Doors Determine DIRECTION | 3 wrong pictures have of Jesus...

I'm glad we're together today in this space. My name is Mark Cummins. I'm the pastor at Church of Hope. And if you're a regular attender, welcome. So glad that week after week, we join together in this space. And if by chance, this is your first time, I'm really glad that we're beginning our friendship today. Understand that this broadcast literally goes around the world for free. See, we believe that life's at its best when people discover hope in Christ. There are people who give generously so this broadcast can be reached across every continent. If you've never given, I would invite you today to give. You can go to our webpage, hopeinOcala.com, and drop down on the giving bar and give a one-time gift. Or you can give generously beyond just today. And if God's blessed you, help us as we give hope around the world. But for now, I want you to open up your heart and your mind. Let Jesus speak to you because what I believe is that when we open up our minds and let Jesus speak to us, life doesn't become perfect and all the problems don't go away, but you experience his presence in you, with you, and for you. Open up your heart. Let Jesus speak to you today. Peace.

Thank you. It's good to see you this morning. Always glad to have prime time in the house on this day and you and those joining us online. Hey, I've got a question for us. And it really is life-changing. What if the picture that you have of God is wrong? Now think about that for a second, because basically we're building our entire life on the idea of a picture of who God is. But what if the picture that you have of God is wrong? Four of my high school friends, I've known these guys since the late 70s. They are in town. I'm hosting them. I've got them sitting right on the front row. I wouldn't let them sit in the back. I want to be on the front row. I promise you, if you want to get the downloads to scoop in who I am, you kind of know me as Pastor Mark. They know me as Cummins. They would love to tell you all kinds of wild stories about me. I promise you, they're probably all true. But we were at dinner the other night at La Cuisine, having a great meal together. And the guys were like, hey, you know, we're in town. And we Googled to see what's the best thing to do

when you're in Ocala, Florida. And they said, it's like the Ocala National Forest. We want to go there. It's like it's Yellowstone, Zion. And I was kind of like, yeah, guys, not everybody. Now I'm not talking about Silver Springs, you know, and the glass bottom boats and that kind of stuff. They wanted to go out into the back country of the Ocala National Forest. And I'm like, you know, guys, that's not kind of where we want to go. And they're kind of looking at, they were convinced that I had a wrong picture of the Ocala National Forest, because they had Googled it. And Google said, it's the second most important thing in Ocala. So we got done with dinner at La Cuisine and they wanted to go out a little bit more. You all know that I'm a little bit of an early to bed kind of guy. So I headed home to go to bed. And they found in our town, we have a speakeasy. I'm not sure how they got the code, the password. However, they are Strongsville High School graduates. So they found a way and they got into the speakeasy. So they're there and kind of, you know, talking with people and the waitress comes up to see what they might like. And just being, you know, polite from the North,

they say, hey, listen, did you grow up in Ocala? And she says, no, I grew up in Miami. She says, in Miami, okay. Well, why did you move to Ocala, Florida? To which she says, the Ocala National Forest. The Ocala National Forest. The next morning when I saw them, I understand we've known each other since middle school, like they let me have it. Like what, I thought this is your town, I thought you live here, you don't know anything about this. And I'm kind of just kind of, okay, whatever, I'm trying to ignore it. Let's change the subject, like, hey, how about this weather, blue skies, you're not in Cleveland, right? So yesterday, I go with one of them over to the Santos Trail. It was crazy, the Ocala mountain bike race was going on, but we found our way onto like the trail. And so we're hiking, talking about life, that kind of stuff. And I'm like, okay, the Ocala National Forest thing is behind me, right? So we're, I don't know, a couple miles out on the trail. And I see like two or three men and probably three or four young men. And I'm kind of walking and I'm with my friend and he's kind of talking. And then I hear it. Pastor Mark, I look over, I don't initially recognize because he's got a beard, but one of the founding partners, I mean, back in the day, Dr. Billy Spivey, I haven't seen Billy in a few years, and Billy's over there with a group of Boy Scout guys. They're working on their hiking and their camping patch. So we get little conversations kind of going along. And I said, yeah, I'm with my friend. This is my friend from high school. And we're out here and we're walking.

And I said, what do you guys? He said, he says, well, we're out here today on the Santos trail. Normally we're over in the Ocala National Forest. Oh my goodness. You're convinced that I have a wrong picture of the Ocala National Forest. But what if we have a wrong picture of God? You know what's incredible is Jesus says to you, to me in Mark chapter eight, of all the opinions that you and I get to have, he says, he asks, who do you say that I am? And if we have a wrong picture of God, how can we answer that question? There's been a theme this weekend. I can't make this stuff up with the wrong, wrong pictures. Again, I'm at La Cuisine and the guys are ordering their food and they ordered something. They ordered, I had never heard this word before. They said to the waiter that they like to have some escargot, escargot. It just sounded so escargot. I had no idea what escargot is. Let's go, go. It's escargot, right? So I raised my hand and I said to the guys, hey guys, what's escargot? To which they replied, snails. I said, oh, snails. I've got those growing in my pool. My cold plunge, I flicked them off. Like I got no desire. I have a picture of a escargot, go, go, snail, snail, slow, slow, slow. Like no, thank you very much. Right? And so they came to the table and they were like, hey, why don't you try one, escargot. I said, well, does it taste like chicken? They said, ah, nah.

And so I tasted it. There was something underneath all that garlic and everything was kind of chewy, but it was okay. But the garlic was good. I had a wrong picture of escargot. I think, and I think this is so important, there's a lot at stake this morning because we are building our lives on a picture of God. And I think there are some wrong pictures that over time we have developed in our mind about God. I'm sure the list is long. I've narrowed them down to three this morning. One, I think we have a wrong picture of God because we see God like a fence, this big for boarding fence, this wall. And of course that's in the news a lot in our culture today. A fence shouts, stay out. You're not welcomed here. A fence, you think, I can't. I can't get to God. He's over there. I'm over here. I can't understand him. I can't understand the Bible, all those these and thous and don'ts. It's complicated. I'm not an insider. He's unavailable, unreachable, unattainable. And here's what I think. I know, if God is a fence, you're living guarded. Because the fence says, stay back, but Jesus says, come close. And I think this morning, one step we all need to do

is to stop blaming God for the fence religion built. See, religion says, prove it. Religion says, behave in a certain way. God says, trust me. And it's a wrong picture. A fence is a wrong picture. Think about it for just a second. The very first humans, Adam and Eve, like they hear God and they say, yeah, God, thanks, but no, we're gonna live life our own way. And they pivot and they sin and they realize that they've sinned. And so they go and they hide themselves in the bushes. What does God do? God goes searching for them. In essence, you could say that God jumped the fence. He went to them. It's a wrong picture seeing God as a fence. God's not mad at you. On the contrary, God is madly in love with you. This whole journey of Easter and the challenge to invite your friend and your coworkers and your neighbors and your family, people who you work out with, and they're on a ball team with your travel ball teams to invite them because Easter is a declaration of how God jumps the fence. He jumps out of heaven, send his son, Jesus, and he goes onto a cross because he wants all of us to discover him up close and personal.

But we have a wrong picture. We can see God as this big fence. He's over there. I can't. The second wrong picture is the opposite of I can't. It's I can. And that's a picture of a ladder. I can get to God. I can work my way to God. I can climb this ladder of good works step-by-step, make sure I don't do this, and I don't say that, and I don't smoke that, and I don't sleep with them, and I don't identify, and I do this, and I do this, and I climb my way, and it's a wrong picture because there's nothing that you and I could ever do to behave our way. We don't have what it takes. It's a wrong picture. See, sin is a broken relationship between us and God. God, who's never sinned, we have sinned. So you begin to see how these wrong pictures come into our mind because if God has never sinned and I've sinned, then okay, I can see how this fence would begin to build up because he's over there and I'm over here, or I begin to see how a ladder, and if I could just climb this ladder, if I could be better, and if I could do things. But see, grace, this incredible gift called grace is how we experience Jesus, not works. Otherwise, you know what heaven would be?

Heaven would be like four or five guys from Strong's, Ohio sitting around a fire, and it's kind of bragging about what we did back in high school, or what we did over here, and how we did this, and how we did this, and so in heaven, we'd be sitting around a heavenly campfire, and they're like, hey, what did you do to get to heaven? Oh, man, I did this. And I was like, dude, that ain't nothing. Let me tell you what I did. Or someone's like, I didn't do this, and I never did that, and I never went with that. And you're like, oh, that's not, I never did this. Heaven would be unbearable of everybody bragging about all the things that they did to get to heaven. And if God is a ladder, I promise you, that's one reason why you are so exhausted, because you're just trying to climb and work your way. In Jesus, this whole I Am series, we're seven times in the Gospel of John. He says, I am. He's giving us a picture. I am the good shepherd. I am the vine. He wants us to see him clearly. He wants us to experience him. He wants us to have life better and brighter. And so if you're exhausted, it's because you're trying to earn

what's already been paid for. And I think that's one reason why a lot of churchgoing folk can be some of the meanest human beings in the world. I mean, think about it. If you're trying to climb a ladder and prove your way to God, and you've got expectations, and those expectations don't get met, and you're kind of like, I did this for God, and I expect him to do this for me, and it doesn't work out that way, you can begin to see how that fatigue, that irritation, and that frustration begin to change. Your emotional responses to people around you. See, religion tells you, be better. Religion says, work harder. Religion says, perform. Religion says, climb. But Jesus, he says, come. So a ladder, it's a wrong picture. And a fence is a wrong picture. Now this next picture, it might feel a little irreverent. It might even feel a little crude, a little gross, but stick with me. I think we've adopted a picture of God as a garbage can. My life is a mess. It stinks, it's broken, it's junk, it's useless. It's used up, it's outdated, so let's throw it away in the garbage. And if you see God as a garbage can, your mindset is, I'm too bad.

Look at all the things that I've done. Except for Jesus is attracted to what others throw away. Brokenness and ruined lives, sin. The very thing that the people move from saying, Hosanna, Hosanna, right on Palm Sunday. Hosanna, you're the man, Jesus is coming in the gates. Everybody, hey, Jesus, to three days later on Wednesday, crucify him, take him out, get rid of him. They were mad, they were angry because Jesus is hanging out what they called are the sinners. He's hanging out with the hookers, cheats, the outcasts, the adulterers, the thieves. Matter of fact, Jesus gives us an entire chapter, Luke chapter 15, where he tells a story about lost things. He starts with a lost coin, and then he goes to a lost sheep, and then he goes to a lost son because he wants you and I to know that, listen, feeling lost, feeling like an outcast doesn't turn him off, on the opposite, it turns him on. He's gonna come searching. The woman who lost the coin, she is searching for it all day. She calls her friends, everybody come, help me find this lost coin. And in the shepherd, 99 of the sheep are safe and sound in the pen. Only one is outcast, one is missing. And Jesus says, we're gonna leave the 99

and we're gonna go find that one. And then a story about a son, a son who embarrasses his dad, a son who betrays his family, a son who takes his inheritance, he goes out into the city, and baby, he got his party on. He's sleeping with everybody and anything. He is drinking, he is carousing. I'm sure there was a couple of lines of cocaine. I mean, he had it going on. And then he found himself in a pig pen. And the story is that that father, his dad, who he had betrayed, was standing on the front porch with his arms opened when that son came to his senses and came home. See, it's a wrong picture of God as a garbage can. And that's why so many of us live disconnected. See, we get this backwards, listen carefully. Jesus doesn't change you to accept you. Jesus accepts you to change you, very important. Jesus doesn't change you to accept you. A lot of people, hey, I'll accept you if you change. If you stop doing that, you start doing this. If you dress like this, if you identify like that, if you vote this way, hey, as long as you change and do what I want you to do, then I'll accept you. Jesus Christ does the opposite. He accepts us right where we are, but he loves us too much to leave us there. He sees our full potential and he wants us to experience life at its best.

And if you wanna write something down on your phone or in your journal, I promise you, this quote will give you pure oxygen. This quote has helped me throughout my years. It goes like this. Jesus is a better savior than you are a bad sinner. Jesus is a better savior than you are a bad sinner. And I know some of you are kind of looking at me like, yeah, okay, he's a pastor guy up there. He's a preacher guy up there. He's supposed to say that, like, hello, hashtag. What sin has he ever done? After this gathering, walk down here and talk to these four guys. I know the guy that they know. I know the guy that graduated from Strongsville High School and went to the Marine Corps. I know what I did. I've shared throughout the years my journey, but here's the deal. Jesus isn't waiting to expose you. He's waiting to embrace you. I've got a wrong picture. Jesus is not a fence. He's over there and I can't get to him. He's not a ladder. Oh, I can. I can work my way. I can behave my way. I can do this and I won't do that.

And he is not a garbage can. He does not see you and I and our lives wasted. That's the reason why he gave us John chapter 10. And if you'll look at verse number seven, in many of your Bibles, you're going to see the word gate. I am sharing from the ESV version, the word door. When the translators looked at this scripture and the context is, this is where we were a few weeks ago, that Jesus is the good shepherd. It's all talking about, he's the shepherd and the sheep and caring for the sheep. So in their minds, as they're translating, instead of translating it, they transliterate it because in their mind, like the sheep don't go through a door, sheep go through a gate. That's an agricultural term. However, the Greek word is best translated door. So notice in your Bible, verse seven. So Jesus again says to them, truly, truly, I say to you, here's that I am statement. 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 by me, he will be saved. She will be saved. And we will go, he will go in and out and find pasture, find peace. One more time. Look at verse nine. I am the door declarative. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and go, and we'll go in and out and find pasture. The thief, right? We live in a world system where there is an opposition to all the goodness. There's an opposition. People always ask him, why would God allow these kinds of things? There is a true opposition against the goodness of God.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came, Jesus says, I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. A door isn't something that you climb, it's something that you enter. And so Jesus enters in now with a plan because as human beings, we've got a problem. We have a flawed picture. I promise you, one of the biggest challenges in your life, as you're building your marriage, as you build your philosophy on parenting, as you're building the construct of your company, as you're taking care of your body, as you interact with your doctor, and perhaps there's a sickness or a disease, there is a foundation that is built on the picture, the image that you have of God. And I didn't talk about it, but some of us, right, have a picture of God as this judge and he's like just waiting for you to do something wrong so he can throw you in jail. It's flawed. Or some of us have a picture of God as a absent father or an abusive father or an oppressive father. These are wrong pictures. You are making decisions. Your emotional, your mental, your physical lives have been built upon the picture that you have of God and what's at stake is so important. That's why Jesus has come as the guide alongside. You are the hero of your story. Your life is your life. It's the amazing free will thing that God gives you. You get to make the decision about you and about your life. And so he's saying, listen, slow it down a minute, pause. What is the picture that you have of me? Is it a fence? Is it a ladder? Is it a garbage can? And here he's introducing himself this morning.

We're looking at it as a door. He said that he was divine. He said he's a good shepherd. He's the way, truth, and life. He's the light. He's the alpha and omega. He's the resurrection and life. He here is the door. In Revelations chapter three and 20, Jesus says this, last book of the Bible. He says, here I am. There's that I am statement again. Here I am. I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person and they with me. When you have a meal with somebody, it's incredibly personal. It's relational. You sit around. The idea, the concept of breaking bread, it's not just filling up your stomach. It's not just curving your hunger. It's relational. It's conversation. It's how life is experienced. Jesus isn't a vibe. He's my vibe, make me feel good. Jesus says that he's my vibe. the door. And what do doors do? They give us access, they provide protection, and they

determine direction. The good news this morning is nobody has to keep climbing their way to God. You can open up your way to Him. Because He stands at the door of your life. He says, I am the door. Verse 10, it says the thief comes, there's an enemy, there's a real enemy that wants to steal. Jesus restores. Religion will exhaust you. Religion will tell you, you've got to behave, you've got to do this and you can't do that. Religion will exhaust you. Jesus refreshes you. Performance drains, God's presence fills. And students, I'm telling you, Jesus did not come to restrict your life, He came to restore it. He knows you, He created you, He's designed you. Ladders reward performance, but doors invite a relationship. So not one of us has to climb our way any longer to God. None of us has to feel like we're on the outside looking in, that we don't have the right status. We can't get to God. We don't have to keep dumping on God, I'm so bad, I'm so terrible, look what I've done, look what I've said. You can open up the door to God this morning. He says in Revelations 3, I stand at the door of your life. I'm ready, I want. Jesus is at the door of your life this morning, not with a hammer, but with a hand. See how these images, these pictures distort how we experience Him. This morning, every one of us, we can move from performance to His presence. We can move from fear to freedom. You can move from religion to a relationship. You can move from surviving to having an abundant life. People always want the abundant life. And maybe verse 10, you're familiar with verse 10, that He says, I've come to give you the abundant life, the joy-filled life. We want that joy-filled life. Understand, you have to walk through the door. If you want verse 10, you have to invite verse 9 into your life, where He says, I am the door. Salvation is not about altitude, climbing higher. It's about the access of coming closer. Now, I'll tell you something else. Jesus isn't asking you this morning to level up. Now, your boss might ask you to level up in your performance. Your coaches on your team might ask you to level up. Your financial planner might ask you to level up. Your spouse might say, you need to level up. There are people in our world who might ask you to level up to the next level. God's not asking you to level up. He's asking you to let go. You're holding on. I got to control this thing. I got to fix this. My world, I need to make sure everything's just right. Jesus isn't blocking you this morning. He's inviting you. What's at stake is so important. I know what culture tells us. Culture and social media says that you just need to find yourself. I'm going on a

journey, a walk. I'm going to find out who I am, what makes me happy, what satisfies me. I certainly understand that. I like being happy and I like being satisfied. You might call it finding yourself. Jesus calls it losing your soul. The satisfaction that you're looking for is found in a relationship with Jesus. The door to the new life you've been praying for is unlocked, but it won't open until you do. So let me ask, what picture of God have you been living under? I'm not questioning that you believe in God. Most all of you have gathered that you believe in God, but what's the picture of him? The other reason you're so worn out is you're trying to climb a ladder to get to him and you're trying to behave your way. Where have you been trying to climb instead of enter? You can change that today. There's a lot at stake. Is Jesus in your daily life? Like, is he a part of you in class period number three, in the business meeting, in that decision that you're going to make? Is he a part of your daily life or is Jesus really just standing At the door of your life and he's just knocking He's just been knocking and knocking. You know that he's there. It's kind of comforting, right? And he's you know, you're looking out your door ring of life. He's yeah, I can see it's Jesus And I thought he'd be taller than that That's Jesus. Yeah, okay. It's Jesus, but he's there he had his he's still there. I you know, he's patient He's not gonna be there, right? And so then you keep kept going on Is he part of your daily life Or is he just knocking at your door? The door isn't locked It's waiting If you feel exhausted you might be climbing a door instead of Climbing a ladder instead of entering a door. I promise you I Know fatigue is a real thing and you have a lot of things going on in your life, but You're not tired. We're not tired because life is hard You're tired Because you're trying to be your own Savior

There's nothing more exhausting in life than trying to be your own Savior It's rooted in us that that we need to fix it we need to control it We need to we need to save it in the distance that you feel right now People say mark mark mark. I feel I feel distant from God. I don't know where God where is guy. I feel distant Where is yeah? the distance that you feel from God might be a Door named Jesus you haven't opened Because the door of freedom that you want like everybody wants freedom when I was when I was 15 16 All I ever wanted was freedom from my mom Freedom from my coaches so tired of coach persnicky telling me what to do all those teachers tell me what to do I worked at Perkins pancake house. I was tired of Chester telling me what I wanted freedom So, you know what? I did students. I joined the United States Marine Corps Because I wanted freedom Not the brightest of the boys of 83 But what I discovered in the Marine Corps Is that the freedom that you want it swings on the hinge of surrender When I surrendered my life to Jesus The joy the satisfaction the relationship This moment in time is your moment in time. You don't have to climb any longer You Jesus is here can open the door Doors determine destinations Choose wisely Thank you Being together in this space today is really good If you've never begun a relationship with Jesus, I'd like to invite you today to start following Jesus It's not about your behavior. It's not about your church attendance It's about the reality that Jesus is for you. God's not mad at you He's madly in love with you. Would you right now pray this prayer with me?

Hey God, it's me I've sinned and I know it and I can't fix me. But today I Receive you Jesus as my Savior I believe that you died on that cross for me and that you were buried for three days and Then you became alive again And I invite you into my life to guide me and direct me all the rest of the days of my life And with that prayer my friend welcome to God's family I'd like to continue our friendship if you would email me pastor at hope in Ocala comm I'll follow up with you and together We'll celebrate Jesus in your life. Peace