The Door is Open

-


Scripture

Rev. 3:8   “I know your works. Look, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. 

Observation

The church in Philadelphia had been faithful in their service to God. They did struggle with opposition from the Jews within their community, but these words came as a sweet promise from the Lord. This wasn’t about evangelistic opportunities, but about the certainties of the kingdom of God. This work of the church was God’s work and the doors would remain open to the church, and no one would shut them. The people themselves in this small church in a small town didn’t have much power, but they were faithful, and as a result they were participants in the larger kingdom of God.  The kingdom door was open!

Application

I remember visiting the seven churches to whom John had written in this book. When we arrived in Philadelphia I was a little disappointed at what I saw for there were just a few ruins left to identify where this church had stood. It seemed sad, considering this admonition, that the open doors would be before this church. But considering the words of promise here, the church really wasn’t closed. The church can be seen as a local expression, but also of something much larger. The church is organic and because she is comprised of people, she can move from place to place, and remain alive. 

Jesus had told Peter that he, Jesus, would build the church. Far too often we think that we are responsible for building the church and when things become difficult we pour guilt upon ourselves for we think that we have failed. I don’t believe that the church in Philadelphia failed because today there are churches all over the world. I believe that the church in Philadelphia served the purpose for which she was created. We know that there were demographic shifts and changes which occurred, wars, natural disasters and the like. The building and the first century congregation are no longer there, but the promise of God is alive and well, for the doors have never closed on the church. The church of Philadelphia will have raised up new generations who will have spread throughout the world and made a difference. 

From time to time we have to shut the doors on a physical church building, but we are not closing the door on the church. The church is much larger than all of us and is not ours to open or to close. The church was birthed on the day of Pentecost and continues to live until this day. This is more than just what we can see or touch. An open door remains before all of us as the kingdom continues to expand. We don’t have to live in fear, but in faith and trust that no one can shut the door, and we don’t need to be thinking of ways to keep it propped open! That’s the Lord’s work, for we are people of little power. We must get to know the one who has great power and can lead us in the ways of the kingdom. 

Prayer


Lord, thank you for the promise of the open door. Amen. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Take Off Your Ornaments

-
Scripture: Ex. 33:4 ¶ When the people heard these harsh words, they mourned, and no one put on ornaments. Ex. 33:5 For the LORD had said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘You are a stiff-necked people; if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would consume you. So now take off your ornaments, and I will decide what to do to you.’” Ex. 33:6 Therefore the Israelites stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward. Observation: The people had sinned before God by making and worshiping the golden calf!  They had taken their golden jewelry — the earrings and other items they had gotten from the Egyptians and used them to create an idol.  Now, in an act of humility and repentance they were to take off all of their jewelry and ornaments.  It was a time of mourning over their sin and it included intentional action on the part of the Israelites.  Application: We don’t do all that well with humility and repentance!  It seems that we live in a ti...
Read more

Does God Value Boys More than Girls?

-
Scripture: Lev. 12:1 ¶ The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: Lev. 12:2 Speak to the people of Israel, saying: ¶ If a woman conceives and bears a male child, she shall be ceremonially unclean seven days; as at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. Lev. 12:3 On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. Lev. 12:4 Her time of blood purification shall be thirty-three days; she shall not touch any holy thing, or come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purification are completed. Lev. 12:5 If she bears a female child, she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her menstruation; her time of blood purification shall be sixty-six days. Lev. 12:6 ¶ When the days of her purification are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb in its first year for a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering. Lev. 12:7 He shall offer it before the LORD, and make atonement on her ...
Read more

On Grief and A Flute Player

-
Scripture: Matt. 9:23 When Jesus came to the leader’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, Matt. 9:24 he said, “Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. Matt. 9:25 But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. Matt. 9:26 And the report of this spread throughout that district. Observation: This is a simple story which we have heard or read numerous times. Jesus heals the little girl and the people rejoice. But at the moment in which he arrives at the home he encounters the professional mourners. These are the flute players, the ones who have come to make a great noise about the child’s death. It is the flute player that testifies to the fact that she is truly dead. Also, flutes were generally employed when it came to the death of a child. The whole community would therefore understand that it is a child who has died in this home. The flute player is doing the job they have ...
Read more