1. There are seven "I AM" discourses in the Gospel of John. The name JEHOVAH means "I AM THAT I AM" (Ex.3:13,14).
2. Therefore, our Lord used this title many times to let the people know that He was in fact Jehovah God, the great I AM.
3. The seven I AM discourses are:

1. "I am the bread of life" (John 6:35).
2. "I am the light of the world" (John 8;12).
3. "I am the door" (John 10:9).
4. "I am the good shepherd" (John 10:11).
5. "I am the resurrection and the life" (John 11:25).
6. "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6).
7. "I am the true vine" (John 15:1).

4. Today, I would like for us to look at two of these "I AM" statements, "I am the door" and "I am the good shepherd," both found in John 10.

1. JESUS CAME BY THE DOOR (10:1,2)
2. JESUS IS THE DOOR (10:7,9)
3. JESUS IS THE GOOD SHEPHERD (10:11,14)

1. JESUS CAME BY THE DOOR (10:1-6)

1. When the Bible was originally written there were no chapter and verse divisions. Therefore, 10:1 follows immediately after 9:41 and when our Lord said, "I say unto you" He was speaking to the Pharisees, who were spiritually blind and whose sin remaineth (9:40,41).
2. The sheepfold (10:1) was an enclosure in which sheep were sheltered at night. It refers here to the nation Israel. That is why our Lord referred to the Gentiles as "other sheep" (10:16; cf. Scofield margin).
3. Israel has always had false prophets and false messiahs (cf. Acts 5:34-39; II Peter 2:1). According to our Lord they were thieves and robbers (10:1,8).
4. Today we are faced with many false prophets, thieves and robbers who try and climb in "some other way" – the way of good works, the way of baptism, the way of church membership, etc.
5. Good works, baptism, and church membership are important – after you get saved – but anyone who teaches that these things saves you is a thief and a robber and just as spiritually blind as the false religionists of our Lord’s day (9:40,41).
6. Our Lord was rebuking the false religious leaders of His day, the Pharisees, and calling them thieves and robbers. Why were they thieves and robbers?

1. They were robbing people of heaven (Matt.23:13-15). Unfortunately, this is still going on today – e.g., the Orthodox Jews who hinder their fellow Jews from hearing the Gospel, RC priests who hinder Catholics from reading the Bible or attending services in a Baptist church, etc. And in addition to these thieves and robbers, there are the Moonies and JWs and Mormons and all the other devilish cults. I heard that Billy Graham was on the Larry King show recently and King asked him what he thought of the Mormons and Graham said he had "no problem" with their religion. How sad!
2. They were thieves and robbers because they were persecuting those who followed our Lord (cf. 9:28,34).

7. Unlike these wicked thieves and robbers, Christ came in the door lawfully – He was descended from King David; He was a rod out of the stem of Jesse; He was born in Bethlehem; He was born of a virgin – He was their Messiah and He came in by the door (10:2).
8. The Pharisees were "the blind leading the blind," but Jesus was leading His sheep out of their corrupt sheepfold (10:3; cf. 9:34-38).
9. John 10:4,5 illustrates an important Bible truth – those who are truly saved will not follow false teachers, join weird cults, etc. How can a true born again believer follow a rascal like Jim Jones or Rev. Moon? The blind man in chapter 9 is a good example of this – despite their intimidation, he refused to listen to the Pharisees and so they excommunicated him from the synagogue.
10. The Pharisees could not understand this simple parable (10:6) because they were spiritually blind (9:39,40) and could not hear the voice of God (10:26,27). If they really loved God they would have followed Christ instead of killing Him (John 5:18; 8:39,40).
11. Our Lord frequently spoke in parables because it is an effective method of teaching. I read that the explorer and naturalist Roy Chapman Andrews was giving a lecture on his explorations in Mongolia and referred on several occasions to the Gobi desert." An expert in the field criticized him after the lecture, pointing out that Gobi means desert, and that "Gobi desert" is a redundant expression. Dr. Andrews said, "Well, you and I know that but few of my audience are fluent in Mongolian. So I speak to them in a language they will understand." This is what our Lord is doing here in John 10. This discourse is so simple that a small child can understand it and yet so profound the greatest intellects can never fully grasp it.

1. Not only did our Lord come in by the door, He is the door (10:7,9; cf. 14:6). Some one might ask, How can He come through the door and be the door at the same time? It is because He is God. He gives eternal life and He is eternal life (John 10:27,28; I John 5:20).
2. To "go in and out" (10:9b) is a Biblical idiom which conveys the idea of coming and going as we carry on our daily business (cf. Deut.31:2; II Chron.1:10; Acts 1:21).
3. Christ is not only the door, He is the only door to salvation (10:9). Beloved there is only one door to heaven and that door is Jesus Christ. And yet there are many doors to hell – the atheist door, the drugs and alcohol door, the immorality door, the Roman Catholic door, the Mason door, the cults door, and so on – there are many doors to hell but THERE ARE NO EXIT DOORS IN HELL!
4. As a matter of fact, there is an easy way to get to hell – just don’t do anything – don’t read the Bible, don’t pay attention to my preaching, don’t come out for the evening services, don’t listen when people tell you that you need to get saved, and don’t come forward when I give the invitation. Just sit there and by and by you will die and go straight to hell!
5. Jesus warned that the devil is a thief who is out "to steal and to kill and to destroy" (10:10). The devil is even referred to as Abaddon and Apollyon in Rev.9:11, which means "the Destroyer."
6. Our courts, our jails and prisons, our mental hospitals and insane asylums are packed and overcrowded with people whose lives have been wrecked by the devil.
7. The devil destroys peoples’ lives through sin but Christ gives eternal life to those who repent of their sin and trust Him (10:10b). Have you trusted Him? Are you saved?
8. If you trust Him, you will "find pasture" (10:9b; cf. Ps.23:1,2).
9. Before moving on to my final point, let me remind you that a door causes division – some are inside the door and some are outside the door (10:19-21). Jesus is the door and He divides people – you are either saved or lost.
10. There are many born again children of God inside these doors this morning but beloved there are multitudes of lost souls outside that will die and go to hell unless we reach them with the Gospel.

1. In contrast to our Lord, who is the good shepherd (10:11), the Pharisees were "hirelings" who cared not for the sheep (10:12,13).
2. Most priests and ministers today are nothing but hirelings. It amazes me how these scoundrels can get an audience – it shows how spiritually blind most people are.
3. The good shepherd came into this world to die for His sheep (10:15). He laid down His life by His own power, willingly, in order to die for our sins (10:17,18).
4. Years ago, three American tourists walked up to the top of Mount Calvary and picked up a stick. They had it made into a walking stick and presented it to the governor of Massachusetts, who at that time was a man named George Briggs. When they presented him with the stick they said: "We wanted you to know sir, that when we stood there at Calvary, we thought of you." The governor thanked them and said, "I am still more thankful, gentlemen, that there was another One who thought of me when He climbed up that hill."
5. Not only did He have the power to lay it down, He had the "power to take it again" (10:18).
6. "The feast of the dedication" (10:22) is called Hanukah in Hebrew (the only reference to this feast day in the Bible). It was instituted by Judas Macabees when the temple was rededicated after being defiled by Antiochus Epiphanes in 165 BC.
7. It was celebrated on the 25^th of Kislev, which corresponds to our December. It does not always fall on that day however, because the Jews used a lunar calendar and we follow a solar calendar. Notice it says "it was winter" (10:22). There is far more evidence that Hanukah was on Dec.25^th than Christmas!
8. The Jews doubted Christ because of their unbelief (10:24). Our Lord was very straightforward with them (1:51; 2:18-21; 3:13,16-18; 4:13,14,25,26; 5:24; 6:35,40; 7:37,38; 8:24,58; 9:35-38; etc.).
9. Any honest, open-minded person who reads the Gospel of John will have to say with Thomas, "My Lord and my God" (John 20:28).
10. This passage is one of the strongest in the Bible for the eternal security of the believer (10:25-30). The Bible teaches the eternal security of the believer – not the eternal security of the make-believer or the unbeliever!
11. Some people object to this doctrine and say, what about those dogs returning to their vomit and those sows wallowing in the mire (II Peter 2:22)? Brother, we are not dogs and pigs – we are sheep!

CONCLUSION:

1. A few years ago a newspaper in Camden, Maine, called the Herald ran two photographs on their front page.
2. One was a group of local politicians and town officials and the other was a photo of a flock of sheep. Unintentionally, the captions were reversed.
3. Under the photo of the sheep, the caption identified them, left to right as the various town officials.
4. Under the photograph of the officials, the caption read: "The sheepfold -- naïve and vulnerable, they huddle for security against the uncertainties of the outside world."
5. As I read about this humorous mix-up, I thought – how true. We sheep are naïve and vulnerable. We are totally dependent upon our shepherd – the Good Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ!
6. I would have to disagree with the part about huddling together for security though – we huddle together for worship and fellowship and our security is in Christ, who has said, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me…" (John 10:27ff).