Open Doors
There are many kinds of doors spoken of in the Bible and there is a spiritual picture found at each door. Some doors we are to walk through and some doors that are open to us can lead to problems. Not every door open before us is of the Lord. This is why it is so important that we know the Word of God for it is the Will of God for our lives. Jesus is the true door that we can enter to that abundant life that He has for all of us. I will use the following text to open this message outline to some of the Open Doors.
John Chapter 10:1-10
Christ is the door and the good shepherd
1 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
2 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.
4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
5 And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.
6 This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them.
7 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
8 All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.
9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
I. Mischief and sin can be done at someone else’s door.
Job 31:9 If mine heart have been deceived by a woman, or if I have
laid wait at my neighbor’s door; .
II. We need to watch our speech at this door.
Ps 141:3 Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my
lips.
A. God refers to our mouth as being a door that we should watch to make sure only good things like the Word of Faith comes forth. Romans 12:3.
B. We should take note of James writings about sweet and bitter things coming from our mouth.
III. Some times we must dig a little deeper into the well of faith to find the door God has for us to walk through.
Ezek 8:8 Then said he unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall: and
when I had digged in the wall, behold a door. .
IV. God has a door of hope, because Jesus is the true door.
Hosea 2:15 And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the
valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing
there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day
when she came up out of the land of Egypt.
A. There is always hope with God.
1. When my mother was dying in 1948 and the doctors said there was no hope. Our family came to Christ and my mother will soon be 95 and stills works a few hours a day as my personal secretary.
2. As we journey through life, the thing we long for is hope. There is no greater source of hope than God’s Word.
Lost hope is the undertaker’s best friend.
We are never beneath hope while above hell; nor are we above hope while beneath heaven.
V. There is the door to our prayer closet. Those times of secret prayer are needed in all of us.
Matt 6:6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and
when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is
in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall
reward thee openly. .
VI. The Lord has rolled back the stone, He lives and we can receive Him and from Him.
Matt 28:2 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel
of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled
back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
A. There may be some stones in our lives that need to be rolled back so we can enter into all of His blessings.
B. Those stones can be sin, unclean habits and unbelief.
VII. The Lord has plenty of room now for all.
Mark 2:2 And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that
there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about
the door: and he preached the word unto them.
A. There is room for all.
B. I love that old song that says "There is room at the cross for all;"
VIII. Jesus, the living door is not a way. He is the only way.
John 10:7 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say
unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
John 10:9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be
saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
A. Some people say just be kind and good.
B. No, we must be born again and that is only by coming to Christ.
C. "Oh, when we meet in heaven, we shall see how little we knew about it on earth."
IX. The door can be a place of denial.
John 18:16 But Peter stood at the door without. ..........
John 18:17 Then saith the damsel that kept the door unto Peter, Art
not thou also one of this man’s disciples? He saith, I am
not..
X. A door of answered prayer can be a place of victory.,
Acts 12:13 And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel
came to hearken, named Rhoda.
Acts 12:16 But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened
the door, and saw him, they were astonished. .
XI. The door of faith is open for all of us.
Acts 14:27 And when they were come, and had gathered the church
together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them,
and how he had opened the door of faith unto the
Gentiles.
A. Whosoever will may come.
XII. The enemy hates the door that God can open for us.
1 Cor 16:9 For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and
there are many adversaries.
XIII. God can open doors now to preach the Gospel.
2 Cor 2:12 Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ’s
gospel, and a door was opened unto me of the Lord,
A. Many doors, in the 45 years of international missionary evangelism, have been opened, by the hand of the Lord.
B. God made openings for us during the Cold War in the former communist countries.
Col 4:3 Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a
door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which
I am also in bonds:
XIV. When God opens the door, no one can shut it.
Rev 3:8 I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open
door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little
strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my
name. .
XV. The door of our hearts is controlled by us. Do we listen, and do we open?
Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my
voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will
sup with him, and he with me. .
XVI. The Word of God gives us a little view into the final door.
Rev 4:1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in
heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of
a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I
will shew thee things which must be hereafter.
A. As the song says, "What a day that will be when we see Jesus!"
An old theologian once said, "Who chides a servant for taking away the first course of a feast when the second consists of far greater delicacies?" Who then can feel regret that this present world passes away when he sees that an eternal world of joy is coming? The first course is grace, but the second is glory, and that is as much better as the fruit is better than the blossom.
-- Charles Haddon Spurgeon,
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