When God Shuts One Door He Opens Another

WHEN GOD SHUTS ONE DOOR HE OPENS ANOTHER

Acts 16:6-10

INTRODUCTION

A. HUMOR: Celebrating Mothers

1. We all know what today is! It’s the Special day to Celebrate all our Mothers! That’s why Mother’s Day is the 3rd most celebrated holiday, just after Christmas and Easter.

2. If we’re not mothers, we still all have had mothers, so we can appreciate the special place they hold in our lives.

3. Being a mother isn’t easy. One said, “It’s not easy being a mother. If it were easy, fathers would do it.”

4. Mothers never stop being mothers, even when their children are grown. One son said, “During one of my visits to my parent’s house, my mother made blitzes (a pancake rolled up with sour cream inside). After a while, she said, ‘Bob, why don’t you have a couple more blitzes.’ He answered, ‘No, I’m stuffed; I’ve already had 8 of them.’ She said, ‘Actually you’ve had 11, but who’s counting?’”

5. So would all Mothers stand. Applause. Let’s pray for our Mother’s: "Heavenly Father, we thank You for the gift of motherhood. Today, we celebrate the loving sacrifice of mothers, both biological and spiritual, who nurture and guide us in Your ways. Bless them with joy, strength, and love to continue their selfless devotion. May they feel deeply appreciated and honored not just today, but every day. Amen."

B. GREATEST FEAR: MISSING OUR PURPOSE. One of the strongest fears of young people is to not accomplish their life-purpose. Listen to these young people:

1. “My biggest fear is never taking a risk in an effort to find my true calling.” – Anthony, New York City

2. “My greatest fear is to go through life living small but not realizing it until it’s too late.” –Rebekka, Stuttgart

3. “My greatest fear would be missing out on my purpose here on earth. … I know I have a purpose that I am not yet serving. – Danielle, Sacramento

4. “To go through life without leaving a positive mark. – Luciana, Sintra, Portugal

5. “My greatest fear is regretting all that I didn’t do” once I reach old age – Ralph, North Brunswick

6. We’re going to hear how Paul kept hitting roadblocks and see how God redirected him.

C. TEXT

6 Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. 7 When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. 8 So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. 9 During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. Acts 16:6-10

D. THESIS

1. Paul was in modern day Turkey and kept trying to go into new areas north of it to preach, but the Holy Spirit kept stopping him. At last, he had a dream which directed him to go to Greece.

2. Many of us have this happen to us – we try one thing or another -- trying to find what we’re supposed to do in life. We sense a destiny, a purpose, and we don’t want to miss it.

3. The title of this message is “When God Shuts One Door, He Opens Another.” I’m talking about finding God’s best will for your life.

I. GOD’S WAY OFTEN DOESN’T LOOK LIKE THE BEST WAY

A. IMPORTANCE OF BEING LED BY GOD

1. ILLUS. Rom. 8:14 says, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” If you want the Lord to order your steps, you must be led and filled with the Holy Ghost.

2. Rick Potter told how when he was hang-gliding behind a power boat his first time, he was at the dizzying height of 2,500 feet. Suddenly the rope tether to the speed boat snapped.

3. Rick was initially scared to death, but the hang-glide pilot reassured him it was alright.

4. Rick realized he could enjoy the spectacular descent safely back to earth in great spirals. It turned into one of the most exhilarating adventures of his life.

B. WHY ARE WE ON AN UNUSUAL PATH?

1. God alone can see the future; He knows the best way for us to go. The way God chooses sometimes LOOKS LIKE THE WRONG WAY. Think of when Joseph was sold into slavery. Did that look like God was promoting him? Or when Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years? Or when Paul was caught in the hurricane for 14 days? All of these circumstances looked like God was on vacation, that everything was running amuck. But God was very much in charge.