Revelation 3:8
I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.
The desire of any Christian who wants to do anything for God is that God would use them mightily in His service. This has been my desire since I was a young man. I remember going to my pastor and asking him what I could do to be used of God in a greater way. He responded by telling me to keep soul winning and doing what I was presently doing because God knew my name and telephone number, and He would call me when He had something great for me to do. My pastor was teaching me that God will open the door when He is ready, and if I stay busy serving the LORD and obeying Him that I will have no difficulty walking through the doors that God opens.
God taught the church of Philadelphia that He is the One who opens doors. The reason Jesus is the One who opens the doors is because He is the Door; therefore, for me to try to open doors myself is to try to take the place of Christ. However, when Christ opens the doors, you will find that it will not matter who is against you, that door will never close.
Early in my ministry, I went through a battle when a man tried to destroy my ministry with lies. I was just a young preacher, and this battle seemed to be the epitaph of my ministry. I was in Oklahoma City preaching, and I made an appointment with Dr. Jim Vineyard, who was a respected man in the ministry. He knew what was going on, but I needed some advice on what to do. He wisely counseled me, “Bro. Domelle, if God set you up in the ministry, it does not matter what any man says or does; only God can take you down.” This advice is exactly what God was saying in the verse above that when God opens a door, no man will be capable of shutting it. There are a couple thoughts that I want to share with you about God opening doors.
First, when you try to open the doors in your life, you will walk into a brick wall; let God open the doors for your life and ministry. Many a person has moved quicker than God only to find a mess they have to clean up. I have learned throughout the years to wait on God to open the doors because God never cracks a door open when He opens the door, He swings it wide open, and nobody will be able to deny God opened it, and nobody will be able to close it on you.
Second, you have a choice whether to walk through the open doors or not to walk through them, but God’s blessings are dependent on your choice. The worst thing to do when God opens doors is not to walk through it. Certainly, God’s open doors take faith, but you will never see the rewards of God’s open doors if you don't walk through them.
Third, God’s open doors never come without opposition. Satan never sits idly by when God opens doors because he knows that many souls will be saved because of them being opened. Just because you face difficulty does not mean that God has closed the doors. Difficulties are often a part of God’s blessings of the open doors because it gives God the opportunity to show His power through your life.
Fourth, don't you be the one who wastes God’s open doors. Self-centeredness, sin, and faithlessness will waste the opportunity of the open door. Stay yielded to the Holy Spirit and continue to live a holy life and you will never be guilty of wasting the opportunity of the doors that God has opened.
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