Don’t Ignore Open Doors / Greg Laurie

 Don’t Ignore Open Doors

“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 NKJV)

In the Bible, a door is a symbol of opportunity and a key is a symbol of authority. The apostle Paul referred to this in 2 Corinthians 2: “When I came to the city of Troas to preach the Good News of Christ, the Lord opened a door of opportunity for me” (verse 12 NLT).

God opens doors. For example, maybe you’re having a conversation with someone, and suddenly they bring up something that is an open door to share the gospel. You want to be sure to go through that door.

Jesus has the key, and He opens the doors.

I’m glad that He has the keys, by the way. If I had the keys, they would be lost by now. But Jesus doesn’t lose the keys. He wants to open doors. God opened a door for Pastor Chuck Smith, who was at the epicenter of the Jesus Revolution, and he walked through it.

There are some things that only God can do, and there are some things that only we can do. God will open a door, but we must walk through it. In the church, we want our doors open. We don’t want to put up a wall where God has put a bridge. We want to be stepping stones, not stumbling blocks, to people coming to Christ. It should never be difficult for people to come to Him.

Someone might show up at church who lives a certain lifestyle or dresses in a way that makes some Christians uncomfortable. But they need to hear the gospel. And our job is to call them to Christ.

We don’t say, “Clean up your life and come to Christ.” Rather, we say, “Come to Christ, and He will clean up your life.”

The church should be a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints.