I Am the Gate | I Am Part 1
Message Summary: Sometimes we have a fear of being misunderstood. Jesus is perhaps the most misunderstood person in history. This isn’t just among the world but also among Christians. Our beliefs and political opinions don’t always line up with Jesus, and we must be careful not to use God’s name to back up our personal position. This would be taking the Lord’s name in vain.
God wants us to know Him intimately and deeply. He reveals Himself through word and creation. Jesus gives seven I Am statements to help us to understand and know Him better.
I am the gate. Jesus had just healed a blind man by spitting in dirt and molding it into clay to put in the man’s eyes. This action would have been perceived as working on the Sabbath day, which would violate Jewish law. Pharisees didn’t like this and questioned Him on it. They were trying to be the gate, making the call on what was and wasn’t allowed. Jesus was starting a bigger conversation, showing that He is the gate. Our Church, opinion, tradition, feelings, or personal beliefs are not the gate. Jesus is. The shepherd would have found a green pasture, set up rocks and stones to make a pen, and then sat at the opening to be the gate. He would let the sheep in. Jesus serves this role. He is the gate.
Jesus protects us. The shepherd would sit at the gate and not allow anything in to harm the sheep. The enemy has no authority over our lives. Jesus has protected us. He sits at the gate, and no one is allowed to get to you without going through Christ.
He wants to heal us. The shepherd would sit at the gate to check the sheep for wounds. He wanted to heal them and keep them healthy. Jesus wants to be the answer to your wounds. God can’t heal what you hide. We must confess to Him and others what we are dealing with. Bringing our struggles and wounds to light give the opportunity for healing. Do we go other places for healing? Nothing heals like Jesus.
Don’t let the small things get infected. It’s often small hurts and little moments of bitterness that end up causing the most damage. Take these things to Jesus and let Him heal you.
- What are ways you struggle with misunderstanding Jesus or acting as “the gate” to others?
- Do you feel like you give the enemy authority over you? How can the knowledge that Jesus protects you change this?
- In what areas of life do you need healing?
- What would help you give the small things over to Jesus to heal?
John 10:1-10 – “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper 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 has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them. Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They 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.
