JESUS -- THE DOOR
By George W. Sinquefield
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By George W. Sinquefield
The Holy Bible, King James Version
John 10:9 through John 10:10
9I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved,
and shall go in and out, and find pasture. 10The thief cometh not, but
for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have
life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
Jesus made many claims as to Who and What He is.
John 8:12
12Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of
the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have
the light of life.
John 6:35
35And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh
to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
John 10:11
11I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for
the sheep.
John 11:25 through John 11:26
25Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he
that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 26And whosoever
liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
John 14:6
6Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life:
no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
John 15:1
1I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
What is a door? -- It is a means of entrance into a building, etc.
One has said, "Christ is the door into everything where we ought to go. Jesus Christ is the door into the holy and blessed life of God. Through Him we enter into the sacred life of God, a life which holiness is the light and love is the atmosphere, and peace is the bond of communion. He is, therefore, the door from the wilderness of guilt into the rich pastures of grace."
I. Many blessings
await those who enter this door.
1. The greatest of all is the blessing of salvation. Jesus said, "If any man enter in he shall be saved."II. This door is open to all.The Bible says the lost are "dead in sin" and are "separated from the life of God."
He becomes a new creature in Christ -- old things are in process of passing away, all things are in the process of becoming new.
2 Corinthians 5:17
17Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.Some years ago during my first student pastorate a man was converted who had long been a drunkard. He was noted for his abuse towards his family. Some months after his conversion I asked one of the children how things were at home. The child said, "We used to run and hide when we saw Daddy coming home, but now we run out to meet him. Since Jesus removed his sin, he is different and everything at home is wonderful."
A man lecturing in a certain town, declared his ability to tell any man's nature from the shape of his head. A rough-faced, stern looking man mounted the platform. He was examined and the lecturer said he was of many disagreeable traits -- harsh, cold, etc. The people laughed for they knew the man to be kind, gentle, and benevolent. But the man himself was not amused and turning to the people he said, "Friends, you have heard portrayed exactly my nature before Jesus took possession of me. If there is any change, the honor belongs to Him."
One day the great artist, Michelangelo, stood outside a window. Inside he saw a canvas with a few brushes and paints next to it. All that was missing was the hand of the artist "Oh," cried Michelangelo, "if I could only be inside, what a picture I could paint!"
When Christ becomes Savior and Lord, He changes the person. He changes the heart and, therefore, the whole life.
2. Those who enter this Door are safe and secure. We have an obsession for safety. We want to:
Drive a car that is safe.A wealthy Australian, dismayed by the signs that a global conflict was inevitable decided to find a safe place to live. He chose a tiny island in the Pacific called Guadal Canal. It turned out to be one of the worst places during World War II.
Fly an airplane that is safe.
Eat food that is safe.
Live in a house that is safe.
Take medicine that is safe.
Drink water that is safe.
Live in a town or community that is safe.Fear of an earthquake led a man to move from California to Ohio. Some time later, his house was flattened by a tornado. A carpenter, afraid of being poor in his old ge worked hard and saved every penny he could. The company he invested his money in went broke and he lost it all.
We may not find a safe place from the storms of life but we find spiritual, eternal safety as we enter this Door.
John 3:18
18He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.Romans 8:1
1There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.Romans chapter 8 begins with "No condemnation" and ends with "No separation."
Romans 8:35 through Romans 8:39
35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
John 5:24
24Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.John 10:27 through John 10:29
27My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.One day a lady saw a butterfly inside of the house, flying around a picture window. On the outside a bird was pecking at the window and the butterfly became greatly frightened. "Oh, little butterfly," said the woman, "You are just as safe as if that bird were a hundred miles away."
To the Christian, Jesus is the Rock, the Shelter from the storm. Dr. H. A. Ironside was doing some missionary work among the Indians. He traveled in a wagon and one day, late in the afternoon, he started home and with him were several Indians. The sun went down and clouds began to boil. They knew a storm was coming and they were afraid they would get caught in it. Then the driver said, "Hold on, I'm going to drive fast. I will try to make it to the great rock. If we can get there we will be safe." He drove hard and Dr. Ironside said that soon they saw the rock fifty feet high rising up from the plain. When the driver came near he didn't stop. He drove right into the big cave on the side of the rock. Soon the storm broke over the rock in all of its fury. They could hear the roar but they were safe. Then one of the Indians began to sing. "Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide my self in Thee."
3. Another great blessing for those who enter that Door is peace and happiness.
A few days ago I was reading a paper on "Peace, the Most Desperate Need of Our Time." It went on to talk about the seeking for peace throughout the nations, the accumulations of wars; and then very strangely, the article went on to say that the matter of peace is in our hands, and that we must "walk in the way of good will and understanding which makes for peace."
The truth is that peace is not in our hands. Man is reaching, struggling, working, playing, and consuming himself in an effort to find peace but it is all in vain. There will always be greed, lust, and selfishness among mankind which often leads to war -- war between individuals and war between nations.
Matthew 24:6
6And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.Where is Happiness?
Not in Money . . . Jay Gould, the American millionaire, had an enormous fortune. When dying, he said, "I suppose I am the most miserable man on earth."Where is Happiness? In Christ alone. He said: "Your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you."Not in Pleasure . . . Lord Byron lived a life of pleasure and ease. He wrote: "The worm, the canker and grief are mine alone."
Not in Military Glory . . . Alexander the Great conquered the known world in his day. Then he wept, "There are no more worlds to conquer."
Not in Political Power . . . William Tweed became the brilliant boss of Tammany Hall and ruled New York City. He said, "My life has been a failure in everything."
Not in Unbelief . . . Voltaire was an infidel of the most pronounced type. He wrote: "I wish I had never been born."
Not in Position and Fame . . . Lord Beacons field enjoyed more than his share of both. He wrote: "Youth is a mistake; manhood a struggle; old age a regret."
Once a beautiful young girl stood near the Niagara Falls and saw some flowers growing near the edge. She began to ;luck them. Closer to the edge she got. Down there a little ways she saw one and because it was out of her reach, she seemed to want it more and struggling, until the earth gave way beneath her and down she went into the raging waters to her death.
What a perfect picture, man oblivious to his soul, blind to Hell, blind to Heaven, blind to God and blind to the blood of Jesus Christ, keep reaching, reaching, reaching, hunting, searching, searching, while god says, "Her it is, here is what your heart wants. Here is what will fill the vacuum of life. Here is what your soul needs, peace in Jesus.
Proverbs 16:2
2All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits.
John 14:27
27Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
John 16:33
33These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
Romans 5:1
1Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:Philippians 4:7
7And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.Ephesians 2:14
14For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;Yes, "He is our peace," and no one will have real peace until he enters the Door which leads to peace.
Among the records of Dr. R. A. Torrey is an account of his receiving an unsigned note in which the writer asked for a guide to soul satisfaction. The note read in part, "Is there any place where I can find satisfaction for my soul? I have looked everywhere for it, but have not found it. I have sought it in wealth, in society, in study, in travel, and in the pleasures of the world. Nowhere have I found satisfaction for my heart. Can you tell me where I may find it?" That night in a revival meeting Doctor Torrey read the letter and gave his answer. At the close of the service a lady came forward to accept Christ and to identify herself as the writer of that note. She ended her testimony by saying, "Then I took Jesus Christ as my Savior, and I found the satisfaction for which my soul had been seeking all these years."
Jesus said, "I am come that yemight have life and that ye might have it more abundantly."
A certain man was saved when he was eighty years of age. When he was eighty-four years of age one of his grandchildren asked him how old he was. He said that he was only four years of age. He said, "I spent eight years in the service of Satan. I have known Christ only four years. Therefore, I say that I am only four years of age. I never really and truly began to live until I met Jesus."
The regret of those who are saved in old age is that they put it off for so long. When I was pastor of First Baptist Church, Madison, Alabama and old man gave his heart ot Jesus and was so happy. He said, "I wished I had done this a long time ago."
Over the door of the academy at Athena, Greece, Plato had these words inscribed. "Let no one enter here who is ignorant of geometry." Of course that kept a lot of people out. Over the Door which leads to life, the door which is Jesus are these words, "Whosoever Will."
Romans 10:13
13For whosoever shall call upon the name
of the Lord shall be saved.
John 3:16
16For God so loved the world, that he gave
his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,
but have everlasting life.
Revelation 22:17
17And the Spirit and the bride say, Come.
And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And
whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
A preacher tells of standing outside the entrance to a hospital door which worked automatically. He said, "An old lady came with arms full of bundles, tired, weary -- the door opened for her. A business man came to the door and without pausing -- the door opened for him. A little colored boy ran up and the door opened for him" He said, "I noticed that the door opened for the rich and the poor, the young and the old, the big and the little, the white and the black." He said that many walked by but only a few entered that door. Why? They didn't want to. The door opened for all who wanted to enter.
Mr. Moody used to tell the story of the Scotch girl who wandered away from God and father's instructions and mother's counsel. She went deep into sin, and one night in a wild fancy in the city of Edinburgh, she concluded that she would commit suicide. But, before doing so, she decided to go out and look once more on the home where she was born and spent her youth. When in the middle of the night she came into the neighborhood again, and finally up to the mother's gate, she lifted the latch and stole in. As she went up the path, she got the scent of flowers and she moved on until she came to the door of the cottage. To her surprise, she found it wide open. and then a fear, lest some harm might have come to her old mother, she called out, "Mother, I have found the door open."
The old Scotch mother got up and came down saying, "Maggie, it is many a long day since you went away, but always the prayer had been in my heart, 'Lord, send her home,' and I said, 'Whenever she come by day or night, I want her to see an open door, and know she is welcome."
As the wayward girl was taken into her mother's arms, we have the picture of divine love and forgiveness, open to all who will receive Christ the Savior. Jesus said, "I am the door." The door stands open. Enter now. If you're not saved, you must come as a sinner.
Robert Murray M"Cheyne was a great preacher of Scotland. He died as a young man, but his name had become a household word in thousands of Scottish homes. He preached on night on the text, "I am the Door, bu me if any man enter in, he shall be saved." In the congregation there was a lost man to whom he had often preached and spoken to personally about his soul. That night the Holy Spirit shook that man in convicting poser. He saw himself as a lost soul on the way to hell. He looked to Christ and was saved. He said to the preacher, "I got in tonight. I know I am saved. The trouble before was that I was trying to go in the wrong door."
"What do you mean?" asked the preacher.
""I have been trying to get in at the saint's door. I thought that I had to live a perfect life to be saved, and I knew that I couldn't do it. You made it clear tonight that I must go in the sinner's door. I know Jesus is that door. So I have entered in, and thank God, a sinner has been saved."
A pastor went to a poor lady's house to give her money to pay her rent. She, fearing it was the land lord wanting the rent money, she refused to open the door. Jesus, the Door is open. He wants to pay your sin debt.
Most of us have entered that Door. Aren't you glad you did. If you haven't entered that Door, the only Door which leads to salvation and Heaven, we hope you will.
A father and his son were reading epitaphs on some of the gravestones in a cemetery. Every inscription seemed to indicate that the deceased was in a state of bliss. After a time, the boy asked, "Daddy, where are all the wicked people buried?"
In spite of the impression one might receive from the engravings on tombstones, not everyone who dies goes to heaven.
1 John 5:12
12He that hath the Son hath life; and he
that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
That Door is open now for all who want to enter.
