1 00:00:00,180 --> 00:00:02,560 All right, so we're going to be in the book of John this morning. 2 00:00:02,730 --> 00:00:06,060 So if you have your Bible, go ahead and turn to John 10. 3 00:00:06,740 --> 00:00:09,760 If you're using one of the Bibles underneath the chair in front of you, 4 00:00:09,940 --> 00:00:13,340 John 10 is going to be on page 952. 5 00:00:16,260 --> 00:00:19,040 All right, so a few years ago, my wife and I, 6 00:00:19,270 --> 00:00:21,280 we used to live in Fayetteville, North Carolina. 7 00:00:21,840 --> 00:00:25,180 Now, I don't know how many of you are familiar with Fayetteville, North Carolina. 8 00:00:27,000 --> 00:00:29,360 If you're not, don't buy your tickets. 9 00:00:30,220 --> 00:00:37,780 there's nothing there. So, but, but anyways, me and my wife, we, we, we, what was exciting about 10 00:00:38,100 --> 00:00:45,660 Fayetteville, North Carolina was that we, we got to rent our first house together and live together 11 00:00:46,080 --> 00:00:52,040 and, and, and get to know each other and grow in our marriage. And our first home was just like any 12 00:00:52,160 --> 00:00:58,959 other cookie cutter suburban rental that you'll see outside of a military base, but it was home 13 00:00:59,260 --> 00:01:01,880 and we were building a life together. 14 00:01:02,200 --> 00:01:04,900 And the first thing that we did was we got a dog. 15 00:01:05,560 --> 00:01:08,520 And our dog, she was an angel. 16 00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:12,720 But then we decided that we could handle a second. 17 00:01:15,860 --> 00:01:17,120 We were mistaken. 18 00:01:19,480 --> 00:01:22,240 But anyways, so we go to our vet 19 00:01:22,460 --> 00:01:25,260 and there's this Belgian Malinois, right? 20 00:01:25,900 --> 00:01:29,880 And this is every military man's dream dog, right? 21 00:01:30,660 --> 00:01:38,040 And we see that this guy just not only has like two of the adults, the adult dogs, but he has like five puppies. 22 00:01:38,740 --> 00:01:41,460 So I'm just like, oh, I need to talk to this guy. 23 00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:43,400 I need one of those dogs in my life. 24 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:45,080 And so I did. 25 00:01:45,960 --> 00:01:51,580 So naturally, I go up to him and I'm like, man, are any of these puppies for sale? 26 00:01:52,020 --> 00:01:54,900 And he's like, yeah, I'm actually trying to get rid of one. 27 00:01:55,860 --> 00:01:58,460 And I was like, okay, awesome. 28 00:01:59,880 --> 00:02:02,180 So I agreed to buy the puppy for him. 29 00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:03,680 He's some backyard breeder. 30 00:02:03,990 --> 00:02:05,220 But I took him home that day. 31 00:02:06,080 --> 00:02:07,860 This is Kuma, by the way. 32 00:02:09,259 --> 00:02:13,140 And we ended up realizing that this dog is actually insane. 33 00:02:16,240 --> 00:02:19,100 We take this puppy to our house for the first time, 34 00:02:19,250 --> 00:02:22,480 and we're expecting all this joy and laughs. 35 00:02:22,740 --> 00:02:23,880 And we're like, man, this is awesome. 36 00:02:24,060 --> 00:02:25,640 I have my dream dog. 37 00:02:27,420 --> 00:02:35,940 but nothing in my house was safe. He ate through his crate, multiple crates. He destroyed our 38 00:02:36,160 --> 00:02:41,680 vinyl floor and he ate through the walls and he ran through walls like it was nothing. 39 00:02:42,480 --> 00:02:48,900 And I think just this week, he actually, he ate like five of my socks and it wasn't like the socks 40 00:02:49,080 --> 00:02:54,299 that you don't care about losing. It's the good ones, like the darn tough socks. It was very 41 00:02:54,320 --> 00:03:02,740 unfortunate. But anyways, one day my wife decided to clean our house, and she decided to clean the 42 00:03:02,900 --> 00:03:08,620 sliding glass door that led out to our backyard, and she got that door so clean that you couldn't 43 00:03:08,760 --> 00:03:16,880 tell a door was there. And I get home from work, and I start riling the dogs up, because that's 44 00:03:16,940 --> 00:03:27,260 what husbands do, right? And all of a sudden, I just hear, bam. I look around. What was that? 45 00:03:29,140 --> 00:03:39,620 And it was my neurotic dog, Al Colt. He was unconscious for like a good 15 to 20 seconds, 46 00:03:39,740 --> 00:03:47,200 like unresponsive too. Like I was like, oh my gosh, is he dead? And all I could think of was, 47 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:55,700 oh no, my $50 knockoff dream dog is dead. But he wasn't. He got up, thankfully. 48 00:03:57,100 --> 00:04:02,760 But I wonder if sometimes that's us. Now stick with me. We try our hardest to run full speed 49 00:04:02,880 --> 00:04:07,519 like Kuma towards doors that we think they're going to lead us into a better life, a more 50 00:04:07,600 --> 00:04:14,720 abundant, happy, and joyful, stable life. But we're stopped short, sometimes abruptly, 51 00:04:15,800 --> 00:04:22,640 because we're trying to walk through the wrong door. And today we're going to talk about the 52 00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:28,500 true door that leads to the abundant and happy and joyful and stable life that we're all looking for. 53 00:04:29,820 --> 00:04:34,939 Because we're all searching for that. We're searching for purpose and direction, for peace 54 00:04:34,960 --> 00:04:37,640 and for joy, something real to hold on to. 55 00:04:40,460 --> 00:04:42,840 And the heart of the series that we're in is this. 56 00:04:43,100 --> 00:04:45,520 It's not a thing that gives us that kind of life. 57 00:04:46,780 --> 00:04:47,440 It's a person. 58 00:04:48,780 --> 00:04:49,460 His name is Jesus. 59 00:04:50,900 --> 00:04:53,140 And everything that we're longing for, 60 00:04:53,180 --> 00:04:55,620 the peace, the joy, the happiness, 61 00:04:56,160 --> 00:04:57,340 it's all found in him. 62 00:04:58,740 --> 00:05:00,480 And Jesus doesn't keep this a secret. 63 00:05:00,760 --> 00:05:02,240 He's actually really clear about it. 64 00:05:02,340 --> 00:05:07,440 He says that the life you're searching for is not going to come from upgrading your home 65 00:05:07,560 --> 00:05:10,480 or booking the perfect vacations or having perfect dogs. 66 00:05:12,300 --> 00:05:18,300 None of that can fully deliver what your soul is actually craving and desiring. 67 00:05:20,140 --> 00:05:20,880 But Jesus can. 68 00:05:22,140 --> 00:05:26,260 And that's why we're going through the I am statements of Jesus as a church 69 00:05:26,480 --> 00:05:29,060 because they don't just tell us what he's done. 70 00:05:29,500 --> 00:05:32,400 They tell us who he really is. 71 00:05:33,900 --> 00:05:37,620 And so last Sunday, we saw that Jesus calls himself the light of the world, 72 00:05:38,460 --> 00:05:41,000 showing us that he doesn't just symbolize light. 73 00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:42,140 He is light. 74 00:05:43,400 --> 00:05:45,180 He is the light that shines in the darkness. 75 00:05:46,740 --> 00:05:50,060 And a lot of people, they didn't believe in what Jesus was saying. 76 00:05:52,720 --> 00:05:55,760 More than that, they couldn't see Jesus. 77 00:05:57,280 --> 00:05:59,060 They couldn't see who Jesus was. 78 00:05:59,240 --> 00:06:02,780 and they had the same problem that a lot of this world has today. 79 00:06:03,160 --> 00:06:04,620 They were spiritually blind. 80 00:06:06,900 --> 00:06:09,000 And we're going to see that again in today's text 81 00:06:09,260 --> 00:06:12,480 because Jesus is going to respond to spiritually blind people 82 00:06:13,200 --> 00:06:16,140 because right before this, if you take a look at John 9, 83 00:06:16,220 --> 00:06:20,400 the chapter that's right before the text that we're going to be in today, 84 00:06:20,860 --> 00:06:23,340 Jesus heals a man that was born blind since birth 85 00:06:24,240 --> 00:06:26,880 and the Pharisees still try to discredit him. 86 00:06:30,360 --> 00:06:36,140 and now in John 10 Jesus is going to communicate another important truth and reality about who he 87 00:06:36,340 --> 00:06:41,980 is and he he does that by responding to the Pharisees in honestly a really shocking way 88 00:06:42,290 --> 00:06:49,860 he calls himself the door to life so we're going to see what Jesus means by this and we're going to 89 00:06:49,940 --> 00:06:56,020 see four things that the door does for us. So I want you to go ahead and look at John 10, 90 00:06:57,080 --> 00:07:04,520 skim down to verse 7, and read along with me. Jesus said again, truly I tell you, 91 00:07:05,480 --> 00:07:11,500 I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, 92 00:07:11,680 --> 00:07:20,260 but the sheep didn't listen to them. I am the gate. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved 93 00:07:20,400 --> 00:07:31,700 and will come in and go out and find pasture. A thief only comes to steal and kill and destroy. 94 00:07:33,120 --> 00:07:38,040 I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance. 95 00:07:40,140 --> 00:07:48,060 What Jesus is telling the Pharisees and all the rest of the people that would have been listening to this is that he's the door that gives access to life. 96 00:07:49,100 --> 00:07:53,320 If you pay close attention to verse 7, that's exactly what Jesus is saying here. 97 00:07:53,720 --> 00:08:00,440 He's saying, I'm the door, I'm the gate that leads to the abundant life that you're looking for. 98 00:08:01,560 --> 00:08:05,520 And if you stop and think about it, at its core, what does a door do? 99 00:08:06,920 --> 00:08:08,080 A door gives us access. 100 00:08:09,200 --> 00:08:12,140 Doors led us into places that we couldn't enter otherwise. 101 00:08:14,140 --> 00:08:15,500 But doors are important. 102 00:08:17,100 --> 00:08:20,360 Physical doors, they allow us to go inside and outside. 103 00:08:20,690 --> 00:08:22,900 They allow us to transition between rooms. 104 00:08:23,320 --> 00:08:25,620 But they're also important metaphorically as well. 105 00:08:25,720 --> 00:08:29,040 We all know the saying, man, if I could just find that open door. 106 00:08:30,980 --> 00:08:32,180 And so we do that all the time. 107 00:08:32,450 --> 00:08:33,740 We run numbers in our heads. 108 00:08:33,770 --> 00:08:34,800 We plan for the future. 109 00:08:35,030 --> 00:08:35,919 We chase milestones. 110 00:08:36,210 --> 00:08:39,000 And we wait for that next open door that we think. 111 00:08:39,539 --> 00:08:42,700 that if we walk through that door, if we could walk through it, 112 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:46,860 then life will finally be what we hoped for. 113 00:08:49,980 --> 00:08:53,320 But here Jesus is standing in front of all of us. 114 00:08:53,840 --> 00:08:55,700 And he's saying that I'm the door. 115 00:08:56,920 --> 00:08:58,480 I'm the door that leads to life. 116 00:09:00,320 --> 00:09:01,640 So what does Jesus mean by that? 117 00:09:02,480 --> 00:09:06,440 If Jesus really is the door, what does that mean for us? 118 00:09:08,720 --> 00:09:11,280 Let me show you four things that the door does for us. 119 00:09:11,820 --> 00:09:12,760 The first is this. 120 00:09:13,340 --> 00:09:15,520 Jesus is the door that saves. 121 00:09:17,240 --> 00:09:18,400 The door saves you. 122 00:09:20,680 --> 00:09:25,220 This is probably one of the most controversial things that Jesus could have said. 123 00:09:27,180 --> 00:09:33,420 Because right here in one sentence, Jesus invalidates every single world's religion. 124 00:09:34,240 --> 00:09:39,560 Every single world's view that claims that it can bring you life and meaning or purpose. 125 00:09:40,440 --> 00:09:44,120 In one sentence, Jesus is communicating something really important. 126 00:09:46,540 --> 00:09:47,500 He's the entry point. 127 00:09:48,780 --> 00:09:50,360 He is the door that gives life. 128 00:09:50,570 --> 00:09:53,480 There aren't 12 paths that all lead to the same God. 129 00:09:53,720 --> 00:09:57,520 There is only one way that you can get to God, and that's through Jesus. 130 00:10:00,840 --> 00:10:05,620 If that sounds harsh and offensive to you, you're not the only one. 131 00:10:07,080 --> 00:10:12,100 Because this was a bitter pill for a lot of people to swallow even back then. 132 00:10:13,780 --> 00:10:18,180 And it's offensive because we all have to come to terms with what Jesus is saying here. 133 00:10:18,340 --> 00:10:24,340 He's saying that whatever category that you self-identify with, whether you're spiritual or non-spiritual, 134 00:10:24,600 --> 00:10:27,120 whether you have a lot of money, don't have a lot of money, 135 00:10:27,340 --> 00:10:30,880 whether you feel like you need Jesus or maybe you're on the opposite side 136 00:10:31,220 --> 00:10:32,840 and you feel like, man, I don't need God. 137 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:33,740 Life is good. 138 00:10:34,340 --> 00:10:36,460 He's saying that none of that actually matters. 139 00:10:37,840 --> 00:10:38,600 None of that matters. 140 00:10:39,740 --> 00:10:40,720 You need to be saved. 141 00:10:44,580 --> 00:10:48,240 We were all created by God for God. 142 00:10:50,200 --> 00:10:53,160 And what I mean by that is we were all created to have a relationship, 143 00:10:53,820 --> 00:11:01,000 an actual genuine relationship, an intimate relationship with God. Everyone that you see 144 00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:06,340 in here was created for that relationship. Everyone that you see in your workplace and 145 00:11:06,480 --> 00:11:10,880 everyone that you see at Costco, they were all created so that they could have a relationship 146 00:11:11,160 --> 00:11:22,119 with God. But the Bible tells us that our sin separates us from God. The Bible tells us that 147 00:11:23,640 --> 00:11:31,040 we need to be saved and that there's a distance. If we need to be saved, it's because there's a 148 00:11:31,250 --> 00:11:38,680 distance between us and God. And here's the sad part. We can't close that distance on our own. 149 00:11:41,460 --> 00:11:46,239 There's no amount of moral living, wishful thinking, or praying to God 150 00:11:47,440 --> 00:11:50,440 that can change our situation with God 151 00:11:51,639 --> 00:11:52,840 if we don't have Jesus. 152 00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:57,020 But the amazing news of the gospel is this. 153 00:11:57,380 --> 00:12:00,200 There is a person that saves us from God's judgment. 154 00:12:00,310 --> 00:12:02,400 There is a person that can bridge that gap. 155 00:12:03,360 --> 00:12:04,940 There is an entry point. 156 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:06,460 It's Jesus. 157 00:12:08,700 --> 00:12:10,660 And it's so important that no matter how long 158 00:12:10,840 --> 00:12:12,260 you've been following Jesus for, 159 00:12:12,620 --> 00:12:14,740 that we don't forget this simple truth. 160 00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:21,660 That we are saved and that we have access to a relationship with God only because of Jesus. 161 00:12:23,580 --> 00:12:32,420 And so there is nothing in this world that can offer you anything better than what we see in verse 9. 162 00:12:32,490 --> 00:12:36,960 Because Jesus is not just offering access to a better life. 163 00:12:37,820 --> 00:12:40,740 Jesus is offering access to life itself. 164 00:12:44,260 --> 00:12:49,160 There are no other doors in this world that can save you and give you what you actually need, 165 00:12:49,240 --> 00:12:55,180 which is life. And if you don't walk through this door or you keep trying to go around the door, 166 00:12:55,580 --> 00:13:03,480 you're walking away from life. Jesus even says this. John 3.18, he says, 167 00:13:03,980 --> 00:13:09,719 anyone who believes in him is not condemned, but anyone that doesn't believe 168 00:13:11,380 --> 00:13:17,980 it's already condemned because he has not believed in the name of the one and only son of God. 169 00:13:19,560 --> 00:13:27,200 This is the word of the Lord. And we all need to be saved. And Jesus is the only way that we can 170 00:13:27,380 --> 00:13:36,999 obtain that. I need to be saved. We all need to be saved. But the second amazing thing about this 171 00:13:37,020 --> 00:13:45,560 door is that the door is wide open. And that's our second point. If you're here this morning 172 00:13:45,910 --> 00:13:50,240 and you haven't entered by the door yet, the invitation is always open. 173 00:13:52,580 --> 00:13:58,580 What's different about this door from all the other doors in the world is that it doesn't close. 174 00:13:58,960 --> 00:14:05,179 It's always open. God will never look at you and reject you and tell you that you're not good enough 175 00:14:05,200 --> 00:14:12,440 to enter because none of us are good enough to enter. We enter on the basis that Jesus is good 176 00:14:12,580 --> 00:14:20,500 enough. Jesus is the one door in this world that you don't have to be good enough to gain access. 177 00:14:21,700 --> 00:14:27,420 You don't have to struggle or strain. All other doors in this world, they require something of you. 178 00:14:28,360 --> 00:14:34,379 To land a good job, you need an awesome resume. Maybe you need some education and some experience 179 00:14:34,940 --> 00:14:37,820 to go to another country, you need a visa and a passport. 180 00:14:38,560 --> 00:14:40,820 To get into Costco, you need a membership card. 181 00:14:43,760 --> 00:14:44,460 But not with Jesus. 182 00:14:45,980 --> 00:14:46,740 You don't need any of that. 183 00:14:48,560 --> 00:14:51,160 Because he's allowing you to enter for free 184 00:14:51,460 --> 00:14:54,280 because he paid the entry price on the cross. 185 00:14:57,040 --> 00:14:59,880 And so if this is you, if you haven't walked through the door, 186 00:15:00,200 --> 00:15:01,260 then please come back. 187 00:15:01,740 --> 00:15:03,160 The door is always open. 188 00:15:03,700 --> 00:15:11,320 And there are so many of us here that would love to pray for you and to talk to you about the love of God, to talk to you about Jesus. 189 00:15:13,440 --> 00:15:21,440 And the third amazing thing that we see when we walk through the door and we walk through Jesus is that the door actually protects us. 190 00:15:22,520 --> 00:15:25,100 Jesus is the door that protects us. 191 00:15:25,900 --> 00:15:32,040 Now, I'm not just talking in the general and abstract sense that Jesus saves us from God's 192 00:15:32,200 --> 00:15:38,760 judgment, even though that is part of it. Jesus is the door that saves us from all the wrong things in 193 00:15:38,940 --> 00:15:48,640 life. Jesus is the door that protects us from chasing all the wrong things. He protects us 194 00:15:48,640 --> 00:15:54,420 from the thieves and the robbers of this world that are trying to convince us otherwise. So if you 195 00:15:54,260 --> 00:15:59,400 have Jesus, you have protection from all the other doors in this world that are going to lead you 196 00:15:59,420 --> 00:16:07,820 away from God, lead you away from relationship with God. Look at verse 10. A thief comes only 197 00:16:08,360 --> 00:16:16,860 to steal and kill and destroy, but I've come so that they may have life and have it in abundance. 198 00:16:18,540 --> 00:16:23,340 In the immediate context of this passage, Jesus is talking about the Pharisees, 199 00:16:23,340 --> 00:16:29,260 the religious leaders that were leading people away from God with their oppressive legalism 200 00:16:29,340 --> 00:16:35,080 and their morality and all the different ways that they believed that if they could just do these things, 201 00:16:35,180 --> 00:16:38,340 if they could just live better, then they could get access to God. 202 00:16:39,400 --> 00:16:40,480 And see what they were doing. 203 00:16:40,820 --> 00:16:44,320 They were actually stealing from God. 204 00:16:45,500 --> 00:16:47,880 That's why Jesus calls them thieves and robbers. 205 00:16:49,940 --> 00:16:57,820 the Pharisees, they were, they were given, sorry, they were crushing people's hope 206 00:16:59,210 --> 00:17:00,120 instead of giving them hope. 207 00:17:02,900 --> 00:17:07,060 And so if you've ever questioned the door, whether you should walk through this door, 208 00:17:08,640 --> 00:17:12,860 man, Jesus is inviting you in. 209 00:17:14,319 --> 00:17:20,319 Because we need that hope that he's good enough to give us access to God. 210 00:17:22,180 --> 00:17:25,959 And what the Pharisees were doing is that they were trying to go around Jesus. 211 00:17:26,800 --> 00:17:28,940 They were trying to bypass the door. 212 00:17:30,780 --> 00:17:35,140 And family, there are so many things in this world that function as thieves and robbers. 213 00:17:36,060 --> 00:17:40,900 And they try to rob us of trying to experience the joy that we get from being in Christ. 214 00:17:43,040 --> 00:17:48,820 They try to convince us that there are better doors and better ways of living that we can walk through. 215 00:17:51,340 --> 00:17:52,280 Let me tell you a quick story. 216 00:17:52,520 --> 00:17:54,920 So I used to go to this therapist earlier this year. 217 00:17:55,540 --> 00:18:01,660 And I went to this therapist in Wahiwa and went to a few of the initial sessions. 218 00:18:02,040 --> 00:18:05,620 And he started learning more about me. 219 00:18:06,800 --> 00:18:10,980 He didn't tell me anything about himself, but I guess that's how therapy works. 220 00:18:12,180 --> 00:18:14,880 But I tell him that I'm a Christian. 221 00:18:15,640 --> 00:18:19,000 And he gives me one of those, oh, that's awesome, man. 222 00:18:19,380 --> 00:18:20,160 You know what I'm talking about. 223 00:18:20,920 --> 00:18:23,700 The type of responses that people give when they're uncomfortable. 224 00:18:24,580 --> 00:18:27,480 And so they tell you, oh, yeah, that's awesome, bro. 225 00:18:28,120 --> 00:18:28,400 Moving on. 226 00:18:29,220 --> 00:18:32,640 And so we're talking about my elevated stress levels. 227 00:18:33,200 --> 00:18:36,580 And he told me that I needed to get out in nature more. 228 00:18:37,280 --> 00:18:40,260 I was like, that is true. 229 00:18:41,740 --> 00:18:44,740 But his piece of advice was great. 230 00:18:45,630 --> 00:18:48,400 But what he followed up with was a lie. 231 00:18:49,880 --> 00:18:52,480 He said, Tyler, I know you're married. 232 00:18:54,900 --> 00:19:00,040 But sometimes in a healthy marriage, you need to be completely selfish towards your spouse. 233 00:19:01,020 --> 00:19:03,940 You need to place yourself above your wife. 234 00:19:05,320 --> 00:19:12,000 And I was just thinking, I was like, I left that therapy session thinking, 235 00:19:12,660 --> 00:19:16,520 man, thank God that I had God's word stored in my heart, 236 00:19:16,580 --> 00:19:18,980 that I had Ephesians 5 stored in my heart. 237 00:19:19,280 --> 00:19:22,920 Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church, 238 00:19:23,020 --> 00:19:24,320 and he gave himself for her. 239 00:19:25,680 --> 00:19:30,039 And I thank God that he gave me the discernment to realize that my own therapist 240 00:19:30,040 --> 00:19:33,240 was trying to have me bypass God's command for husbands 241 00:19:34,380 --> 00:19:37,140 to give themselves and love their wives sacrificially. 242 00:19:39,080 --> 00:19:40,820 And the point of this story is that 243 00:19:41,010 --> 00:19:43,980 I think we all need to start identifying the things in our lives 244 00:19:44,300 --> 00:19:46,100 that are functioning like thieves and robbers. 245 00:19:46,580 --> 00:19:47,760 And we need to do two things. 246 00:19:48,100 --> 00:19:50,520 The first thing we need to do is we need to bring them to the light. 247 00:19:51,500 --> 00:19:54,640 Last Sunday, we talked that Jesus is the light of the world. 248 00:19:55,070 --> 00:19:56,860 And so what that means for us is that 249 00:19:57,080 --> 00:19:59,480 there is nothing that we can hide from him. 250 00:20:02,280 --> 00:20:08,460 all the things that we bury deep down and we try our best to hide from others 251 00:20:11,220 --> 00:20:12,680 Jesus exposes that 252 00:20:17,240 --> 00:20:21,660 but that's the first step that you can take to to get protection from the door 253 00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:26,739 is just bringing it to Jesus's feet and the second thing that we need to do 254 00:20:26,740 --> 00:20:30,760 is that we need to allow Jesus to be the door that protects us. 255 00:20:33,320 --> 00:20:36,340 We're all familiar that doors are important in our houses 256 00:20:36,530 --> 00:20:40,140 because when we lock them, they can't steal what's inside. 257 00:20:41,720 --> 00:20:44,400 And so we need to allow Jesus to be that for us. 258 00:20:46,600 --> 00:20:50,880 For example, TV and movies, we know for a lot of them, 259 00:20:51,050 --> 00:20:53,559 they contain excessive amounts of nudity 260 00:20:53,620 --> 00:20:57,040 and they place unnecessary strain and temptations on marriage. 261 00:20:58,620 --> 00:21:00,600 So why do we keep letting our eyes watch these things 262 00:21:00,990 --> 00:21:05,760 when Jesus tells us that the eye is the lamp of the body? 263 00:21:06,620 --> 00:21:09,920 And if your eye is healthy, the rest of your body is healthy. 264 00:21:11,860 --> 00:21:14,680 Why do we spend excessive amounts of money, 265 00:21:14,950 --> 00:21:17,900 which all that does is cause us to even have to work harder 266 00:21:17,990 --> 00:21:19,559 to replenish those funds 267 00:21:19,560 --> 00:21:24,820 and cause us to prioritize work over spending time in the presence of God, 268 00:21:25,330 --> 00:21:26,760 in the presence of God's people. 269 00:21:27,900 --> 00:21:30,100 Jesus says, no one can serve two masters. 270 00:21:30,170 --> 00:21:33,780 You either hate the one or you either love the one or you hate the other. 271 00:21:34,940 --> 00:21:39,440 And so having Jesus's words stored in your heart and obeying them 272 00:21:40,080 --> 00:21:42,820 is how you continue to walk through the door 273 00:21:43,100 --> 00:21:47,760 and continue to gain protection from what the door is trying to give you. 274 00:21:48,680 --> 00:21:54,020 Because all other voices, they try to steal the life that you have in Christ. 275 00:21:54,200 --> 00:21:56,460 They try to steal your joy and your peace. 276 00:21:57,820 --> 00:22:00,740 And that's a daily choice that we all have to make. 277 00:22:03,320 --> 00:22:05,380 But it's the best choice that we can. 278 00:22:06,980 --> 00:22:14,700 Because when you wake up in the morning and you make the deliberate decision to wake up and to go through Jesus, 279 00:22:14,980 --> 00:22:16,760 to start your morning off with Jesus, 280 00:22:18,160 --> 00:22:21,600 you actually will find that you aren't walking 281 00:22:21,910 --> 00:22:23,740 into a restrictive way of life. 282 00:22:24,640 --> 00:22:25,840 You're walking into freedom. 283 00:22:26,610 --> 00:22:27,660 And that's the fourth point. 284 00:22:28,140 --> 00:22:29,880 The fourth thing that we see about the door 285 00:22:30,460 --> 00:22:32,380 is that the door gives you freedom. 286 00:22:33,800 --> 00:22:35,060 And when Jesus saves you, 287 00:22:36,860 --> 00:22:39,700 there will be times where you have to ignore 288 00:22:40,310 --> 00:22:43,080 the voices of all the other doors in this world 289 00:22:43,080 --> 00:22:44,680 that are trying to lead you away from him. 290 00:22:45,200 --> 00:22:48,520 There are times where you will have to remove things from your life. 291 00:22:52,660 --> 00:22:54,920 But Jesus is trying to lead you into freedom. 292 00:22:56,660 --> 00:22:59,360 Your life doesn't end when you follow Jesus. 293 00:23:00,700 --> 00:23:01,220 It begins. 294 00:23:03,740 --> 00:23:05,740 Look at verse 9 and verse 10 again. 295 00:23:06,760 --> 00:23:07,280 Jesus says, 296 00:23:07,800 --> 00:23:13,880 If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture. 297 00:23:15,420 --> 00:23:20,180 I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance. 298 00:23:21,240 --> 00:23:23,740 And see, family, this is what Jesus is offering. 299 00:23:23,880 --> 00:23:28,920 He's offering freedom and abundance to go in and go out and find pasture. 300 00:23:29,860 --> 00:23:35,560 Means that from the minute that we wake up in the morning, Jesus is with us. 301 00:23:36,960 --> 00:23:41,840 When we go to work and we're going through the monotony of our weeks, 302 00:23:42,780 --> 00:23:44,060 Jesus is with us. 303 00:23:45,320 --> 00:23:46,520 And when our heart breaks 304 00:23:46,580 --> 00:23:49,060 and we're just going through unspeakable tragedy, 305 00:23:49,560 --> 00:23:50,760 Jesus is with us. 306 00:23:52,900 --> 00:23:54,940 And that's amazing because that means 307 00:23:55,520 --> 00:23:56,920 that we can find pasture 308 00:23:57,080 --> 00:23:59,400 and we can find that rest and peace and joy 309 00:23:59,760 --> 00:24:02,000 in whatever situation that God has us in 310 00:24:02,300 --> 00:24:03,260 because through it all, 311 00:24:04,020 --> 00:24:04,960 he doesn't leave us alone. 312 00:24:06,600 --> 00:24:07,740 He's walking with us. 313 00:24:11,400 --> 00:24:18,420 And so what Jesus is saying is that only he can give abundance. 314 00:24:19,580 --> 00:24:23,960 And so I know a lot of you must be thinking, what does abundance mean? 315 00:24:25,400 --> 00:24:28,200 And don't mistake what Jesus is saying here. 316 00:24:28,320 --> 00:24:32,260 He's not saying that by entering through him, that life is going to be easy 317 00:24:32,420 --> 00:24:36,480 and that you're automatically going to receive health, wealth, and happiness 318 00:24:36,760 --> 00:24:40,440 because we all know that life sometimes doesn't work that way. 319 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:46,840 there's some seriously heavy things that we all wrestle with and struggle with. 320 00:24:47,490 --> 00:24:48,080 As do I. 321 00:24:51,020 --> 00:24:54,600 But what's amazing about Jesus is that whatever storm is in your life, 322 00:24:54,940 --> 00:25:01,720 he's promising to supply you with the abundance of peace and hope and joy 323 00:25:01,930 --> 00:25:04,000 when you can't even make sense of life. 324 00:25:06,060 --> 00:25:10,260 He's talking about feeling like you have everything that you need because you have him. 325 00:25:11,980 --> 00:25:14,660 and there is no limit to this type of abundance 326 00:25:15,080 --> 00:25:17,440 and that means that you can come today as you are 327 00:25:17,460 --> 00:25:18,980 and because Jesus is yours, 328 00:25:19,560 --> 00:25:22,720 you can cry out and receive more of Jesus. 329 00:25:25,220 --> 00:25:29,040 What he offers, it's inexhaustible. 330 00:25:30,560 --> 00:25:33,040 It cannot physically run out. 331 00:25:35,400 --> 00:25:38,939 And so if you haven't experienced this type of abundance before 332 00:25:38,960 --> 00:25:42,840 or it's been a while and you've forgotten that you have access to this. 333 00:25:44,980 --> 00:25:46,360 I have Psalm 23 on the screen. 334 00:25:50,919 --> 00:25:53,100 David was an imperfect man. 335 00:25:55,220 --> 00:25:58,820 He lived in a chaotic world just like we do right now. 336 00:26:01,360 --> 00:26:04,160 But he knew that even if life was falling apart, 337 00:26:04,720 --> 00:26:06,420 he knew that his God was with him 338 00:26:06,400 --> 00:26:10,660 and that he could find everything that he was looking for in him. 339 00:26:12,620 --> 00:26:18,040 And so I'm going to read this out because this is true for us too. 340 00:26:20,340 --> 00:26:21,360 The Lord is my shepherd. 341 00:26:22,710 --> 00:26:24,220 I have what I need. 342 00:26:25,620 --> 00:26:28,180 He lets me lie down in green pastures. 343 00:26:29,760 --> 00:26:33,040 He leads me beside quiet waters. 344 00:26:34,720 --> 00:26:35,780 He renews my life. 345 00:26:37,220 --> 00:26:41,640 he leads me along the right paths for his namesake. 346 00:26:44,640 --> 00:26:51,220 And family, we have that. We have Jesus. He's the shepherd that came into this world, 347 00:26:51,740 --> 00:26:58,020 not to condemn this world, but to save the world. He's the solution. He's the door that we're 348 00:26:58,100 --> 00:27:06,620 looking for. He's inviting us to lay down in green pastures, even in our chaos. And he brings us to 349 00:27:06,720 --> 00:27:16,120 those quiet waters and he renews our life. He's inviting all of us into this right now. 350 00:27:18,880 --> 00:27:20,780 He is the door that saves us. 351 00:27:23,360 --> 00:27:24,380 His door is wide open. 352 00:27:25,900 --> 00:27:30,800 He's waiting on the other side to lead you into the safety and protection of his presence. 353 00:27:32,980 --> 00:27:34,840 He's offering you abundance. 354 00:27:36,600 --> 00:27:42,640 Are you going to walk through his door today so that you can experience what David experienced in Psalm 23? 355 00:27:44,980 --> 00:27:45,300 Let's pray.