OPEN: There’s a story about a guy who happened to be visiting a friend who took him to an old one-room church building in the backwoods of Arkansas. He didn’t realize what kind of church it was until the minister started pulling rattlesnakes out of a burlap bag & passing them up one side of the aisle & down the other. The man had never seen anything like this before, AND he certainly wasn’t interested in somebody handing him a snake!
Frantically, he began turning one way & then another, looking for a way out. But the only exit he could see was up past where the preacher was passing out the snakes.
Turning to the guy next to him he asked, “Where Is the back door? I’ve got to get out of here!” The man answered, “We ain’t got one.”
“Alright then,” the visitor said. “Where would you like one?”
APPLY: That man was willing to open a whole NEW DOOR for that church.
In our text today, we find Jesus telling the church at Philadelphia – “I am willing to open a whole NEW DOOR for you!”
He tells them in Revelation 3:7-8 “These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.”
I. Jesus has always desired to open doors for His people.
* In the book of John – Jesus declared: “I am the door: if any man enter in by me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” John 10:9 Jesus is the Open Door. In other words, it is through Him that we have the offer of Salvation.
* In Revelation 3:20 Jesus addressed the church at Laodicea: “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” By that He meant that He desired to have an intimacy with His people and that they had to open up their closed hearts so He could come in amongst them.
* But the door talked about by Jesus in Revelation 3:8 appears to be slightly different than the other two. This isn’t a door opened TO Jesus (for salvation of the lost). This isn’t a door opened FOR Jesus (for intimacy and eating with Him). THIS is a door opened BY Jesus for a faithful church. This is a door of opportunity, a door of power, a door of success in ministry.
II. Jesus tells us He is going to open a door for them because of their deeds
· …they had kept Jesus’ word
· …they had not denied His name
· & they had endured difficulties patiently because they were looking to Jesus
Notice, Jesus isn’t telling them that they’ll have an OPEN DOOR for a dynamic ministry because they had…
¨ powerful programs
¨ a forceful preacher
¨ OR a beautiful church building
He’s telling them He’s going to entrust them with a dynamic ministry because they were faithful. It’s Faithfulness to Jesus (NOT PHYSICAL POWER) that is the power source of a truly dynamic church.
In fact, had you looked at the church at Philadelphia you wouldn’t have been impressed. Jesus tells them: (vs. 8) “I know that you have little strength. ”
As churches go – they weren’t much to look at. BUT they were a faithful church and God intended to use them in a big way.
III. You see, that’s how God does things.
“God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things— and the things that are not— to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.
It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God— that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.” I Corinthians 1:27-30
ILLUS: It’s almost amusing sometimes to read the back pages of one of our church periodicals. There are want ads back there – churches wanting preachers and pews and all types of things. And once in a while you’ll run across an ad like this:
“Church of 50 people desires hard working, Bible based preacher that is highly motivated to make a church grow…”
With all due respect to the churches that put want ads like that in there their words betray a unfortunate attitude. What they are saying is – we’ll grow if we have the “right preacher.”
The “right preacher” will simply pull the people in by
§ his friendliness
§ by his faithfulness to the word
§ by his prayer life
§ by his commitment to the church
The preacher becomes the “magic bullet” that will turn that church into a dynamic force, that will open doors for that congregation right and left…
But it never seems to turn out that way. All the great hopes of success eventually lay in the dust at their feet, and they seek to find another magic bullet to solve their problems. Why does it happen that way? Because they put their faith in the wrong things
God rebuked His people Israel by saying: “Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the LORD.” Isaiah 31:1
That’s the same shameful attitude that undermines countless churches across our nation. Their eyes aren’t on the Holy One of Israel, but rather on the Mighty Boy from Bible College.
I’d be more impressed by a church who’d put in a want ad like this:
“Church of 50 people looking for a Biblical sound preacher who won’t get in the way. A man who will encourage us in our prayer life, who will teach us how to witness. We want a man who will preach good sermons from the pulpit but who won’t feel it’s his personal responsibility to do everything else in the church. We want a preacher who will help us be ministers for our God.”
That’s the kind of church that will impress Jesus, because that’s the kind of church that asks their Savior: “where do you want the door?” “You open it up Jesus and we’ll walk right on thru.”
ILLUS: A friend of mine was telling me about a church he remembered seeing when he was a boy. It was a small country church out in the middle of no where. Not particularly impressive except that on the two wooden doors at the front of the building, someone had screwed into the doors two large metal plates that had large metal bars welded onto them. These bars were shaped in the form of handles through which a person had run a log chain and secured it all with a padlock. That alone would have been enough for my friend to have remembered the building. But what really got his attention was the church sign which read “The Open Door Baptist Church.”
That was a church that didn’t want to have an open door, even though that’s what their name declared. Not every church wants to have an open door from Jesus. They want to control what goes on and who comes in.
But Jesus tells the church at Philadelphia – they are responsible enough to be trusted with an open door. They have been faithful even though they have little strength.
Jesus said: “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much” Luke 16:10
All we have to do to be honored by Jesus with a dynamic ministry here is to be faithful with what He has set before us.
IV. Ever since I first came here to this church, I have known that this was a faithful congregation
WHY?
I wasn’t expected to do everything. The Elders called on the sick and shut-ins. People were out visiting those in the Nursing Homes. We had a great set of teaching videos that I couldn’t seem to find when I needed it because somebody else had checked it out of the Library to show to a friend they wanted to lead to Christ. AND when you walked in the door… you knew this was a friendly church because EVERYBODY shook your hand and asked your name.
And because of your faithfulness, God has opened doors for you. We may not be a “mighty church,” our strength may not be “great”…
But God has allowed us to baptize a number of people into Christ
He has allowed us bring in an Hispanic minister to reach out to the Spanish speaking people…
He has allowed our youth ministry touch the lives of a number of teenagers both within our
congregation and out in the community at large
Our Ladies Group has re-emerged more powerful and determined than ever to serve Jesus Christ
And I keep hearing that various ones of you in the congregation are taking on your own personal
ministries to reach out to people in the church and in the community.
God has set before us an OPEN DOOR
Not because I’m a particularly great preacher
Nor because Brad’s a particularly great youth minister
God has set an open door before you because YOU have personally decided to be faithful
Because you are faithful in prayer
Because you are faithful in ministry
Because you are committed to reaching out to others
CLOSE: You see, it’s when we allow ourselves to be used by God, our small strength can accomplish great things:
The story’s told of mother who wanted to encourage her young son’s in his lessons on the piano, so she took him to see one of the great master: Paderewski in concert. After they were seated, the mother spotted a friend in the audience and walked down the aisle to greet her.
The boy was a curious youngster and he was so impressed by the concert hall, that he got up and decided to explore a little. Eventually he explored his way through a door marked "NO ADMITTANCE."
When the house lights dimmed and the concert was about to begin, the mother returned to her seat and discovered that her son was missing. Suddenly, the curtains parted and spotlights focused on the impressive Steinway on stage. In horror, the mother saw her little boy sitting at the keyboard, innocently picking out "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star."
At that moment, the great piano master made his entrance, quickly moved to the piano.
He whispered in the boy’s ear, "Don’t quit ... keep playing!!"
Then leaning over, Paderewski reached down with his left hand and began filling in a bass part. Soon his right arm reached around to the other side of the child, & he added a counter melody to what the boy was playing.
Together, the old master and the young novice transformed a potentially disastrous situation into a wonderfully creative experience. And when they had finished playing the audience broke out in thunderous applause.
THIS MORNING – place your life in the hands of the Master
And give yourself to ministry for Him.
SERMONS IN THE “JESUS DIARY” SERIES
Remember... - Revelation 2:1-2:7
Where Was God? - Revelation 2:8-2:11
The Comatose Congregation - Revelation 3:1-3:6
Making An Open Door- Revelation 3:7-3:13
The Poor Little Rich Church - Revelation 3:14-3:22
