Sermon by Rev. Dr. Daesun Chung A Door to an Abundant Life 1

A Door to an Abundant Life John 10:7-18 May 7, 2017

A door is either an entrance or exit. It either connects or separates two worlds: the world inside and the world outside. It represents a transition from one place to another, or from one area to another.

An open door has been a symbol of new beginnings and new experiences. Each decision we make is like opening a door, a door to a new life and a new experience. And these doors will eventually lead us to our destiny.

Jesus said, “I am the gate.” I am the door that leads to . In a symbolic sense is a door, the door that separates you from your previous life. It is the door that opens to a whole new life.

Walking through the door, called Jesus, means that we shut the door to the old life of sin and guilt, and that of pain and loss. It means to have a new perspective and a new vision for life.

Whether a person has been living in sin or resentment or bitterness, having a new life as a result of is what walking through the of door of Christ means.

John Schmidt tells a story of a young boy living in Zimbabwe. This young man’s name is Musumdiwa. Much of his life can be described as a life in pain. He was abandoned by his family as a child. He was living to die, without hope, without love, without anyone caring for him. Then he was rescued by a church mission called the Love More House. The following is how he described his life:

“My life was never very good. Even my name Musumdiwa means “unwanted child.” When I was two weeks old my mother dumped me in a stack of old tires. The police picked me up and took me to my grandmother and when she gave me back to my mother, she dumped me again. This time wrapping me in rags and leaving me in a beer hall. No one ever really wanted me except my grandmother. However, she was too poor to buy enough food or to pay for my school fees. She eventually had to let me go. After I ended up on the streets, some people at church told me about Love More House and they told me to come here.

I am going to finish school and become a soccer player. And later maybe I will have a job in a bank. Inside my head, I ask God to help me reach my goals, to help me in school and with soccer. Especially I ask him to help me forgive others

East Whittier United Methodist Church 562-698-2241 www.ewumc.org 10005 South Cole Road, Whittier, CA 90603 Sunday Worship: 10 AM Sermon by Rev. Dr. Daesun Chung A Door to an Abundant Life 2 and not join in conflict. Someday I think that God will give me another name, Amon; it will mean someone good.”

Isn’t that sad that he was born a difficult situation and was abandoned twice by his mother? He has a name that says no one wanted him. His name Musumdiwa means “Unwanted Child.” Imagine you have that name. How would you feel? Yet this young man’s attitude is so hopeful. He has gone through the door of Christ.

I am so glad that Musumdiwa is working hard to reach his goals. Like everyone else he would like to have a good life. But he knows there is more to life than just a comfortable life. He wants to be a useful person. He wants to make his life count for something. He prays that God will give him a new name, Amon, “Someone Good.”1

This young man has closed the door to his past, to his pain and to his resentment. He is now living with Christ envisioning a brighter future, a useful and serviceable future.

When we are closing the door to our past, we must leave the life of the past.

In his book I Surrender, Patrick Morley writes about the problem of our society and the loss of the church’s impact in the world. He rightly laments that the church has lost its influence in society because we have not learned to shut the door to our sinful past. He wrote that many of the modern day Christians have this misconception that we can add Christ to our present life without repentance, without the pursuit of holiness. He says that the problem of modern day Christians is that they have a change in their without a change in behavior. “It is revival without reformation, without repentance.”2

According to Gallup Poll, there is hardly any difference in behavior between Christians and non-believers. There is as much pilferage and dishonesty among the churched as the unchurched.3

In order to live an abundant life, one must leave the past life of sin and guilt, and the past life of resentment and bitterness.

1 http://www.centralpc.org/sermons/2004/s040711.htm. 2 Quoted by C. Swindoll, John The Baptizer, Study Guide, p. 16 3 George H. Gallup, "Vital Signs," Leadership, Fall 1987, p. 17

East Whittier United Methodist Church 562-698-2241 www.ewumc.org 10005 South Cole Road, Whittier, CA 90603 Sunday Worship: 10 AM Sermon by Rev. Dr. Daesun Chung A Door to an Abundant Life 3

Once we close the door Jesus to our past we begin to live a new life. Jesus said, “Whoever enters by me will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture…I have come that you may have life, and that you may have it abundantly.”4

Jesus is the door that leads to an abundant life.

Washington Gladden was a very famous preacher in the 19th century. When he was young, he was serious about his faith. He really wanted to find Christ in his life. He attended church regularly, he studied the Scripture, he prayed each day, and attended revival services whenever he had a chance. He wanted to experience what many people claimed to have experienced. He had been taught and thoroughly believed that he needed to make his peace with God, accept Christ, and be .

He tried for years to gain the assurance of the Divine Love. He listened intently in meetings to the testimony of those who had found Christ in their lives. He attended every revival meeting which came along. He followed the suggestions which others prescribed, like reading the Bible and praying each day. He was serious about his spiritual journey. He tried to surrender himself a thousand times. But nothing seemed to happen.

Then one day he talked with what he called a “clear-headed minister” who told him that if he was trying to walk in the ways of loving service, it was okay to trust God’s love whether he had any mysterious experience or not. And that was the word he needed. Washington Gladden began to walk where Jesus walked. He became one of the most influential ministers in the 19th Century.

He brought incisive and practical application of to the social issues of the day. He walked with the Lord, and made God’s word practical and applicable in American lives. It is no wonder that he could write:

“O Master, let me walk with Thee in lowly paths of service free. Tell me thy secret, help me bear, the strain of toil, the fret of care.

Help me the slow of heart to move By some clear winning word of love.

4 John 10:9-10

East Whittier United Methodist Church 562-698-2241 www.ewumc.org 10005 South Cole Road, Whittier, CA 90603 Sunday Worship: 10 AM Sermon by Rev. Dr. Daesun Chung A Door to an Abundant Life 4

Teach me the wayward feet to stay And guide them in the homeward way.5

Washington Gladden had found that the life of faith is the loving service to his neighbors. And as he served others he found true joy and fulfillment in life.

I hope and pray that all of us find that our faith is not just a matter of belief; but it is a matter of life style. Our faith should be expressed in loving service to others.

5 The United Methodist Hymnal #430.

East Whittier United Methodist Church 562-698-2241 www.ewumc.org 10005 South Cole Road, Whittier, CA 90603 Sunday Worship: 10 AM