Sun Inspiration

Morning Inspiration with Pastor Merritt

II remember it like it happened yesterday and it was almost 37 years ago. I put my hand on a door handle that would lead into a worship center. In that worship center, a crowd had gathered to see me tie the knot with a young lady, named Teresa, which I had only known for 6 months. I knew if I walked through that door I was walking into a life-long commitment of who I was going to spend the rest of my life with - for better or for worse, in sickness or in health, for richer for poorer.

Not long after that I remember another door that I opened. It was the door to my first class at seminary. I knew when I walked through that door I was walking into, not just a class of information, but also a room of transformation. That door represented the surrender of my entire life to the ministry of the gospel. That room represented what I would spend the rest of my life doing.

Then, ten years ago, I remember putting my hand on the front door of this building. At that time, it was an empty, dilapidated, dirty, dust-filled, empty warehouse. When I stepped into what is now the lobby of our church, I knew this would be where I would spend the rest of my life in ministry and where I would end my ministerial career.

Doors are extremely important. Doors don’t just determine destination; they determine destiny. I want to talk to you today about the single most important door that I’ve ever walked through. I believe it is the most important door anyone will ever decide whether to walk through or not. It is a door that has no hinges, no knobs, no locks, and doesn’t swing out or in. This door is a person named Jesus.

I’ve told you repeatedly that people are constantly trying to find three doors in their life. They are trying to find the door to security (be it physical security, emotional security or financial security). People are looking for the door of significance. They want to know that their life counts, their life matters, and that their life is important to somebody. They are looking for the door of satisfaction. They want to be happy, peaceful, and content.

“I am the door.” (John 10:9)