“I am the Door” - Chambers, Oswald
John 10:9 1. The condition of daily salvation
by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved . . .
This is a picture of the life we are to live as gods childrenentering in by our lord, who is the door, not once for all, but every day, for everything. Is there trouble in the physical domain? Enter in by the door and be saved. Trouble in mental matters? Enter in and be saved. A thousand and one things make up life as it is and in them all we have to learn to enter in by the door. Entering in, in the name of jesus, is the condition of daily salvation, not salvation from sin only, but a salvation that keeps us manifestly the lords sheep.
Are you experiencing daily salvation, or are you shut out from jesus christ just now in your bodily life, in your mind, in your circumstances? Is there any fog, any darkness, any weariness, any trouble? Every day there are things that seem to shut the way up, but you can always enter in by the door and experience salvation. In the east it is the body of the shepherd himself that is the door of the fold.
2. The condition of daily sonship
and shall go in and go out . . . (rv)
we are apt to have the idea that salvation is a kind of watertight compartment and if we enter in all our liberty will be destroyed. That is not our lords con- ception; he says we shall go in and go out. Are we entering in by the door for our daily work or only at a devotional meeting? The going in and out is our lords picture of the freedom of a son. A servant can- not go in and out as he likes, but jesus says, hence- forth i call you not servants; . . . But i have called you friends. Nothing is closed to you once you enter in by the door.
3. The condition of daily support
. . . And shall find pasture. (rv)
I cant get any food out of gods book, you say; the trouble is not in the book, but in you. I cant get time alone with godthis answers the problem: by me if any man enter in, he shall . . . Find pasture. Some people find physical nourishment in everything, air and water seem to nourish them; and there are people spiritually who get nourishment out of everything. That is our lords picture of the daily support of the life that is right with him. There is no calling of any description where you cannot find ample pasturage once you learn to enter in by the door.
Are you starving spiritually just now? Have you entered in by the door? Nothing in my hands i bringdont try to be consistent to a doctrine or a creed, the lord jesus is the only one to whom you have to be consistent. You will find he will not allow you to have freedom in certain places, though he will always give you pasturage. There is wonderful liberty and freedom experienced among gods children, but if you try to have this freedom among those who are not gods children, he will check.
If god were to ask you how are you? What would you sayi dont feel very well? Or, i feel worried; or, i feel as if i had not got hold of god? Our lord wants us to be filled with his life, and the only way for that is to enter in by the door. The sim- plicity of it will save us from false emotion in prayer. It is easy to pray as we think we ought to pray, but we have to pray out of our personal condition. You never need to saybut i am not in a fit condition to see my father, the freedom is that of a child. Is there any part of your life where you are not getting nourished, not finding pasturage? Then enter in by he door. Have you been trying to make prayer, or faith, or the bible, or experience, the door? These may be ornaments about the door, but the door is the lord jesus himself. Be absolutely loyal to him. By me if any man enter in, he shall be saved. It is an almighty salvation, salvation from darkness and dryness, from limitation and death, salvation from all that hinders you from being a healthy child of god. Can you go in and out, or are you in fear of your life when you do things, always questioning whether you should do this or that? Whenever you are in doubt as to what you should do it is because you have not entered in by the door. Learn to enter in by the door until it becomes the ordinary attitude of your life and you will find pasture without hunting for it, it is there. It is never a confined place, but always a door. The world, the flesh and the devil cannot imprison you, it is a life of absolute freedom.