Jesus Is the Gate and the Way

Introduction

Today, we are going to look together at a fundamental truth — the one that binds us in this new place.

The fact that we are here, all together, is real: a divine appointment, a season planned and willed by the Lord. Nothing happens by chance or luck, but everything is carefully planned and desired by God, in order to bring the light of Christ where we must be — not so that we may feel comfortable, or that our flesh may look for worldly comfort, but because God wants it, in His holy sovereignty.

This place has not been chosen by us, but by the Holy Spirit, who lives and works in us, in order to accomplish the will of the heavenly Father, and to make visible the door that the world needs: Jesus Christ, the true door who leads to the Father.

The Church is not the door, but it is the instrument that God uses to lead people to this door.

The name of this place is very meaningful: it is called Chaweng Gateway, which means that in this area, the Lord wants His Church to be a place where this way out is proclaimed — this freedom from the slavery of sin, this narrow door that leads to eternal life.

This place is a point of passage, but Christ is the only way to God.

There is no doubt about this place. It is a place we have visited many times over the past year and a half, but something was stopping us from making this decision — maybe a lack of faith, or a lack of workers willing to do the will of God. Only the Lord knows why we are here today.

In any case, this decision was not difficult to take, because we were clearly put out, and so we were placed in urgency to find something, as if God had accelerated and organized our sudden departure.

So, I would like to ask the Lord for forgiveness if I did not hear His voice clearly before.

I can also see this, like Jonah, who did not want to do the will of God by going to Nineveh to preach repentance, and disobeyed by going in the opposite direction of what God wanted.

And yet, God had already given a direction, a clear will. But between what God says… and what God does, there is sometimes a time. A time where God works in our hearts, a time where God prepares us, a time where God puts everything in place according to His will.

“For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hurries toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it delays, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay long.” Habakkuk 2:3

However, Jonah was brought back onto the right path, and it became real for him. He saw the result of what God did through him. When he arrived in Nineveh and preached repentance, all the people humbled themselves and turned away from their sinful ways, and God showed them mercy.

We have been placed here to be witnesses of Christ, and to love our neighbor as ourselves, for the glory of God on this beautiful but also spiritually dark island of Koh Samui.

And today, in this place called “Gateway,” we are not looking at a place, but at the person of Jesus Christ. Because He alone is the gate and the way.

Reading of the passage — “Truly, truly, I say to you, the one who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. But the one who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep listen to his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he puts all his own sheep outside, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. And they will never follow a stranger, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.” Jesus told them this figure of speech, but they did not understand what the things which He was saying to them meant.” John 10:1–6

Jesus explains in this passage that there are two types of spiritual leaders: a true shepherd, and a false leader.

Jesus says that He is the shepherd of His sheep, that He enters by the door of the sheepfold, and that His sheep recognize Him.

In the historical context, the shepherd entered by the door of the sheepfold, while thieves climbed in another way, not from the front, but “by another way,” where the sheep could not see them coming, and so they were taken by surprise by these false shepherds. These false shepherds do not come with good intentions.

Jesus is the good shepherd, because He brings peace, love, and the protection His sheep need.

We also see that a doorkeeper opens this door, so that the good shepherd may enter. This can help us understand that God uses servants to open, to speak, and to prepare, so that Christ may be received.

But it is not the worker who saves. Workers are a gift to His Church, to build it up, strengthen it, and prepare it to meet Christ.

The Apostle Paul says: “And He gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ;“ Ephesians 4:11-12

He is speaking here about different roles in the early Church, with things that were specific to that time, but the principle is still the same: God gives servants to build up His people. It is always Jesus who leads, who calls, and who keeps His sheep.

Today, the central message is the true door: the one that is open to those who know and hear the voice of Jesus. Those who belong to Him recognize His voice. These are people whose hearts are ready, whose lives have been broken, and whose deep desire is to turn away from their own limited ways, which are opposed to the ways of the holy God and Creator of the universe.

This first illustration was not understood, and that is why the Lord Jesus gives another one, to make things clearer.

He shows that He is the good shepherd — the One who guards, loves, corrects, chooses, and guides His sheep. But He also shows that He is the door: the One whom God has given, the Son of Man, who opens the way to salvation.

Reading of the second part —“So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly.” John 10:7–10

The second illustration of Jesus speaks of Him as the door — the one that shows that He is the only way of salvation, the perfect path that leads to the Father.

The door is very important in the Bible, because to enter the temple and the different holy places, people had to pass through specific doors, at specific times, and with specific ceremonial actions. So when Jesus speaks of Himself as the Door, this has a strong and powerful meaning for those who understood that He was the Messiah of the Jews and the Savior of the world.

He also speaks about others — false leaders who came before Him, those who called themselves prophets of God, but who were speaking from their own will, knowing God in the Scriptures, but not knowing Him personally in Jesus Christ.

To enter through the door of Jesus Christ into His Kingdom is to recognize His sovereignty, His power, His authority, and to humble ourselves and submit to His will, like a disciple to a master, or a servant to his lord.

And it is written that he will go in and out. Yes, he will go out — this speaks about coming out of the power of sin in us, which separated us from God, and coming out of this corrupted world that was guiding us through the temptations and desires of our flesh.

And to finish, this beautiful image of finding green pastures reminds us of: “The Lord is my shepherd, I will not be in need. He lets me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.“ Ps. 23:1-2

Yes, the thief of souls, the thief of joy, the thief of identity is indeed present. He is in this world, and he continues to work so that we may end our journey on this earth too early, far from God. With all the things available today, so many and so different, there is a wide choice that can leave us in a passive and dependent state.

This is a message of hope and reconciliation that the Lord gives us here, and that we are called to share with as many people as possible: Jesus has come to give life, and life in abundance.

But not a promise of material prosperity, as many false preachers say today.

This false Jesus of the world — the one who promises you your best life now — is not the Jesus of the Bible. It is a Jesus made to attract people through emotions and feelings, one who does not correct, does not sanctify, excuses everything, and lives according to our desires.

When Jesus speaks about abundance, He speaks about what the world cannot give: peace with God, the love of the Father, the joy of belonging to Him, righteousness in living for God, and holiness and hope given by the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

And the Lord still calls today: “Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

Jesus calls those who are tired and burdened by the weight of the world — by this world that has no true purpose — always searching for things that lead us into slavery.

The rest of our souls is in Jesus Christ — this invisible part that lives in us, that we cannot control, the part that suffers from the absence of God.

It is this soul that Christ comes to restore, to lift up, and to bring back to God.

However, this door is not like the doors of the temple — large, full of gold, and visible to everyone.

“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Matthew 7:13-14

Yes, Jesus clearly tells us that this door that leads to life — and life in abundance — is narrow. This means that this door is not the one shown to everyone, and not one that is easily seen by all.

God alone knows those who will pass through this door and walk on this path.

Conclusion

Today, we have seen that Jesus is the door — But He is also the way.

“Thomas *said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going; how do we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:5-6

So, if we have entered through this door, if we are walking on this path, we cannot keep this to ourselves.

There is a call on us — God has placed us here, in this neighborhood, so that others may hear, so that others may see, and so that others may come to Jesus Christ.

We are not the door — but we are those who show the door. 

Those who proclaim the way — those who testify of the truth.

So let each one of us take this responsibility to heart, with love and with faithfulness, so that many, in this place, may in turn enter through Jesus Christ, for the glory of God alone.

We are in a place called — Chaweng Gateway — But Jesus Christ — is the true Gate —
and the only Way.