An Open Door of Opportunity

God’s idea of what an open door of opportunity is

It is clear from Scripture that often the term ‘open door’ is a symbol of opportunity. But what kind of an opportunity are we really talking about?

Sermon Transcript

It was late May 2020. I was cleaning up the church after organizing some much-needed renovations during the first covid lockdown in Perth. Can you remember that Ps Vicki? We worked hard and we moved like lightening to get it all done before our church folk came back. But in that time, we got lots of stuff done!

Well, I was busy washing the toilet floor, and my dad was finishing off the painting in the kitchen, when I heard an unknown voice calling out. “Hello, is there anyone there!?” My first thought was, “how did that person get into the church?” Because I always lock the church doors when there are only a few people in the building for safety reasons. But this unknown person had discovered that the side back door had been left open and they walked in because they really really needed to talk to the pastor!

So, I said hello to the man and then I Introduced him to my dad, just so my dad knew that someone was there. Then I led the stranger into the cry room to see what he wanted. His name was Ray Moon, and he was dying of asbestosis. This was his first time in a church for a long, long, long time.

He left church decades ago (something like 43 years ago) because he became offended but he knew he needed to get back to church and put things right. So, he sat and told me his life’s story with all his colourful Aussie vernacular. Ray had lived a full life. He’d been heavily involved in Grey Hound Racing. He’d also been a top-class ballroom dancer who’d performed for channel 7 on several occasions (for telethon) I think. He came from a family who had been highly successful in business. He was a loved man with many friends and acquaintances, but it was time for him to get right with God. And God had made sure the church door was open for him.

As a result, Ray came to our church Sunday services and, within a short period of time, put up his hand for salvation. After which he made every effort, despite his failing health, to regularly attend. If he was unable to attend, he would send me a letter to explain his absence 😊 How thoughtful!

Well, I didn’t know it at the time, but the Christmas of 2020 was to be his last.
Although Ray Moon’s health was dropping rapidly, he bought a ticket for our Christmas concert and luncheon. Both Ps Vicki and I were desperately hoping that Perth wouldn’t go into another lock down after all the effort we’d put into that concert and luncheon. But hallelujah, as you know, Perth was blessed, we were pretty much unaffected by COVID lockdowns (Like the rest of the world was) through that period. And Ray was able to come to our Christmas concert and luncheon. After which I received a letter from him that clearly stated that it was THE best Christmas concert he’s ever been to. He said that it was even better than Carols in the Domain.

Being a musical man with a strong performance background he listed, one by one, all the reasons why it was so good!

• The skill of the musicians
• The instrumentation
• The style of the songs
• The quality of the singer’s voices
• The sound balance
• The clarity and effectiveness of the Christmas message
• The food and fellowship, etc…

But to top it all off, (get this) Ray, during the concert, had won the marvelous Cityview Christmas hamper, AND in a separate draw, a Cityview box of chocolates! He was a winner! He was a winner!

I sat there, in my office, reading this letter that was so full of praise, excitement, joy and thankfulness from a man who was in pain and dying, that it made me cry. And I thought, LORD, if he was the only person we put on the Christmas concert and luncheon for, it would have been worth it! It would have been worth it!

He died roughly 5 months into the next year, with the Gospel of Christ firmly embedded in His soul. As a church, we did what we were supposed to do. We used the open door of opportunity that God had provided which resulted in Ray Moon being introduced to the living Christ.

Let us pray
Heavenly Father, Use this sermon for Your glory. Speak through me in a clear, powerful way. Helps us to comprehend all You intend. And may we shine brighter because of hearing and obeying Your voice this day. And Lord, send more Ray Moon opportunities our way. Amen

The title of my sermon is, An Open Door of Opportunity.
Jesus says in Revelation 3:8 to the church of the end times, so you can safely assume this is for us because we’re the church of the end times, “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it: for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.”
“I know your works. (List people’s names) See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it: for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.”

I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it. It is clear from scripture that the open door is a symbol of opportunity. God is saying to you church that I have given you an opportunity and no one can take it away. Ooooooh that sounds good doesn’t it? I love opportunities. Most people like this kind of preaching. Most people love these kinds of verses. I have set before you an open door!

I used to, as a little Christian girl, have a golden promise box. Inside the box were scores and scores of promise Scriptures. Which, when I thought about it, I would pull out a little golden piece of paper that was all curled up, I would unravel it, and read it. It was always a personally encouraging Scripture that made me think about how good God was to me. I’d then roll it back up and place it in the promise box.

There was nothing wrong with that, but some people read their Bibles like a promise box all the time. Where they don’t bother to open it too often, and when they do it’s just for a very quick viewing, to catch a brief Scripture that might predict their immediate future and give them a favourable answer, of course.

Well, this Scripture, “I have set before you an open door”, appears to have wonderful connotations which one could be tempted to interpret according to one’s own individual need at whatever circumstance you may find yourself in.
For example, Lord, I have a question, should I marry this really good looking, rich man (who’s already been married and divorced 10 times) that I’ve only known for 2 weeks or shouldn’t I? You open the bible, for a quick answer, and there it says, “I have set before you an open door…” An opportunity… After reading this, obviously your answer is “YES, God is telling me I should marry this really good-looking rich man who’s already been married and divorced 10 times that I’ve only known for two weeks”.
But no, that is not how we should read and interpret our bible.
That’s a stupid and dangerous thing to do.
We need to find out, in context with the rest of Scripture, what God is specifically referring to when He talks about an open-door of opportunity.
Let’s open the word and look at 3 other scriptures in which the Apostle Paul uses this open-door metaphor.

And when they arrived, they called the church together and reported what God had done with them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.

Acts 14: 27

When I came to the city of Troas to preach the Good News of Christ, the Lord opened a door of opportunity for me.

2 Corinthians 2:12 NLT

And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.

Colossians 4:3 New International Version

When reading theses Scriptures, it becomes very obvious that when Paul spoke about “open doors”, he wasn’t referring to opportunities for self-advancement and major personal life decisions (like finding a spouse, purchasing a house, or making a career change, etc.). Rather, he referred to something very specific. Which was obviously opportunities to advance the gospel of the LORD Jesus Christ. An open door was a wonderful opportunity to spread the Gospel, to see people receiving Jesus as their Saviour. Looking closely at the verses above they say,

• God opened the door of faith to the Gentiles
• God opened a door to preach the Good News of Christ
• Paul asked God for an open door to proclaim the mystery of Christ (which is the Gospel to the whole world not just to the Jews)

For Paul, “open doors” were opportunities that God had arranged for the purpose of promoting the message of Jesus. Nothing else, NOTHING ELSE! Paul could have asked for many personal things (he knew what it was like to suffer, he knew what it was be in want) listen to this, Paul wrote.

23 I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. 27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. 28 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches,

2 Cor 11:23-28

Does anyone else here have a similar testimony to this one? Anyone? No of course you don’t! The similarities I have are being hungry – but that’s when I’m on a diet AND having pressure of my concern over ONE church. But the truth is, for Paul everything, including his own personal wants, paled into insignificance when measured against the value of sharing the Gospel of the LORD Jesus Christ. Paul knew what it was like to suffer, he could have asked for many things. But for him the promotion of the Gospel was his number one cause of concern. He wanted God to open doors of opportunity to preach the Gospel.

BUT this MUST be added though…
Because this is another VITAL lesson we learn from Scripture concerning “open doors” of opportunity. When we speak about “open doors,” we usually envision a set of favorable or unusually optimal circumstances which make our decision or situation easier, leading to “smoother sailing” moving forward in our endeavors. Yet the doors that God opened to Paul were not always favorable or ideal.

Have a look at these…

• Though God “had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles” on Paul’s first missionary journey, the trip was not without problems (Acts 14:27; cf. Acts 13:4-14:27).
• Though God had opened “a great and effective door” in Ephesus, there were also “many adversaries” (1 Cor 16:9; cf. Acts 19:21-41).
• When Paul requested God to “open a door for the word,” he was speaking while incarcerated in a prison cell (Col 4:3). Yet he did not request an open door from which to escape his prison. He requested an opportunity to spread the gospel within the prison, instead.

From these examples we see that “open doors” to Paul were special opportunities for spreading the gospel message which God had opened sometime after Paul had taken initial actions for that purpose. Paul did not sit around waiting for gospel opportunities to present themselves. He took action and then looked for God’s special intervention along the way. Looking for opportunities to advance the gospel rather than his own personal agenda or goals.

How does this brief sermon challenge your thinking about the role of “open doors” in making decisions? Do you view open doors as a set of favorable circumstances that help you make major personal decisions OR as special opportunities to advance the gospel, though often accompanied by serious difficulties as well?

I’m speaking to all Christians now so please listen. We must make the most of the months of December and January. These months present wonderful opportunities for spreading the Gospel. Let’s pray that God opens the door of opportunity but let’s do our part by doing the work required.

Every Sunday, in December and January, THIS CHURCH will present very good reasons for inviting family and friends ALONG. We’re talking:

• Christmas concerts
• Christmas luncheon
• Christmas messages
• Christmas Day service
• New Year Day’s service
• Baptism service
• a brilliant testimony service
• a concert style service
• and guest preaching services

Furthermore, in December, Cityview Church takes the Christmas message out onto the streets of Victoria Park. We need your help, your participation, your prayer, your support. We all need to take action and then to pray and look for God’s special intervention along the way! I’M SAYING THAT ONE AGAIN!
We all need to take action and then look and pray for God’s special intervention along the way!
Let’s get off our butts and do what God calls us all to do.
This is God speaking

“I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it: for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.”

Revelation 3:8

Could we own this Scripture? Could this Scripture be ours?
Yes, it can!!!!