robbers who sought to steal and kill and destroy from the true flock of God. You see, beloved, not only is Jesus the way for the sheep to the Father, but He is also the way for the shepherds. Earthly shepherds to the earthly flock of God. The religious leaders of that day were those who tried to climb into the sheep pen by some other way to come with another doctrine. Today, those who try to come in a way other than in the name of Jesus or with a word other than thus saith the Lord. They're dangerous. and they're really working to turn people against Christ. And that's why we must be a discerning people. We must know the truth when we hear it. As believers and as members of this church, you don't simply believe everything you hear from this pulpit. Now that may sound strange, but I'm not saying that you shouldn't trust the orthodoxy of those who preach to you. I trust that you do. I hope that you do. But I'm saying, search the Scriptures to test the truth of what I preach or what Reverend Donovan preaches or Dr. Godfrey or any other minister whom the elders place on this pulpit. Young people, you too must listen with a close ear and be discerning with regard to what some would have you believe. You see, there are many different Gospels out there. There are false Gospels of compromise and love and peace and tolerance being preached. that have nothing to do with the true gospel of Jesus Christ and the true love of God and the peace of God for His people. Jesus teaches that the kingdom of God is not inclusive, but it's exclusive. Hardly politically correct, huh? In a day and in an age when we are being taught tolerance, accept absolutely everyone. You see, the sheep pen of the Father does not have 100 or 50 or 25 or even two different gates to enter by. It's not a let's make a deal kingdom where you can choose from door number one, number two, or number three. There's only one gate. And Paul says in 1 Timothy 2 verse 5, For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. Again, what a slap in the face to our modern culture. but actually it's nothing new even as we considered Paul's ministry to the city of Athens and their altar to the unknown God. It's no secret that people look for other doors for peace and safety and other doors even for their concept of heaven like wealth or fame or drugs or friends or possessions. And of course, some try to teach that we all worship and serve the same God. It's just that some call Him Jehovah like we do. Others call Him Buddha. Others call Him something else. And of course, we all know, don't we, as society teaches, that all roads lead to heaven, whether it be the Christian road or the Muslim road or the Hindu road or the New Age Mormon or Jehovah's Witness road. It's like a wheel with spokes in it and God is simply the center hub and each religion is a spoke. And we're all headed to the same place anyway. Well, that's not with the Bible. God's Word says there's only one faith that believes in the Christ of Scripture, and that's true Christianity. All the others follow a false path and look for a wrong gate, all of which lead only to hell. All other religions include a works righteousness, and I can and I must do my part salvation. In another I am, Jesus says, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Paul says in Acts 4, verse 12, Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. And Ephesians 2, verse 13 says, But now in Christ Jesus, you who were once far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. Boys and girls, just as there was only one door for Noah and his family and the animals to enter the ark, there is only one door or gate to the Father. You see, beloved, the door of innocency has been shut against us. We're not innocent. We're guilty in and of ourselves. Deathly guilty. Sinners deserving of eternal death. The door of works is broken. And the doors of any other imagined way are false. God's people enter by the door of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Trust in Christ. And faith in Him. Faith that receives all of the benefits earned by the suffering servant, like forgiveness of sins and everlasting righteousness, is the only gate into the safety and refuge of the Heavenly Father's presence. Some say that God is an unfair God if He limits salvation to only faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and doesn't give many options to be saved. How can anyone believe in a God like that? That's pretty merciless, they would say. Those who say that, of course, demonstrate the selfish nature of sin. The amazing thing, and this is something each of us must know and remember, the amazing thing is that there is a way. That there is one way. Do you know that way? Have you crossed the threshold into the kingdom of God through the gate of Jesus Christ? Oh, it's so easy to say yes, isn't it? But is the proof in your life? Is the evidence of true faith real in your daily living? Is your desire to live always only for your King? Very simply, do you honor Jesus Christ in all of your life, all of your daily activities? You see, true faith includes a lifestyle. As we mentioned briefly this morning, there is not one part of the believer's life that can be divorced or separated from God. Young people, listen. Is Christ honored in the way that you treat your parents, your teachers? Your friends? Is He honored in the movies that you see or in the lyrics and the melody of the music that you listen to? Is He honored in your actions, in your attitude, in your activities, and in your speech? Do you say that you love Jesus when you're in here in church, but yet you engage in activities of darkness outside of these walls? True refuge is to be found only in God's kingdom under God's rules submitting to His authority. Sometimes we sing that beautiful hymn, Fill Thou My Life, O Lord My God, in every part with praise. And the third stanza says, So shall each fear, each fret, each care be turned into a song, and every winding of the way the echo shall prolong, so shall no part of day or night from sacredness be free, but all my life, in every step, be fellowship with Thee. We sing that several times a year. Now we need to ask ourselves, do I mean it? All my life, in every step, be fellowship with Thee. You see, that's the portion inside of God's kingdom for His people. And only through Jesus Christ can that be Mine? My very own possession. But apart from Jesus Christ, I can't even get close to it. Jesus is the only gate by which people can enter into God's provision for them. And Jesus speaks then of the precious promises for those who enter through Him. The text again says, I am the gate. Whoever enters through Me will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture. What a beautiful description of salvation and freedom and provision. It's only through the cross of Jesus that we can be saved from the wages of sin, which is death. Our Lord suffered the curse of our sin and the punishment of God against our sin. And because of that, He saves us from the guilt and the misery and the punishment of sin. And instead of death, in Jesus Christ we have life and we have it to the full or abundantly as another translation says. Jesus says, the one who is saved will come in and go out and find pasture. I believe that this is a way of saying that God's people enjoy the protection of God's strength and refuge and the provision of God's hand both now and forevermore. The sheep found refuge inside the sheep pen and they found abundant pasture outside. Even though Satan is prowling around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour, no longer are those who enter the kingdom of God through Christ, no longer are they prey for Him. God's children are not slaves in His house, but are free within the boundaries of His will and His law. God's people will not be left faint and hungry, but fed and filled as well as faithfully protected and guarded against the attacks of wolves and robbers. Beloved, God's people, He provides His people pasture in a number of ways. He gives strength in weakness. He gives healing in our sickness. He gives comfort in our sorrow. He gives encouragement in our discouragement. He gives hope in the midst of hopelessness. He gives peace when we are anxious. He gives protection when we are in danger and scared. As well, He gives us contentment in the midst of hardship and pain. Most of all, He provides pasture as we read and study and hear His Word preach. But as well, He surrounds us with others who love the Lord and desire our salvation as much as their own. And He gives to us the assurance that His love endures forever. God's salvation is complete. He is enough, as we said this morning. And therefore, may we never desire to investigate and graze in other pastures where the grass may look greener, but in truth, the food is poisoned. The psalmist says in Psalm 73, 25-28, Whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart may fail because God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Those who are far from you will perish. You destroy all who are unfaithful to you. But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the sovereign Lord my refuge. I will tell of all your deeds. For me, it is good to be near God. Is that your confession? Is that your desire that He draw you ever near more and more each day? What is the comfort to be for those who enter the sheep pen of the kingdom of God through the only gate, Jesus Christ? Notice these comforting words toward the end of chapter 10, verses 27-29. My sheep listen to My voice. I know them and they follow Me. I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand. My Father who has given them to Me is greater than all. No one can snatch them out. of my Father's hand. You know, beloved, many spend a lifetime knocking on all the wrong doors. They play spiritual, let's make a deal. Their host is Satan. And all deals lead to destruction. But for those who look to the Lord Jesus Christ and His saving sacrifice by grace through faith, they are safe forever. Remember again what our Lord said in John 6, verse 37, and all that the Father gives me will come to me and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. May we rejoice in the love of God so rich and so free that the Son of God lay down His life that we might have life and have it to the full. Amen. Shall we pray? Father, once again with humble hearts, we thank You and praise You for Your most holy Word. We thank You for the truth of Your Word, that truth which You continue to bring to us even as we gather together as Your people. We pray, Lord, that not only would You give us greater knowledge of the truth of Your Word, but give to us greater assurance of the salvation which is ours through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Father, we thank You for Him, the One alone who is the way to the Father. And if there happens to be any here tonight who has not yet found that way, Lord, do not allow them to be settled in their sin, but prick their consciences. Move them, O Lord. Bring them to faith, to repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, that they too might have the assurance and the comfort of that which all of Your people enjoy, the refuge and the fortress of our mighty God. We thank You again for hearing our prayer. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.