Text: Revelation 3:7-8
“Write this letter to the leader of the church in
Philadelphia.``This message is sent to you by the one who is holy and true, and
has the key of David to open what no one can shut and to shut what no one can
open. I know you well; you aren't
strong, but you have tried to obey and have not denied my Name. Therefore I
have opened a door to you that no one can shut.”
Introduction:
·
The title of my sermon is: CLOSED DOORS, OPEN DOORS.
·
Thomas Carlyle wrote: “When
the oak tree is felled, the whole forest echoes with it; but a hundred acorns
are planted silently by some unnoticed breeze.”
·
What he means is that it is negative
things that often gets the attention, while the good things often go unnoticed.
·
We have all experienced having doors
slammed before us, and it is no welcome experience.
·
A slammed door is a harsh sound.
·
It is not an easy sound to listen to.
·
Especially coming from someone whom you
expect to open to you.
·
There are times in our Christian lives
where you’ve prayed, you’ve sought the counsel of people you admire, you’ve
studied His Word that have led you into the way you ought to go, you’ve spent
time alone, weighing the pros and cons, your heart is willing, your spirit is
ready, your soul is soaring.
·
And about the time you get near it,
bang!…the door slams shut.
·
That can be very disillusioning.
·
Painfully disappointing.
·
And you were not living in sin, or your
heart turned against what God wanted, or you were selfish in some way.
·
It just closed.
·
Nobody can explain why.
·
You talk to the Lord and it’s as though
the heavens are brass.
·
The door has closed.
·
Period.
·
End of story.
·
Or is it?
#
For example, you are growing in a relationship with this fine
individual.
- You go out together for months, maybe more than a year.
- You fall deeply in love with that person.
- And just before you get to the subject of marriage,
bang!
- The romance cools and the relationship ends.
- Closed door.
#
Or maybe you have set your heart on a particular job.
- You’ve got the qualifications, you’ve got a good
resume.
- You even got the backing experience.
- You feel so confident that you will be accepted.
- Then, bang!
- You’re not chosen.
- You can almost hear the door slammed shut.
- No explanation, no reason.
- You are disillusioned.
·
You’ve prayed, you’ve served Him
faithfully.
·
And now you have been denied.
·
You begin to wonder, “Does He really
care? Is it worthwhile serving Him?”
·
Dr Bruce Waltke, a professor in the
Hebrew language at seminary, used to say, “The longer I live and the closer I
walk with Christ, the more I believe He does not take the time to explain
why. So we trust Him through our lives
without expecting the ‘why?’ to be answered.”
·
Closed doors do not mean a God who does
not care.
·
Unanswered “whys?” do not mean a God
who cannot speak.
·
Life is about learning and growing,
falling and getting back up, forgiving and forgetting, accepting and going on.
·
In moments like these, there are 3 very
important facts we must hang on to.
1.
THE SOVEREIGNTY AND POWER OF THE LORD
·
Our Lord defines Himself as the one
“who is holy,” “who is true.”
·
By that He means He hates evil, and He
does not engage in error.
·
Not only that, He “has the key of
David.”
·
Which is symbolic of authority.
·
Someone who has the key to the safe has
the authority to open the safe.
·
You have a key to your home.
·
That gives you the authority to go into
the home.
·
Whoever does not have the key has no
right to invade a home.
·
Since Jesus “has the key of David,” it
means He has the authority.
·
Look at the description of that
authority: He describes himself as the
one “who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.”
·
He alone has the right to open a door
of opportunity and escort us through it.
·
He also has the right to slam doors
without explanation.
·
Closed doors…open doors: Either is God’s prerogative.
#
Potters at work
- They will suddenly mash the clay down and start over
again.
- Each time they do this, the clay comes out looking
entirely different.
- Gifted potters can start over and over – each time it
gets better and better.
·
He is the potter, we are the clay.
·
He is the one who gives the commands;
we are the ones who obey.
·
He never has to explain Himself; He
never has to ask permission.
·
Nor does He predict ahead of time that
we are going to encounter a closed door.
·
He is shaping us into the image of His
Son, regardless of the pain and heartache that may require.
·
We cooperate better when we remember
that we are not in charge – that He holds the key.
Acts 16: 5-9 So the church grew daily in faith and
numbers. Next they traveled through
Phrygia and Galatia, because the Holy Spirit had told them not to go into the
Turkish province of Asia Minor at that time.
Then going along the borders of Mysia they headed north for the province
of Bithynia, but again the Spirit of Jesus said no. So instead they went on through Mysia
province to the city of Troas. That
night Paul had a vision. In his dream he saw a man over in Macedonia, Greece,
pleading with him, ``Come over here and help us.''
·
This passage gives a classic example of
how the Lord opens and closes doors.
·
Paul And Silas were on their way across
Turkey, called Asia in this biblical account.
·
Both men had great hearts, they desired
to make Christ known; they had no selfish motives.
·
Paul already had one successful
missionary journey.
·
This was his second missionary journey
and they had come to Derbe and Lystra, and the churches were strengthened and
were increasing daily in number.
·
It was remarkable.
·
They were in a pagan region.
·
Churches were being founded.
·
And they left that area and moved on
toward the Phrygian/Galatian region with high hopes.
·
But as they passed through that region,
the Holy Spirit forbade them to speak the word in Asia.
·
Then they moved on to Mysia, and were
trying to go into Bithynia, and yet the Holy Spirit did not permit them.
·
Now wait a minute.
·
They’ve had success, open doors. It’s working.
·
But when they move into the more
central and southern regions of Phrygia & Galatia, God closes the door.
·
There are many there who have never
heard of Christ.
·
But God closed that door.
·
It’s another of His surprises.
·
So they tried going up toward the
northern regions instead.
·
But when they came to Mysia, and were
trying to get into Bithynia, again the Spirit closed the door.
·
Then they went all the way to Troas.
·
Troas was at the northwesternmost point
of Asia.
·
They couldn’t go any further.
·
Paul must have thought, “Lord, what is
this about? What are You trying to
do? What are You trying to tell us? We have passed so many opportunities and you
have closed every door.”
·
We don’t know how long they were in
Troas before the night vision appeared to Paul.
·
Maybe a week, maybe a month, waiting
and praying.
·
I believe that many of us can
understand the disappointment of Paul & Silas.
·
They had passed by so many populated
places and yet they were not allowed to share in any of them.
·
I don’t know how long Paul was in
Troas, but one night things changed.
·
A breakthrough came!
·
A vision appeared to Paul in the
night: A certain man of Macedonia was
standing and appealing to him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help
us.”
2.
TRUST HIS WISDOM AND FAITHFULNESS
·
Rev 3:8. “I know you well; you aren't strong, but
you have tried to obey and have not denied my Name. Therefore I have opened a
door to you that no one can shut.”
·
The Lord knows everything. He knows us well.
·
He knows the situation you are in.
·
He knows the conditions you are facing.
·
He knows how you have tried to obey and
not denied His name.
·
He is not only wise, but He is also
faithful.
1
Cor.10:13 No temptation has
overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will
not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation
will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
·
To the man/woman who seeks to follow
after God’s will, He will always open the door that we will be able to go
through.
·
We are not told many things.
·
How long they tried the other regions,
we are not told.
·
How they responded when the doors were
closed, we are not told.
·
How long they waited before the vision
came, we are not told.
·
But they waited and they were rewarded.
·
Crossing over to Macedonia was the
first work of evangelism in Europe recorded in the New Testament.
·
This will mean having the church at
Philippi, the church at Thessalonica, the church at Corinth.
·
God is at work!
·
The door has now swung wide open!
·
It had been closed, but now it is open.
·
God did both without asking permission,
without a warning, and without any explanation.
·
He is sovereign, but He is also wise
and faithful.
·
Therefore we can trust Him.
·
Trust Him even for things and events
way down the future that we have no idea about.
#
There was a man who attended a conference of the Navigators many years
ago.
- Somehow, he and his wife had no peace remaining in the
United States.
- While at the conference, he was offered an opportunity
to open a work in Uganda.
- He had 3 small kids at that time, the oldest son was
just about to start school.
- He told his wife and she agreed to take on the
challenge of Uganda.
- When they flew to Nairobi, Kenya, he put his family up
in a hotel while he rented a Land Rover and drove across the border into
the country of Uganda to check out the situation.
- This was just after Idi Amin’s reign of terror.
- As he was driving, he saw several young kids with
automatic weapons, shooting off into the sky.
- As he drove by, they stared at him and pointed their
guns.
- But nothing happened.
- As the sun set, his heart also began to sink.
- He pulled up at a little dimly lit hotel.
- The clerk, who spoke only a little English, told him
there was one bed available.
- So he went up 2 flights of stairs and opened to a room
with 2 beds.
- It was then that he realized that he was going to share
the room with somebody else.
- He turned to the Lord in prayer.
- “Lord, I’m afraid.
I am in a country I don’t know, in a culture that’s totally
unfamiliar. I have no idea who
sleeps in that bed. Please show me
You are with me.”
- When he finished praying, the door opened and there
stood a 6 foot 5 inches African frowning at him, saying in perfect British
English, ‘What are you doing in my room?’
- ‘What are you doing in my country?’ the African asked.
- “Well, I am with a little organization called the
Navigators,” he tried to explain.
- “The Navigators!” the African exclaimed.
- Then he lifted the American off the floor and just
danced around with him.
- “Praise God, praise God,” said the African.
- Finally they sat down and the African explained, “For
two years I have prayed that God would send someone to me from this
organization.”
- He pulled out a little Scripture memory-verse pack, and
at the bottom of each card was printed, “The Navigators, Colorado Springs,
Colorado.”
- The door was opened.
Lives were changed.
- The missionary served in Uganda with his family for
more than a dozen years.
- Finally the missionary and his family returned to the
States.
- They had not been there a year when the oldest son who
was going to graduate high school had to go to Washington D.C. for their
senior field trip.
- The father gave his son $40 to buy a souvenir on his
trip to their nation’s capital.
- When the son returned, he showed his father a huge
Ugandan flag he bought for a souvenir in Washington D.C.
- Then he told his dad, “Those years in Uganda were the
best years of my life, Dad.”
- The man had feared that by going to Uganda he might
hurt or hinder his family.
- But his willingness to abide in the will of God had now
caused his son to have an abiding passion for missions.
- It was a passion the boy would never have had if the
father had not obeyed and walked through the open door.
3.
THE POWER OF PRAYER AND FASTING
·
Neh.1:4
So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and
mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
·
When Nehemiah heard of the broken
condition of Jerusalem, it broke his heart and he fasted and prayed to God for
favor to rebuild Jerusalem.
·
Nehemiah was a man with a mission.
·
His mission started and depended on
prayer and fasting.
·
Many people had aspired to build a
castle, but in the face of difficulties, have settled for a shack.
·
That is called “compromise” – giving up
on your dream to settle for the second best.
·
Nehemiah began the project with severe
antagonism.
·
Even though he had received papers from
King Artaxerxes, local politicians tried to stop him.
·
As the work progressed, the opposition
tried scorn and ridicule.
·
But they did not stop building those
walls!
·
When the wall was nearly half built,
the enemies mobilized and began to attack them.
·
Nehemiah instructed that half his
people should stand guard while half worked on the wall.
·
Even after the wall was completed,
there was trouble within.
·
The rich Jews took advantage of their
poorer brethren by overcharging them.
·
In all of this Nehemiah did not quit or
give in to weariness because his strength came from prayer and fasting.
·
Nehemiah was a man of prayer.
·
When challenged and confronted with
danger, he prayed and kept on doing what he knew was right.
#
Fred Whiteman was a 47 year old man who had met more trouble than anyone
his age.
- Within a 6-month period of time, Fred lost his best
friend who died of liver cancer, his mother died, and his wife died,
having gone to work perfectly healthy one morning and then dying later
that day in a freak accident.
- In addition to that, Fred’s heart failed him, and he had
a heart transplant.
- But he later had to undergo surgery for cancer.
- He was also sued by the bank where his wife worked.
- All these happened within a few months.
- Did Fred become bitter and cynical as a result of all
these?
- Not at all.
- Fred quoted Bob Harrington who said, “When we can’t figure it out,
we have to faith it out.”
- The words of a popular song do, “When all hope is gone,
go into your room and turn on a sad song.”
- But Fred took the recommendation of the psalmist
instead, “When my hear is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher
than I.” (Psalm 61:2)
- Fred says that difficulty does several things for a
person:
- Makes you aware of your intense need for God.
- Produces character in your life and refines the
integrity of the heart.
- Allows God to use you as a witness to other people.
- Fred was asked to talk to 3 different psychiatrists,
one of whom had asked why he just didn’t commit suicide.
- Fred began to explain his relationship with Jesus
Christ.
- All 3 psychiatrists, professionals who deal with grief
and difficulty every day, were left in tears.
- Fred does not understand why, but he does know that God
will meet you at the point of your deepest need.
Conclusion:
·
Perhaps you have come to a closed door,
and you have been resisting it.
·
You have been pushing it, fighting it.
·
You have looked for someone to blame.
·
You have determined that this is what
you’re supposed to be doing, and it’s hard for you to accept the fact that the
door is truly closed.
·
Accept it, give up the fight.
·
Let it be, my friend…let it be.
·
You have come to your own Bithynia or
Phrygia, Galatia or Mysia, and to your surprise the door has closed.
·
Ask the Lord to meet with you at your
own personal Troas as you look out across that vast sea of possibilities.
·
Ask Him to give you peace in a whole
new direction.
·
And be open, be willing…be ready for a
surprise!
·
It is easy to be disillusioned and
discouraged and to think we have missed it.
·
It is hard to have dreams dashed, to
have hopes unfulfilled, to face a future that is unknown and unfamiliar and
sometimes, unwanted.
·
But God has a way of guiding us
unerringly into the path of righteousness for His name’s sake.
·
Stop trying to figure it all out.
·
Stop worrying, it won’t help.
·
Start having faith. Start trusting His wisdom and faithfulness
instead.