Open Doors 1 Corinthians 16:5-9
1. Alexander Graham Bell: “When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.” We must look for it. We don’t always recognize it. [Far Side Push-Pull
2. As we end this year and enter the next, one door closes, and another opens. The same thing happens daily.
3. Examples of God Opening Doors:
a. Peter’s angelic release from prison Acts 12:10 (NKJV) 10 When they were past the first and the second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, which opened to them of its own accord; and they went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him.
b. Closed door for Asia, open door for Macedonia Acts 16:6, 9-10 (NKJV) 6 Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. … 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.
c. An Open Door for Paul in Ephesus 1 Corinthians 16:5-9 (NKJV)
5 Now I will come to you when I pass through Macedonia (for I am passing through Macedonia). 6 And it may be that I will remain, or even spend the winter with you, that you may send me on my journey, wherever I go. 7 For I do not wish to see you now on the way; but I hope to stay a while with you if the Lord permits. 8 But I will tarry in Ephesus until Pentecost. 9 For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.
1) This differs from what most of us consider a great opportunity. Ephesus was a wicked city. One of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Temple of Diana, the fertility goddess (Acts 19) – practiced magic, immorality, abortion, leaving babies to die – rescued by slave traders, Jews, and Christians
2) Paul has been tirelessly working on his missionary journeys. He is in Ephesus on his third journey, needs a vacation among friendly faces, but sees a door of opportunity God has given him.
3) The difference between pessimists and optimists is that pessimists see a problem in every opportunity, while optimists see an opportunity in every problem. Paul saw the opportunity to share the Gospel with people who needed to hear it.
I. An Open Door Reveals an Opportunity (For a great and effective door has opened to me)
A. Jesus Opens the Door with a Call for Discipleship
1. Jesus Opened a Door and Called the 12 to Discipleship
2. Peter in particular – Matthew 4:18-20 (NKJV) 18 And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19 Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 They immediately left their nets and followed Him. John 21:22- 22 Jesus said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.”
3. Jesus Calls Us to Discipleship – Matthew 11:28-30 [light/easy
B. Jesus Opens the Door with the Cost of Discipleship
1. Salvation and grace are free/undeserved/unearned but not “cheap.” It is costly.
2. Jesus’ Cross and Ours: Matthew 16:24-25 (NLT) 24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. 25 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.
a. Many ways to die – Martyrs; daily denial of our sinful selves
b. Expressed in participating in the DBR of Christ – Romans 6:1-4
3. Count the Cost – Luke 14:25-30 (John 6:68)
II. An Open Door Reveals an Obligation (“The door is opened to me.” Not Timothy or others)
A. God Gives us Spiritual Gifts and Opportunities – We have obligations: You are uniquely created and recreated. No one can do what you can so do what is before you. Esther 4:14, Isaiah 6:1ff, Pilgrims …
B. God Interrupts Our Plans
1. “Man proposes. God disposes.”
2. The Macedonian Call
3. Apply it to us—We plan and do our best with prayer and scripture. When God interrupts with an open door, we go through. [GODNAMERICA//COVID was an opportunity for an open door to obey God rather than men – the opposition was uncomfortable
III. An Open Door Reveals Opposition ("There are many who oppose me.")
A. We Assume Difficulties Indicate the Wrong Path
1. Easy is not always God’s Road
2. God’s way is for the few Matthew 7:14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
B. Whenever We do Right, the Evil Opposition Resists.
1. Perhaps the worst opponents to advancing the Gospel are not its enemies. They are nominal Christians who don’t see the white fields ready for harvest. They prefer to go along to get along. Philippians 3:17-18 (NKJV) 17 Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern. 18 For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:
2. Unconcerned – too busy
James Hudson Taylor, when challenging students to be involved in missionary work, used to tell them about Peter, his Chinese convert and disciple. On one of their sea journeys, Peter (who did not know how to swim) fell overboard. Fortunately, Chinese fishermen were nearby, just a grab away from where Peter fell. //Taylor shouted at the fishermen & asked them to help Peter. “Help my friend. He is drowning!” However, the fishermen did not heed his call because they loaded their catch from their nets into their boats. //Taylor yelled even louder, “Stop! Please help my friend. He is just a grab away.” But the fishermen continued their work until the last fish was loaded. Then they jumped in and got Peter out of the water. //They tried to revive him, but it was no use. Peter had drowned. He could have been saved, but they had waited too long.// Then Taylor turned to the students & asked what they thought about those Chinese fishermen. Some said that they were bad, evil, selfish men for being so unconcerned about saving a dying man. //Taylor responded, “I see it differently. I think the Chinese fishermen were like most Christians today who are unconcerned about the plight of sinners who are just a grab away from them, saying that they are just too busy to do it.” (SermonCentral.com)
1. The clock is ticking, and time seems to be going faster the longer we live (“Breakfast every 15 minutes”) – as each year closes and another opens, we take stock of ourselves and our relationship
2. Go through the open doors of discipleship – Opportunities, Obligations, and Opposition
3. A side-effect of the gospel is a godly nation.
On May 31, 1775, three weeks after Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold captured Fort Ticonderoga, Harvard’s president, Samuel Langdon, told the Massachusetts Provincial Congress:
If God be for us, who can be against us? … May our land be purged from all its sins! Then the Lord will be our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble, and we will have no reason to be afraid, though thousands of enemies set themselves against us.
