The Paradox Many Don't Understand

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Now right at the beginning of the  parable Jesus emphasizes the special   importance of the door or the gate.  He kind of draws our attention to   this particular feature. For instance,  in John 10:1-3, this is what He says: “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. [You see,  the focus is on the gate. Then He goes on:] The   man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of  his sheep. 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.” (NIV) Notice, the central feature of the opening  part of that parable is the gate. The only   legitimate way into the sheepfold is by the  gate. The parable indicates it is possible to   get in some other way but anyone who does  so is a thief and a robber. So it’s very,   very important for all of us to know what is  the way, what is the significance of the gate.   Because if we try to get into the sheepfold, that  is, the church of Jesus Christ, but we don’t come   by the gate, on the evidence of Jesus Himself  we are thieves. We are trying to get blessings   and provisions of God for which we haven’t  fulfilled the qualifications. We’re stealing. Now. A little further on, Jesus explained the  door. He says in John 10:7: “Therefore Jesus   said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate  for the sheep [or the door].” And then again in   verse 9: “I am the gate; whoever enters through  me will be saved.” You see, there’s no salvation   except for those who enter through the gate.  You see how crucial the gate is to everything. Now I want to lead on to a paradox, something  very surprising, something we wouldn’t normally   expect. And let me tell you this, that whenever  you find a paradox in the Bible it should stir   you to seek God and to pray and to ask God to  show you what is the nature of the paradox.   Some people say the Bible is inconsistent and  contradicts itself. I don’t believe that. But I   do believe that the Bible contains paradoxes, some  things that are not the way we expect them to be.   Some statements that sound very strange. When we  come across those statements or those paradoxes,   they should alert us to the fact here is something  that God is attracting my attention to and if I   seek Him, by the Holy Spirit, He’ll help me, He’ll  give me insight, and I’ll learn a very important   lesson. You see, paradoxes, in a certain sense,  are to keep out people who are just inquisitive,   they’re not really sincere seekers. In fact, they  really want to be critics of God. That’s their   real purpose and function as they see it. And  so they stumble over the paradox. They don’t get   passed it, they just say, “Well, God contradicts  Himself.” And they miss the real point. But the   honest, humbler seeker, when confronted by the  paradox, bows his heart and his head and says,   “Lord, I don’t really understand  it, but I believe You can show me.” Now here’s the paradox in this particular  parable. Jesus has already said more than once,   “I am the gate.” Now, in verse 11, He  says, “I am the good shepherd. The good   shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” And  again, in verse 14, “I am the good shepherd:   I know my sheep and my sheep know me.” So  you see, Jesus says about Himself two things:   He says, “I am the gate”; and He says, “I am  the shepherd.” Now that’s the paradox. How can   Jesus be both the gate and the shepherd. The  gate is one thing; the shepherd is another. Well, there’s an answer, I believe. And I  believe God has shown me the answer. I’ll   let you be the judge of whether you feel that  what I’m saying is right. But I sought God for   the answer and I believe He made it so very clear  to me. And I believe it’s very, very important. I’ve used the word crucial. I believe it is  crucial. I don’t know whether you’re aware,   but the adjective crucial is derived  from the Latin word for a cross,   so it means it’s something that’s a cross.  And that’s exactly what I’m trying to say. Jesus the door is Jesus Crucified; Jesus  the shepherd is Jesus Resurrected. So,   if you want to get in and have Jesus Resurrected  as your shepherd, you have to come in by the door,   which is Jesus Crucified. You can’t just  say, “Jesus is a wonderful teacher. I’m   going to follow Him.” That’s not permitted.  That’s trying to get in without going through   the door. Going through the door is saying,  “I’m a sinner. I owe a debt I cannot pay to   God for all my sins. But I believe that Jesus  on the cross paid that debt. And so I come,   not through my own cleverness or wisdom or  righteousness, but I come only on the basis of   what Jesus Christ did for me on the cross.” And so  Jesus Crucified is the door. And bear in mind what   Jesus has emphasized so many times, if you try to  get in any other way, you are a thief or a robber. I’ve been saying that Jesus is both  the door and the shepherd of the sheep.   Crucified He’s the door; Resurrected He’s  the shepherd. I believe you’ll agree that’s   a tremendously important principle. And I  want you to see how vividly it’s brought   out in the parable. What a brilliant  method of teaching that parable is,   because it takes something so simple and so clear  and makes the things we could not understand just   as simple and just as clear. And let me repeat  what I’ve said already. When you see a paradox,   don’t stumble over it. Seek God about it.  And it will be a door to further truth. Now I’d like to just briefly illustrate from  Scripture the two principles: Jesus Crucified   is the door; Jesus Resurrected is the shepherd.  We’ll look at just one verse that illustrates   each of these principles. First of all Jesus  Crucified as the door. Romans 4:25: “He [that’s   Jesus] was delivered over to death for our sins  and was raised to life for our justification.”   That’s a tremendously important fact. Why did  Jesus die? He did not die for His own sins,   He had no sins. He did not die because the forces  of evil were too strong and overcame Him. He died   because He was the appointed sacrifice for the  sins of all men. He, by His death on the cross,   paid the full penalty for all our sins.  Then, when He was resurrected from the dead,   He had power to forgive us and to give us eternal  life and to justify. Justify is an important kind   of theological word. I’ve interpreted  it many times this way: I’m justified,   I’m just-as-if-I’d never sinned. Because I now  have imputed to me by Almighty God the spotless,   sinless righteousness of Jesus Christ. He was  made sin with my sinfulness that I, in turn,   might be made righteous with His righteousness.  And so He’s the door. And when I’ve been made   righteous with His righteousness, then  I have free access into that sheepfold. Now let’s look at the other side of that truth,   Jesus Resurrected is the shepherd. There’s  a most beautiful prayer near the end of the   epistle to the Hebrews. I’ll just read  the first part of it. Hebrews 13:20-21: “May the God of peace, who through the  blood of the eternal covenant brought   back from the dead our Lord Jesus,  that great Shepherd of the sheep,   equip you with everything good  for doing his will...” (NIV) So you see, when God the Father brought Jesus  back from the dead, resurrected Him from the dead,   He was the great shepherd of the sheep. And it  says there that He did it through the blood of the   everlasting covenant because the blood that Jesus  shed, in which He poured out His soul unto death,   is the all-sufficient ransom for every sinful  soul of man. Because the ransom was fully paid   by the death and the shed blood of Jesus  Christ, then God the Father resurrected   Him the third day from the dead, no longer to  be crucified, no longer to be just the door,   but now to become the living mighty resurrected  shepherd of those who’ve come in through the door. Let me close with this word of warning.  If you want Jesus to be your shepherd,   you must first enter through the door of His  death. There is no other way into the sheepfold.
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Channel: Derek Prince
Views: 80,995
Rating: undefined out of 5
Keywords: derek prince the sheepfold, The Sheepfold, The Paradox Many Don't Understand, the doors of salvation are closing, the door salvation
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Length: 9min 33sec (573 seconds)
Published: Mon Apr 29 2024
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