DIVINE OPENINGS
Luke 24:1-3, 13-16, 28-32
INTRO.- I Cor. 16:9 Paul said, “A great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.”
A GREAT DOOR HAS OPENED TO ME. Many times throughout our lives certain doors are opened to us. Doors of opportunity.
ILL.- A motorist, after being bogged down in a muddy road, paid a passing farmer five dollars to pull him out with his tractor. After he was back on the road he said to the farmer, “At those prices, I would think you would be pulling people out of the mud night and day.”
“Can’t,” replied the farmer, “AT NIGHT I HAUL WATER FOR THE MUD HOLE.” That farmer made his own door to some fast money.
Every day doors open to us. Sometimes we are aware of those doors and sometimes we are blind to them.
ILL. - Some years ago an energetic young man began as a clerk in a hardware store. Like many old-time hardware stores, the inventory included thousands of dollars’ worth of items that were obsolete or seldom called for by customers.
The young man was smart enough to know that no thriving business could carry such an inventory and still show a healthy profit. He proposed a sale to get rid of the stuff. The owner was reluctant but finally agreed to let him set up a table in the middle of the store and try to sell off a few of the oldest items. Every product was priced at ten cents. The sale was a success and the young fellow got permission to run a second sale. It, too, went over just as well as the first. This gave the young clerk an idea.
Why not open a store that would sell only nickel and dime items? He could run the store and his boss could supply the capital. The young man’s boss was not enthusiastic. "The plan will never work," he said, "because you can’t find enough items to sell at a nickel and a dime."
The young man was disappointed but eventually went ahead on his own and made a fortune out of the idea. His name was F.W. Woolworth. NOW YOU KNOW. Years later his old boss lamented, "As near as I can figure it, every word I used in turning Woolworth down has cost me about a million dollars!"
Open doors. F. W. Woolworth saw an open door of opportunity and didn’t pass it up. As a result, he made a fortune out of it.
The same thing that happened to him materially can happen to people spiritually.
ILL.- Bob Russell is the Senior Minister of the Southeast Christian Church, Louisville, KY. He has been there since the church started around 1965. At that time, they had about 130 people in their morning worship service. The best I recall, they have been through three building programs and are now worshipping in a building that seats 9,000 people. Their average weekend attendance in three services runs about 14,000. And no telling how many people they will have for their Easter services.
Bob Russell said that he wanted to preach in a church that was interested in reaching out to the lost, not one that was interested in just maintaining the status quo. APPARENTLY, GOD OPENED A DOOR TO THAT CHURCH. God good took Bob Russell seriously and opened a door and the Southeast Christian Church has been growing ever since.
Whenever God opens a door, we need to walk through it! This goes for all Christians! God doesn’t open doors for a select few. He opens doors for all His people. WE NEED TO BE “OPEN” TO HIS OPENINGS! We need to be open to divine openings!
PROP.- In Luke chapter 24 there are several divine openings that we need to think about this resurrection Sunday.
1- The opened tomb
2- The opened eyes
3- The opened Scriptures
I. THE OPENED TOMB
Luke 24:1-3 They went to the tomb and “found the stone rolled away.” AN OPEN TOMB. AN EMPTY TOMB.
ILL.- Have you ever been to Hornet, Missouri? It’s located about 10 miles south of Joplin, MO, and just a couple of miles from Oklahoma. WHY WOULD YOU EVEN WANT TO GO THERE? Because it’s there that you can see the famous “Spook light.” Yes, it’s true. What?! You’ve never heard of the “Spook light”? It’s a light that travels up and down a certain road near Hornet, MO. Here’s what people have said about it.
ILL.- The Missouri Department of Natural Resources’ 1990 book, Geologic Wonders and Curiosities of Missouri, reads, “Some people think that the light at the Devils Promenade is the ghost of an Osage Chief who was murdered near this spot; others say that it is the spirit of a Quapaw maiden who drowned herself in the river when her warrior was killed in battle." Other theories . . . . are those of marsh gas, automobile lights driving east on Highway 66, and Quapaw, Oklahoma airport beacon lights. . . . .
“But the old-timers laugh at all such explanations, claiming that the Indian lights were seen at the same spot in the deep wood, fifty years before the ’Devils Promenade’ road was built. Fred C. Reynolds of Kansas City says that his grandfather, a pioneer doctor at Baxter, Kansas, observed these lights long before there was any such thing as a motor car, adding that he himself saw the jack-o-lantern as a boy. Bob Hill of Joplin, Missouri, observes that the phantom was seen by many persons in this vicinity before there was a Highway 66, and certainly long before the airport was established at Quapaw, Oklahoma.”
Brethren, all I can say is this: THE SPOOK LIGHT IS REAL! I’ve seen it with my own eyes when I was just a kid. It’s real. It’s interesting. It’s fascinating.
But I tell you something that’s even more interesting and fascinating: JESUS IS ALIVE AND HE’S NO SPOOK!
Where the “Spook light” is unexplainable, JESUS IS EXPLAINABLE! He is the Christ, the Son of the living God! He is God incarnate! He is God in the flesh! He has the power over death and the grave! He did rise from the dead!
ILL.- Once when a Mohammedan taunted a Christian by saying, “You Christians do not even have a tomb to which you can point where your Jesus lies buried. We have the tomb of Mohammed in Mecca,” the Christian replied, “That is just the point. Your prophet is dead and buried. OUR CHRIST IS RISEN AND IS WITH US ALWAYS.”
The open tomb speaks very clearly and very loudly. Jesus is no spook and He’s no dead prophet. He’s alive! And He’s our Savior!
II. THE OPENED EYES
Luke 24:30-31 “When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. THEN THEIR EYES WERE OPENED AND THEY RECOGNIZED HIM...”
Sight is a tremendous blessing. The older we get, the more thankful we are for our sight.
ILL.- When I was about 35-years-old I went to an opthalmologist to get my eyes tested because it had been a long since I had my vision checked. I was born with a lazy eye and nearsightedness, so I thought it would be a good idea to get them tested.
When the doctor finished the examination he told me that I needed bifocals. I said, “Bifocals! Why? I’ve never had bifocals before!” He said, “IT’S YOUR EYES. THEY’RE GETTING OLD.” I didn’t like what he said, but I got them and they did help.
ILL.- Another time I went into Wal-Mart to get a watch battery. I decided to take old battery out of the watch. To do that, I had to take my glasses off, my bifocals, in order to see how to get that watch apart. And when I did that, the young lady behind the counter started laughing. I said, “Just wait! Your times a coming!”
No, I didn’t say that, BUT I WANTED TO!
Brethren, I don’t see very well, but I can see! Thank God we can see! THANK GOD WE CAN SEE JESUS!
The two men of our text couldn’t see Jesus. They couldn’t see him physically. They didn’t recognize him in the physical sense, and they couldn’t see him spiritually-speaking.
DO YOU REALIZE HOW MANY PEOPLE CAN’T SEE JESUS? Millions upon millions of people, even people in the U.S., can’t see Jesus! They do not see Him as the Christ, the son of the living God and Savior of the world! How sad that they are so blind!
ILL.- Two men of great ability once met to discuss the claims of Christianity. One was Lord Lyttleton who was a skeptic and the other was his friend, Gilbert West who was a Deist (someone who denies that God intervenes with the laws of nature). Both of these men rejected Christ and Christianity.
They also agreed, however, that the two strongest pillars of Christianity were the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the conversion of the apostle Paul. If these could be disproved, they felt that Christianity would soon fall to the ground.
So they each decided to write a book. Lyttleton was to show that Paul’s conversion account was a made-up story. And West was to prove that Christ’s resurrection was a myth. After a period of time they came together again, and Lyttleton said, “How are you getting along with your book?” West replied, “The more I examine the evidences for the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the more convinced I become that the Gospel story is true and that He actually did rise from the dead. And now, my book must be to prove that.”
Lyttleton said, “And I have come to the conclusion that the narrative in the book of Acts is absolutely true, and I shall write a book to show that the conversion of the apostle Paul is true and proves Christianity to be a divine revelation.”
Brethren, these two men (Lyttleton and West) were fortunate enough, blessed enough to get their eyes opened to the truth of Jesus Christ! BUT DO YOU REALIZE THERE ARE STILL MILLIONS UPON MILLIONS WHO ARE BLIND TO JESUS CHRIST?
Even though there is a multitude of evidence to prove Jesus is who He claimed to be, they still don’t believe! How are people ever going to get their eyes opened to the truth of Jesus Christ? What’s it going to take? I BELIEVE THE ANSWER LIES WITHIN US. The answer is us!
We must live the faith as never before if people are ever going to get their eyes opened to the truth of Jesus Christ! If people don’t see Christianity in action, if they don’t see Christ in us, then they will remain blind. And they will die in their blindness.
1- The opened tomb
2- The opened eyes
III. THE OPENED SCRIPTURES
Luke 24: 27 “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.”
Luke 24:32 “They asked each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and OPENED THE SCRIPTURES TO US?’”
Jesus opened the Scriptures to these two men and they came to understand and believe.
SCRIPTURE IS POWERFUL! And when it is opened properly, not distorted, it will make it’s mark and cause people to believe in Jesus.
ILL.- The American Bible Society conducted an interesting experiment in Chicago some years ago. They targeted a five-block area in a district with one of the highest crime rates in the city and flooded it with 7,000 copies of the Gospel of John. They included an invitation for anyone who wanted more reading material to send for a copy of the complete New Testament. AND THEY RECEIVED AROUND 200 REQUESTS.
GET THIS: The district police captain reported that the crime rate in that area dropped drastically in one month’s time! And the same experiment achieved the same result in another area with a high crime rate.
THERE IS POWER IN THE WORD OF GOD!
Heb. 4:12 “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword...”
ILL.- Vicente the witchdoctor said to his wife one day, “This town is so terrible that we will have to move. We can’t raise our children here.” The little town in the mountains of Cuba where Vicente lived had degenerated through drunkenness, gambling, lust and crime, so that even Vicente feared for his family.
Soon after the decision to move, while visiting a nearby city, Vicente discovered a Bible. He didn’t know what it was except that it appeared to be a religious book. And being a religious man of sorts, he bought it and took it home.
A seance was scheduled in his home that night, but instead of the seance Vicente decided to read his newly-acquired Bible to the people. As he read, they all were greatly impressed and wanted to hear more. So night after night, Vicente read the Bible to those people.
When some of the people wanted Bibles for themselves, Vicente went back to the city and bought more Bibles. Soon lives began to change. Drunkards stopped drinking, gamblers began to work and earn a living. People began to pray and tell their friends what a wonderful thing it was to have a friend in Jesus.
Vicente was surprised at all the changes that were taking place and what had happened in his own life as a result of reading the Bible. Hearing that there were Christian churches that used the Bible, he found the address of a missionary and invited him to come. The missionary came and taught the Word of God. Many of the people became convicted and surrendered their lives to Jesus. And as a result a church was formed and Vicente became their preacher and teacher.
THERE IS POWER IN THE WORD! When the Scriptures are opened, they will convict and convert!
The two men in our text said, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he... opened the Scriptures to us?” All I can say is, LET IT BURN! LET IT BURN! Your heart needs to burn when you hear the Word or read the Word. Let it burn! And at the same time we need to realize that people’s hearts won’t burn unless we get the Word to them!
What are you doing to get the Word to people? Think about it. Think about your witness, your testimony and do something to open up the Scriptures to people.
Max Lucado said, “Many congregations have just enough religion to come together, but not enough passion to go out...to the lost. If the doors aren’t locked, they might as well be.”
CONCLUSION----------------------------------
ILL.- In New York, firefighter Hank Molle looked at his friend’s charred, motionless body and was sure that he was dead. THEN SUDDENLY CHRISTOPHER SIEDENBURG STARTED TALKING!
He asked Molle to deliver one last message of love to his family. He said, “If I don’t make it, tell my parents I’ll see them in heaven.”
And Molle did deliver that message to Siedenburg’s parents at the hospital, shortly after Siedenburg died. Molle said, “It was hard. They cried a bit. I cried a bit. But I think they were happy to hear it, knowing they were in their son’s thoughts.”
“TELL MY PARENTS I’LL SEE THEM IN HEAVEN.”
I hope so. What about you? Do you have the hope of heaven? If not, you can have it in Jesus. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ! He is the Christ, the son of the living God! Trust Him. Obey Him. Surrender to Him. Do what He says!
