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Open The Door to Life
 
 
  The Holy Bible, King James Version 

  John 10:1 through John 10:11
  1Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the 
  sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. 
  2But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3To him the 
  porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by 
  name, and leadeth them out. 4And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth 
  before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. 5And a 
  stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the 
  voice of strangers. 6This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood 
  not what things they were which he spake unto them. 7Then said Jesus unto them 
  again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. 8All that 
  ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. 
  9I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in 
  and out, and find pasture. 10The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to 
  kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might 
  have it more abundantly. 11I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth 
  his life for the sheep.
We live in a world today that is hurting. Our world is sin-sick and all around 
us people are dying and going to hell. People are searching for an end to 
suffering, looking for peace. We want our life to count for something, to be 
remembered for something. 
  THE EPITAPH 
  A cemetery has a tombstone which bears the following epitaph: 
  Pause Stranger, when you pass me by, As you are now, so once was I. As I am 
  now, so you will be, So prepare for death and follow me. 
  An unknown passerby scratched the following reply underneath: 
  To follow you I'm not content, Until I know which way you went!
We spend a great deal of time preparing for death, and getting our affairs in 
order. The hottest thing going today is prepaid burial plans. In fact, many of 
you probably have participated in this so that your family is not burdened with 
the financial responsibilities inherent with your passing. Perhaps we need to 
spend some time preparing for life though. God has promised us abundant life. We 
have as our birthright the life of a child of the King, yet we continue to live 
as a pauper.
Why is that? Why do we forsake the abundant life to live in the world? It could 
be because there are many folks knocking at our door. In today's day and age, 
very few of us would open our door to a stranger, and even fewer of us would 
open the door without knowing who it is knocking. Yet day in and day out we open 
our spiritual doors to the world without a second thought.
Who Is Knocking At Our Door?
Who is knocking at our door, longing to lead us astray? That my friends is a 
list that could go on, and on and on. The world is at war with God, and on some 
days it appears as if the world is winning the battle. When we open the door to 
worldly pursuits we are giving aid and comfort to the enemy.
Ours is a world of conflicting temptations. It is truly easy to be drawn off 
track in our search for "the good life." One of these worldly temptations 
knocking at our door is the New Age movement.
 

  New Age
  New Age is a recent and developing belief system in North America encompassing 
  thousands of autonomous (and sometime contradictory) beliefs, organizations, 
  and events. Generally the New Age borrows its theology from pantheistic 
  Eastern religions and its practices from 19th century Western occultism. The 
  term "New Age" is used herein as an umbrella term to describe organizations 
  which seem to exhibit one or more of the following beliefs: (1) All is one, 
  all reality is part of the whole; (2) Everything is God and God is everything; 
  (3) Man is God or a part of God; (4) Man never dies, but continues to live 
  through reincarnation; (5) Man can create his own reality and/or values 
  through transformed consciousness or altered states of consciousness. Research 
  material and Profile are available. 
      © Copyright 1997 Watchman Fellowship, Inc. The material on this site shall 
      not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any 
      means without permission from the publisher. 
      http://www.watchman.org/cat95.htm#New Age 
New Age has many of the same tenants that humanism does, in that it tends to 
elevate man to either a co-equal position with God, or even to a higher level 
than God. This is in direct contradiction of God's word. Yet, many Christians 
are opening the door to New Age, and allowing a false theology to gain a 
foothold. On the surface it appears harmless, and quite tranquil, but the deeper 
you dig, the closer to the rotten core you arrive. 
Underneath New Age's broad umbrella you can find such thing as psychics, 
astrology, and the worship of inanimate objects such as crystals. God forbids 
these things in His word.
   
  Leviticus 20:6
  6And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after 
  wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that 
  soul, and will cut him off from among his people. 
  Deuteronomy 18:9 through Deuteronomy 18:14
  9When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou 
  shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. 10There shall 
  not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass 
  through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an 
  enchanter, or a witch, 11Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, 
  or a wizard, or a necromancer. 12For all that do these things are an 
  abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God 
  doth drive them out from before thee. 13Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD 
  thy God. 14For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto 
  observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the LORD thy God hath 
  not suffered thee so to do.
When New Age garbage comes knocking at your door, don't open it. To allow Satan 
even a small foothold puts you in danger of allowing him even more access to 
your life.
Another evil lurking is science. Now, wait a moment before getting upset at that 
statement. Science is necessary, understanding how things work, and what makes 
them work makes us wiser. We should not discount science, nor should we take 
science as the Gospel. Many well meaning Christians have attempted to change 
God's Word in order to fit science. This should never happen, because God's word 
is the measure by which everything else should be interpreted. Not the other way 
around. Science cannot show us the way to heaven, science can never bring about 
our salvation.
  Romans 1:20 through Romans 1:23
  20For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly 
  seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and 
  Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 21Because that, when they knew God, 
  they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their 
  imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22Professing themselves to 
  be wise, they became fools, 23And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God 
  into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted 
  beasts, and creeping things.
I might gently remind you this morning that there was a time when science was 
positive that our world was flat. Science is at best imperfect, and prone to 
mistake. Is science the best place for us to place our trust?
Another errant knocker is Satan himself. Satan doesn't just stop at knocking 
though, he's hard at work trying to bust our doors down. Satan is crafty enough 
to know that he won't influence us by direct confrontation, so he works on us 
slyly. He begins to insinuate things into our life that by and by we begin to 
accept as common place. The practice of the occult, and things of this nature 
are in vogue today. Witchcraft, paganism, ouiji boards, and horoscopes all lead 
us into Satan's snare. Satanic rituals take place in our own neighborhoods, and 
it doesn't even shock us anymore. Just last year a teenage girl was accused of 
killing her parents as part of a vampire club. When we open the door, just a 
tiny crack, we are opening the opportunity that Satan needs.
We could go on, and on about the things of the world that are trying to lure us 
away from Christ. The world promises many things to us, but they are just hollow 
promises. All sound and fury signifying nothing. 
   
  John 14:6
  6Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh 
  unto the Father, but by me.
God's word tells us quite plainly, that the only way to receive life is through 
Christ. Christ is the only one that is knocking at our door that can lead us 
through.
  Revelation 3:20
  20Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open 
  the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
In order to receive New Life in this New Year, we are going to have to open the 
door to the right person, and that person is Jesus Christ. He is the one whose 
knock gives us life.
There Is One Whose Knock Gives Life
 
    10The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am 
    come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
When we open the door to Christ, he brings to us abundant life. Our lives should 
be rich and rewarding when we have Christ as a part of them. 
 
    Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) was one of the most creative people who ever 
    lived, distinguishing himself as an accomplished painter, sculptor, 
    inventor, architect, botanist, engineer, and physicist. We might learn some 
    important lessons from Leonardo as we seek to live our lives to the 
    fullest...

    Be Curious. Centuries before airplanes had been invented, Leonardo was 
    busily at work designing parachutes and hypothetical flying machines.

    Think For Yourself. Don't just accept what others have to say about a 
    particular topic; explore the issue on your own. To learn about anatomy, 
    Leonardo didn't just read books on the subject. He dissected over 30 bodies!

    Sharpen Your Senses. Leonardo once lamented, "People look without seeing, 
    hear without listening, eat without tasting, touch without feeling, and talk 
    without thinking." He took time to experience—and learn from—the everyday 
    stimuli of real life. 

    Embrace Uncertainty. Don't be afraid to explore issues that aren't neatly 
    delineated into black-and-white terms. Leonardo's Mona Lisa is a wonderful 
    study in ambiguity: What exactly is intended by Mona Lisa's smile?...

    Balance Logic and Imagination. The original "Renaissance man," Leonardo 
    described his life as the study of "the science of art and the art of 
    science." He reminds us to be "thinkers" as well as "feelers," to be 
    "intuitive" as well as "perceptive."

    Make Connections. Leonardo looked for links among seemingly unrelated 
    phenomena. He sought parallels between flight and swimming … between the way 
    hair grows and how muscles are formed … among wind, water flow, and the way 
    sound travels through the air. We should take time to reflect upon the 
    events and phenomena we observe each day: How are they related? How does one 
    inform the other? How can our experience in one area prepare us to work 
    effectively in another area?

    "Abundant life" cannot be found by living life on cruise control. Like 
    Leonardo, we must stretch the limits—of our logical minds and of our 
    imaginations—in order to experience that "life to the fullest" of which 
    Jesus spoke.

    Source: "Bottom Line: Personal," January 1999, pp. 13–14 found at 
    http://www.christianteacher.com 
As the Word of God deepens our capacity, so the Son of God fills that capacity 
with HIS fullness. We become complete in Christ.
    Many think the Christian life is prosaic, dull, uneventful. It is anything 
    but that! If it appears that way, it is almost certainly a life out of focus 
    with true spirituality; in other words, a carnal Christian life. 
    -- Ray Stedman in Man of Faith. Christianity Today, Vol. 37, no. 2.
Christ also brings to us an abiding life. One that will withstand the test of 
time. Now, let's look at the word abiding in this fashion. Let's look at abiding 
as eternal life! The abiding life begins on earth and continues in heaven. It is 
a glorious gift for those who are prepared to receive it. 
    A preacher once stood and asked his congregation how many were going to 
    heaven. Not only that, he asked those who wanted to go to heaven to stand 
up.

    Everyone stood, naturally—except for one little boy. The preacher called to 
    him and asked, "Son, do you mean to say you don't want to go to heaven when 
    you die?"

    The boy replied with a start, "When I die? Sure! I thought you were getting 
    a bunch together to go today."

    Source: Stephen Brown, "Illustrating the Sermon," Handbook of Contemporary 
    Preaching, p. 206. 
Our life with Christ is also secure. Jesus tells us that all of those who follow 
Him in salvation will be eternally secure. 
  John 10:28 through John 10:30
  28And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither 
  shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29My Father, which gave them me, is 
  greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. 
  30I and my Father are one.
When Christ guarantees our salvation, no one, NO ONE, can take that from us. Our 
salvation isn't something we can lose and regain at the drop of a hat. To say 
anything less is to imply that Satan and his minions have power over God's 
Spirit. This however does not give us license to sin. We are not free to live 
anyway in which we please. We are accountable to the name by which we are 
called. 
    A young man was working at an Alabama factory when he was thrown 
    accidentally onto a red-hot armor plate. When he was rolled off by fellow 
    workers, it was clear that he would probably not live. His workers cried, 
    "Send for a doctor!" The young man, though, cried, "Never mind the doctor. 
    Is there anyone here who can tell me how to be saved? I'm about to die 
    without God—who can help me!?"

    Although there were 300 men present, no one could tell him what he wanted to 
    know. After twenty minutes of agony, he died.

    Later, another young man told his tragic side of that story. He had been 
    there, and he'd heard the desperate cries of the dying young man. Yet, he 
    was paralyzed by his awareness of the unholy life he'd been living. He would 
    say, "I have heard those cries ever since, and I wished I could have stooped 
    down and pointed him to Jesus ... but my life closed my lips."

    Has a sinful lifestyle "closed your lips," making it impossible for you to 
    share the Gospel with integrity, authority, or genuineness?

    Source: "Proclaim," 1980 #2, p. 37
You have a choice to make today. You can answer the door to anyone and take your 
chances, or you can open the day to a new life in Christ. To reject Christ is to 
reject life, and to reject life is to die eternally. What will you do today?