John 10:7-18 – So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
“I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.”
Jesus said that all of those who love Him, who trust Him with everything that they are, can “go in and out and find pasture.” What a profound promise that is for us while we live here on earth and extends into eternity. This invaluable, exciting and powerful promise, what it really is, will sound crazy to both the unredeemed and also to those who never learned how to approach Jesus through the leading of the Holy Spirit. But to us who have been taught, who have learned, who listen to the loving, nurturing, indispensable Holy Spirit, do or will know the meaning of this.
It should trouble those who don’t understand the words “go in and out.” As with everything that Jesus says, He meant and means it. So considering these words, what was He talking about? Certainly He was not referring to Heaven (for this discussion, as is commonly considered, Heaven is the dwelling place of God which all who love Jesus will dwell with God). It is easy to deduce that Heaven is not what Jesus was to referring to because once in Heaven we will never walk in and out of it but shall forever dwell in the presence of God, with God. So what the pasture that we can go in and out of is not our eternal dwelling place because once there, we are forever there.
So then where is this pasture that only Jesus is the Door to, that only Jesus can open to us and that is a place that we can go in and out of? First of all it is the spiritual position of being in favor with God through Jesus. No person can enter the pasture unless in favor with God through the Savior and Master Jesus the Christ Himself “If anyone enters by me.” King David declared “He makes me lie down in green pastures.” (Psalm 23:2) King David knew and loved Jesus.
Sure for David the Lord often brought him to green pastures during his shepherding of sheep days, but it was more than that. It was a place of rest, of peace, and of companionship with the Lord. It was a place of protection, where the Lord God, the great Shepherd, protected the earthly shepherd with His “rod and staff (figuratively).” It was a place of fellowship with God and that pasture that David mentioned is still available to us. Jesus still calls to us, His sheep, to come and rest in this peaceful place and joyful places. He still calls us to the hillsides to join the multitudes of followers and be with Him. And He still calls us to the place of solitude with Him. The Holy Spirit leads, Jesus welcomes us with open arms and the Father approves and gives His peace and approval. (Matthew 11:28-30)
The pasture is a place of being with the Lord. It is when we seek and find Him and spend time with Him. We can remember being in a quiet place with the Lord and the pure peace that enters us. You see this is a place that we here on earth can be with Him for times and at all times. During a hectic day at work. When life is full we can seek and find pasture with Him at any time and at all times. No trouble and no busyness can separate us from the pasture that today, that every day, we can go in and out of the pasture. It is being wrapped in His love from which we can never be separated. (Romans 8:38-39) As David described it is the best place. It is where we long to be. We don’t need to wait till we die and go to Heaven, Jesus made it available to us now by His saving work. So if you’ve never learned how to visit the pasture, and how to live in it, pray to the Holy Spirit to lead you. He will, He is calling to you right now. He will lead you to the Door and the door will open for you. Have a time with Jesus. Stay there as long as you desire. Leave when you have to and rush back with excitement. Once you know the way, it’s your privilege. Family and Friends, enjoy the presence of God today, it is part of God’s plan for us. Praise our God, our Shepherd and Door, praise God. Oh how good to lay down in His pasture. To rest in Him. Oh praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, Oh man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 – The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
This entry was posted in Devotion and tagged John, Matthew, Micah, Numbers, Psalm, Romans by Bob with
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