When Jesus says, "I Am the Door" He is not excluding people. Jesus never turned anyone away who came to Him. He is excluding alternative ways for coming to God.

1. John 10:1-2
‘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 the sheep.
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2. John 10:3-4
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 has
brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of
them, and his sheep follow him because they
know his voice.
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3. John 10:5-6
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 they did not understand
what He was telling them.
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4. John 10:7-8
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.
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5. John 10:9-10
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.’
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6. The picture of the DOOR is used in different ways.
ONE opening was not because the shepherd didn’t
want the sheep to have options, but for protection
The sheep pen sometimes had a door (v1-5), but
in other cases the SHEPHERD became the door.
We speak of open and
closed doors in reference to
OPPORTUNTIES.

7. The door was to DIVIDE the sheep from anything
that would harm them.
Thieves and robbers were FALSE teachers.
TRUTH, by definition, excludes all that isn’t true.
The watchman ALLOWS or DENIES
entry.
One purpose of a door is to
EXCLUDE.

8. Jesus does not exclude people; He excludes
ALTERNATIVE ways of coming to God.
Jesus is the way we COME to God and all God has
for us COMES through Jesus.
The primary purpose of a door is
not to exclude, but to give
ENTRANCE.

9. Please take a moment to fill out your
Communication Card
My Next Step Today is to:
( ) Do the home life help (in bulletin)
( ) Read the gospel of John making note of what is
revealed about Jesus
( ) Examine where I have allowed false teaching/teachers
to “climb” into my life.
( ) Evaluate if I try to come to God on His terms or my
own.
( ) Identify if I have a good balance between spiritual
nourishment and spiritual service.
( ) Other________________________