OPEN DOORS
2 COR. 2:12 17
For a number of years the Apostle Paul endured strained relationships with Christians friends in a church in Corinth. Even though he had helped establish the church, some serious misunderstandings developed between Paul and his friends.
In order to repair this broken relationship Paul made a visit to the church but instead of helping the situation, it only made it worse. So he returned to Ephesus and decided to deal with the matter by writing a letter.
The letter was completed and was given to his co worker Titus who was to deliver the letter to the Corinthians...and Paul went on to Troas to minister there.
Well, Titus was supposed to meet Paul there in Troas where Paul was preaching, but didn’t arrive there when he was supposed to. And Paul started to get a little anxious about his friend’s welfare, and also about the situation in Corinth.
Apparently, God had opened up a wonderful "door" of ministry for Paul there...but he was so troubled about Titus and the Corinthians that he bypassed this open door and went instead to look for Titus in Macedonia.
Our text tells of Paul’s excitement when he and Titus were reunited. But even more, he was absolutely thrilled because of the obvious reconciliation that had taken place between him and the Corinthians. And we see that it was Paul’s conviction that God had led every step of the way as this was accomplished.
We are living right now in the middle of unusual and incredible opportunities. And I believe that God’s Word provides us with the insight and encouragement we need to face the most exciting times our world has ever seen!
As we look to God’s Word, I want to show you what you can do when faced with an open door...when God puts you in the position where you have the unique opportunity to step out in faith and accomplish the task that God has chosen for you to do, or to be a part of.
The first thing you can do is to risk accepting the challenge. Jesus told a parable once about three men who were suddenly faced with an unbelievable chance to do something magnificent. We call it the parable of the talents...but a more modern name might be the parable of the investments.
It seems there was this businessman who decided to take an extended trip. So he left portions of his investment portfolio in the trust of three brokers. When he returned from his travels, he called in each one of the brokers in order to audit their accounts.
The first two men who had invested his wealth were commended for a job well done. Apparently they had earned the right to keep his accounts as well as getting a sizable bonus.
But the third man had been afraid to risk what was left in his care. So he had done nothing with the funds. As a result, he lost the account and also his job. He was the textbook case of missed opportunity.
One of the consistent characteristics of people who get ahead in life is that they are decisive. Sure, they are bound to make mistakes. But most of all they make decisions and move on. And I believe that God desires for us to be a lot more like those people.
Along with that I am convinced that God has given us two incredible things...absolutely awesome potential...and the freedom of choice. Elaborate......
The tragedy is that for the most part, we have refused them both. If the story Jesus told truly represents God’s relationship to man...and it does... then it ought to make us sit up and take notice.
The businessman told his broker that he would have accepted anything even a rock bottom savings account interest. Do you catch what he was saying here? He was not really so much concerned with how much the broker made.
What concerned him was whether the broker would take advantage of the opportunity given him by this gracious businessman. What he condemned was not the guys failure to earn a sizable return. What he condemned was the broker’s decision to do nothing at all. And because of that, he lost everything. What a waste!
Well, the second way to respond to opportunity is to learn to recognize it even when it is disguised as difficulty. In a famous study by Victor and Mildred Goertzel, the home backgrounds of 300 highly successful people were investigated.
All 300 of these people made it to the top of their respected fields. And they were names all of us would probably recognize...like Franklin Roosevelt, Helen Keller, Albert Schweitzer, Clara Barton, Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, Ghandi...
Well here is what the study revealed. 3/4ths of these people were troubled in childhood by either poverty, broken homes, rejection, or over possessive or dominating parents.
74 of the 85 writers of fiction or drama...and 16 of the 20 poets came from homes where, as children, they saw or experienced physical, emotional, or spiritual abuse.
More than 75 were victims of physical handicaps such as blindness, deafness, or crippled limbs. And yet every one of them somehow recognized the "advantage of disadvantage" ...and became the people God had called them to be.
It’s amazing that some people automatically conclude that difficulty, adversity, obstacles and objections are signs that God is closing the door of opportunity. And most of the time that is just not true!
Now there are times when God does close doors as well as open them. Again, Paul is a good example. In Acts 16:6 we read that he was "kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the Word in the province of Asia."
Apparently Paul had decided to go to Ephesus, but the Holy Spirit hindered him. How Paul came to understand that is up for debate. Some think the Holy Spirit spoke to him in an audible voice and said, "Don’t go that way, Paul."
Others think he may have gotten sick. Some even suggest that the boat trip was canceled. An obstacle could have been put in his way by the Jews who were determined to stop him at any cost.
But whatever it was, one time after another he tried to go in the direction of Ephesus, but was prevented from doing so. Whether it was an inner feeling or an outward frustration we don’t know...but he was not allowed to do what he intended.
So what did he do? He went in another direction, toward Bithynia. But the Spirit wouldn’t allow that either. Can you imagine the frustration...the disappointment...how discouraging this all must have been for him? God was not telling Paul where He did want him to go... He was simply telling him where not to go.
How would you feel if that were you? "Aw, Come on God. I want to know just where it is you want me to go. If you don’t tell me, then I’m not going anywhere until you do." That’s usually our conclusion.
But Paul was a man who was determined not to just sit back and fold his arms when a door closed....He went to another door...and another. He kept pushing on doors to see which one would open.
And the reason he kept pushing was because he knew that God had a plan for his life and it wouldn’t be revealed unless he was ready to get up and go for it. He knew that God can’t guide a ship that’s not moving!
Sometimes it’s hard work to find the door that God has opened. But the key is your determination to magnify and glorify God...and not the problems or the obstacles you encounter along the way.
In fact, I believe that those obstacles hold the key to your greatest opportunities...if you will only discipline yourself to see opportunities instead of obstacles. What is it that you and God together can’t handle?
I understand that the Tartar tribes of Central Asia once had a curse for use against their enemies. You know what that was..."May you stay in one place forever."
Now of course they weren’t talking about not moving from a particular spot. They were speaking of staying in the same condition where they found themselves. And don’t you think that would definitely be a curse upon us...to stay the way we are forever.
That’s the simplicity of the message I have for you this morning. You don’t have to stay the way you are forever...you don’t have to stay in the same spiritual level...or in the same emotional roller coaster that you’ve been experiencing...or the same rut that I hear so many complaining about.
And for those of you who are so complacent that you couldn’t care less about experiencing a greater relationship with Christ and others...God is saying that you had better take advantage of the opportunities that come or you will face the same fate as the broker who lost what little he did have.
Right now, God is giving each of you an opportunity to experience His saving grace „ªand„« His transforming power. He is not only giving us the call...but He’s giving us the power to fulfill whatever it is that we’re to do.
There was a documented incident that happened in Borneo during the confrontation between Malaysia and Indonesia in 1964. A group of Gurkhas from Nepal were asked if they would be willing to jump from transport planes into combat against the Indonesians if the need arose.
They had the right to turn down the request because they had never been trained as paratroopers. The following is a quote of the story given by cameraman Neil Davis:
The Gurkhas usually agreed to do anything, but on this occasion they rejected the plan. But the next day one of their NCO’s found the British officer who made the request and said they had discussed the matter further and would be prepared to jump under certain conditions.
What are they, the officer asked. The Gurkhas said they would jump if the land was marshy or reasonably soft with no rocky outcrops, ’cause they were inexperienced in falling. They were assured that the drop would be over jungle area with no rocky terrain. "Was there anything else?
Yes, they said. They wanted the plane to fly as slow as possible and no more than a hundred feet high. The officer pointed out that the planes always did fly as slow as possible when dropping troops...but to jump from 100 feet was impossible because the parachutes wouldn’t open in time.
So the Gurkhas said, "Oh, that’s all right then. We’ll jump with parachutes anywhere. You didn’t mention parachutes before."
That is the kind of commitment God is looking for.
He doesn’t expect us to just leap out foolishly, without the necessary means to accomplish the task. But he does expect us to be willing to do things that we may have never attempted before.
We all seem to have the idea that we need to be at the right place at the right time. Well, of course that is the way it must be. The problem is...there are many people who are in the right place at the right time but they don’t know it!
We must get to know God in such a way that we know His voice...we need to know when He is speaking...the yes and the no! And then we must step out in faith and follow wherever and whenever it is He leads.
Paul was once arrested and charged with desecrating the temple in Jerusalem. His enemies said that he brought a Gentile into the court of the Jews. And they plotted to kill him while he was in the jail there in Jerusalem.
But somehow the Romans heard about it and escorted Paul to Caesarea where they thought he could get a fair trial. Well, the judge knew that Paul was innocent...but he didn’t want to antagonize the Jews so he delayed the trial for two years.
But during that time, the judge postponed an even more crucial decision. You see, Felix, the judge, and his wife Drusilla would often listen to Paul preach. The Holy Spirit began to convict them and to impress upon them the need to trust Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins.
But they refused to take advantage of the opportunity. And that must have been a tormenting experience for this judge and his wife. In the middle of one of Paul’s sermons, he even interrupted Paul...and he said, "I’ve had enough for now! Leave me alone. When it’s convenient I’ll send for you. We’ll talk about it then.
But the refusal of that opportunity to trust Jesus as his Savior may have cost Felix eternity. He faded off the scene just a short time later.
You know, one day every one of us will stand before God and He will audit the books. He will check each opportunity that has come our way. His primary concern will be how we handled the opportunity to accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior.
And I just want to remind you that you have that opportunity this very morning.
He will also be concerned to know what we did with all the other opportunities He gave us to serve Him...and to serve each other.
