Gateway Church's Podcast
Two And A Half Doors Open Wide
As we open the Word of God this morning, we come, not to the first book of the Bible, we come to the first conference and the first session of it. I'm privileged to be a part. And as we open the Word of God, I want to ask you to join me in an expectation. Don't turn there yet, but I want you to turn to the Book of Revelation, but I don't want you to turn thinking how we ordinarily do when we come to the Book of Revelation. I don't mean that it's unworthy that we come thinking about things of the future and wondering what nuance this particular speaker will bring to the usual things of insight we've received. Some of them may be slightly bizarre when peculiar interpretations are given. There's something that it's like speculation rather than just pragmatic attention when we come to the Book of Revelation. And I'm not intending to debunk anything that is of interest to you in that book, but to say that I want you to come and hear not something about the future, but about the moment. I want you to hear something so very practical from the lips of Jesus that today we will have what the Book of Revelation really is. It's in the opening words, the revelation of Jesus Christ. It really isn't so much about the end times is it about the purpose of God in us wherever we are in the process of those times? And where we are is here in early January of a new year. I think it's such a commendable thing that is done as your pastoral leadership brings you to a time and your responsiveness to it is so commendable. To come and say, Lord, we want to find your way for us in this year. Hear your voice, heed your word. And I want us to start by looking into the word of God in Revelation chapter three. Please, if you'll turn there with me. And I want to ask you to notice with me a single word that occurs three times within the span of 17 verses. I had never noticed this recurrent reference in so compact an area in the Book of Revelation until recently. And it's when my heart was ignited with this message. When several weeks ago, Robert invited me to come and be with you on this opening session of the first conference that's going on these successive days continuing tonight at six o'clock. I was grateful, of course, for the invitation, but I immediately was drawn to what I had just found just in my own devotional reading of the scripture. And in fact, I was amazed. I was amazed that having as much familiarity with 52 years of pastoring of familiarity with the word of the scriptures, familiarity with the Book of Revelation, which I've taught through many times, that I had never noticed that the word door occurs three times within 17 verses. And the reasons I'd not noticed it is because in each reference, there's a different context. The particular setting in chapter four, verse one, which immediately I'll read to you, but in chapter four, verse one, you've crossed over in a new chapter and it is something different, but there is a knit between that and in the last part of chapter three, in the letter to the church at Lea to see you, the reference to a door, and in the preceding the sixth letter of the Book of Revelation, the letter to Philadelphia church, that it's mentioned. And the linkage in those three, though they have the common context of Jesus speaking to his people. And that's why it is not a stretch of the text for us to see its relevance to us today, because it's not something that we open ever, the Word of God, to analyze history, but to examine the prophetic message that is here and inherent through the whole Word of God that always speaks to hearing hearts. And it's what awakens brings life to us individually, which makes a living congregation where people hear the Word of the Lord. And it's not simply hearing it as a recitation, but as a present announcement of the Lord saying, "This is you and it's for you." As we look into these few verses that I want you to notice, I'm only going to read six of the 17 verses and I'll ask you to join me in chapter three, verse seven. As I read first, this is Jesus is the spokesperson and he says to the angel or the messenger of the church in Philadelphia. Philadelphia was one of seven cities that are addressed. They were churches in ancient. What is today the southwest part of Turkey, an area that would be about the size of central Texas, perhaps 300 miles each way. And as these letters were written to these church congregations, they summarized things that Jesus was saying and continues to say to the whole church, and that's why we will read in a moment. The urgency of his own reminder here, what the spirit is saying to the church. Jesus himself says this is not past tense. It was not only that moment, but the timeless moment of the word of God speaking to us. These things, verse seven, these things as he who is holy, he who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one shuts, who shuts and no one opens, I know your works. See, I've said 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. Would you say these words with me from verse eight? See, I have said before you an open door. Please join me. See, I said before you an open door. Would you please do it one more time? See, I have said before you an open door. Let me continue. The word is door. It occurs the second time, verse 20. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I'll come into him and dine with him and he with me. To him who overcomes, I'll grant to sit with me on my throne as I also overcame and sat down with my father on his throne. We just were singing some of that very thing. Jesus, you overcame. We overcome through the blood of the lamb, the word of his testimony. Verse 22, concluding that chapter, he who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the church. Then, bumping over into chapter four, that boundary marker. So often times we completely separate things. After these things, he said, I looked and behold the door. And it's the third reference. The third mention of a door. I was just sat before you an open door, stand at the door and knock. And then after these things, there was the door standing open in heaven. The voice I heard like a trumpet was speaking with me saying, come up here. I'll show you things that must take place after this. I want to do this in just the very next few moments. I want to talk first about that reference to the open door that has been irrevocably opened by the hand of the Lord. See, I've sat before you an open door. Nobody can shut it. We'll come back to the second reference. It says, the open door, there's a side of this issue to you. I'm knocking at the door. We'll come back there. Then secondly, before we come back to that second reference I want to, have you capture with me very briefly why John was summoned to step through this door into the invisible realm of the throne of God, heaven itself, and there behold the creator, because that's what happens when he steps through that door in chapter four. But come with me first to see, I've sat before you an open door. There is something so simple and at the same time profound. Something that presses on my spirit as I share with you this morning because there is a passion in my heart for us to hear the passion of Jesus' heart when he says, see, see, lift your eyes. Look, I'm opening something for you. The simple word that occurs there, it do that's translated behold or see, is a command and it's an attention getter, the old King James would say behold, behold, behold. It all most becomes a word that's entoned behold. Becomes kind of a resonant religious sound to it. And that see makes it far more direct and simple. But the behold really says there's a bee in that that is just a play on words in our language, but it's come to the moment, hold to the moment and see it. And the passion of the heart of the Lord, look coming with an imperative, a command, is something that is will shortly say and hear what the spirit of the Lord is saying to the church. If you have ears to hear, look and see, listen here. The word of the Lord about this open door is something that has as many different implications and applications as people in the room. And the challenge any time that you minister with the word of God is to what degree will hearts hear that this is more than a discourse, but it's the heart of the Lord calling to you, saying you hear, you see because he has a door opened for you. I don't know what the implications of that terminology may be for you. They're people that are in downcast by reason of circumstances and they wonder about the future and this says, Lord says, don't wonder anymore, lift your head and look, there's an open door. For whom is it the door to something that's on the order of a prison door or a cage door? Something you've trapped in, maybe a trap you've put yourself in. Something you wish you could find your way out of and Jesus is saying there's an open door. Maybe the prospects seem gloomy or there's a prospect of a possibility and you say, praise God, there's an opportunity and the Lord is wanting to say to you right now, if indeed you have sought him about it and you feel the quickening of that opportunity saying, that's right, I'm with you in that. Go ahead, I'm with you, but it's his door and it will always be consistent with his ways, his word, his will. It is not a random thing that comes to our mind, say, I wonder if this is it, will know. And it's responding to what we know. As I'll point out in a few moments once more, when he says, I'm standing at the door knocking, literally it's in the present tense. In fact, it's in the past perfect, which means this began earlier and is continuing to the moment saying, behold, or look, I'm standing at the door and I have been knocking continually. There's someone here in the room right now and doubtless more than one who there is something the Lord has been dealing with you about seeking to capture your attention. And it's not because he's angry. It'll always be loving concern, maybe something that we resist because of our sense of weakness to overcome and great encouragement comes, whether it's the prospect of what we're being called to to step through an open door or whether it's something that would stretch our faith beyond our capacity to say, I really believe that's something God would have me believe for, but I can't imagine myself possessing it. 'Cause the next words that he says I've set before you, this open door, he says, for you have a little strength. You have a little strength. That awakens a very tender memory to my mind. I want to share that in a moment, but he explains why there's you have a little strength. He says two things, he said, you have kept my word and you have not denied my name. Listen to things, he says, you have a reverence for my word. You may not be an expert at all, but the word of God is important to you. It's why you're here today. You have a reverence for my word and you have a will to honor my name. So it's the very simple facts of our regard for his word as it speaks to us and his person as he comes and his presence to just deal with us. And the Lord says, that's what it is that gives you a little strength. A little strength sometimes would be not so much of a compliment, I suppose, if it weren't backed up by the person who is the one who says, when I open a door, nobody can close it. And when I close it, nobody can open it. And as we'll see in chapter four, he's the one who, having created all things and calls us to step into his presence, be reminded of that, says there's not anything that I can't do either. And I think of that, you have a little strength, but it's being spoken to us by the one that has all power and all authority, as we sang earlier. And I think of something that happened to me when I was a little boy. I was about six years old when it happened, but the background to it is my earliest memories of my dad were whenever I thought about this particular thing of my father was his muscles, his biceps, my dad had, he'd been a boxer when he was in the Navy. He was just not impressed or trying to impress anyone, but he was just a strong man. And often I'd be, my earliest memories, work with my dad in the simplest chores. Something would happen and you see some things, he's lifting his end of something, I'm being asked to do a small thing to partner with him, a little strength down there. Here's some more strength here, a whole lot more. And his muscles might bulge a little bit. Once sometimes I'd say, "Daddy, just let me feel your muscle." And I'd be just, and so he'd make the bicep pop up there and you touch that man feel like a rock. I love that. In fact, sometimes he was in the Navy, he'd had a tattoo put on his left arm of a clipper ship with all the sails. There's times he'd be working and you'd swear that those sails were blowing because of the ripple of the muscles. You know, it was something to see. And I remember one morning, I was about six years old, I got up and I was just stretching and I looked, there's a bump. (audience laughing) There's just a bump there. And I felt so good about that. I've got a muscle starting there. And that afternoon my dad got home from work. I went in and my dad was reading the newspaper. Clear his memories, anything. And I said, "Daddy, I want to show you something." I stood there and I made the muscle. I said, "Look at my muscle." My dad leaned over and he just went like this with his fingers. He said, "Son, that's really good." (audience laughing) I gotta tell you, I got the approval of the guy with all the muscles. You have a little strength. The significance of that is the Lord saying, "You may feel you can't open the door "and you can't keep it open, but I'll take care of that. "And I'm the one that will meet you there "when you come through the door, "which takes us to the second reference, "which is really the third in sequence we read, "and it's there in verse one of chapter four, "when John is invited to step into "the throne room of heaven." He said, "I heard a voice like a trumpet." He's referencing the voice of Jesus. He's referencing what he heard in chapter one. That's the way it's described, a voice like a trumpet. And it's the voice it's saying, "Come up here." Step through this door. I saw a bit over there, "Step up here." The Lord is saying, "If you wonder "about what you see open before you here." First, if you begin to wonder, just step into the presence of the throne room of heaven, which is exactly where John comes. Now everyone please say, "Revelation chapter four." Now there were five people that didn't say it. That would come in. Does everybody come on please? Revelation chapter four. It's chapter what? - Four. - Book of? - Revelation. - I'm not just teasing you and I'm not gonna insult your intelligence by anybody thinking that's just for fun and games. You'll remember that. Revelation four, please. Before you go to bed tonight, before you get into the next day of this week, first week, read Revelation four. Why? Because it is a scene of the throne room of the Creator. John steps into the presence of the living God. John himself is in prison at the time. He was there because of the testimony of Jesus Christ, for the testimony of the word. He was on the island, Patmos. It was a penal colony. Everybody's there quarrying rocks for Roman construction. And there in this place, I visited the place. It's a very unimpressive location. The only reason anybody goes there is because Patmos is where this was written. And when you go there, you're reminded of what, how barren the future would seem in that setting. The Lord said, "Step out of that setting into my presence and see what I am able to do." And that glorious scene of the creator of all things. And that's what the passage concludes. Chapter four with concludes by saying, "You have created all things by your power and for your glory, they were created." And they're worshiping him, not just acknowledging the creator who made all things as they are, but hear me please, the creator able to make anything that is necessary to achieve what he invites you to step into. Can I hear an amen? The summons of the Lord to capture a sense of his power and promise and presence. And it's with that promise of the open door and the power of the creator. And the fact that what little strength we have, he's calling for us to exercise is wrapped up in the, I've been standing at the door and been continually knocking. And the Lord speaks to us to say, open the door. You say, "Well, now, Jack, I thought the door is open and now it needs to be open and I don't get it." Well, let me give you a picture that I think most of us are familiar with. You've walked into a hotel room some time and you're looking at your room and there's a door here and there's a closet, then you go over here, there's another door and you open that door and you open that door five inches away, there's another door right there. And it happens that you have come into not what every hotel room has, but many of them will have an adjoining room. An adjoining room for the convenience of anybody that's related and wants to make that access without having going out next door and come into the front door of that apartment. And so this picture of Jesus saying, "I've opened the door and I'm telling you, lift your eyes and see, calls us to hear him saying, you open the door from your side." And that's all the strength that it takes is the strength of choice. And that summons to what he alone can do and what he is passionate enough to say, "See and hear what the Spirit is saying, the Holy Spirit whispering to each of our hearts in whatever manner or issue or concern or desire, longing, need that we would wonder what the posture of God is toward us." But his word speaks to you today to say, "The way is open, now receive it, hear it." These first days of this new year, the summons I believe of the Holy Spirit to your pastoral staff who have extended it to you to set aside these hours in the successive days to capture a sense of the Lord's word to you and his purpose in you. And the beauty of his design calls us to an alert that there is nothing, nothing that can block the way of what is his way for you. Nothing that can hinder by inadequacy of power. However weak you feel in your bump of relative strength because the one with biceps that fill the universe with a display of his power everywhere we turn, reaches to you and me, says, "Step into my presence, be mindful of my power, receive my promise, open the door from your side."