The
Year of Open Doors
The Basis for Open Doors
Memory
Verse: Revelation 3:7-8;7…‘These things says He
who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no
one shuts, and shuts and no one opens”: 8 “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”.
TEXT: Revelation 3:7–13; Cf. Isaiah 22:15–25
INTRODUCTION:
1. Recognize
the Sovereignty of God.
Revelation 3:7 (NLT) — 7
“Write this letter to the angel of the church in Philadelphia. This is the
message from the one who is holy and true, the one who has the key of David.
What he opens, no one can close; and what he closes, no one can open:
Psalm 115:3 (NKJV) — 3
But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases.
Isaiah 40:23 (NKJV) — 23
He brings the princes to nothing; He makes the judges of the earth useless.
I.
He is the holy one.
1 Peter 1:15 (NKJV) — 15
but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,
II.
He is the true one.
All other gods
They are the works of man
But you are the Most High God
THERE IS NONE LIKE YOU
They are the works of man
But you are the Most High God
THERE IS NONE LIKE YOU
Jeremiah 10:10 (HCSB) — 10
But Yahweh is the true God; He is the living God and eternal King. The earth
quakes at His wrath, and the nations cannot endure His rage.
1 Thessalonians 1:9 (HCSB) — 9
for they themselves report what kind of reception we had from you: how you
turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God
Isaiah 65:16 (ESV) — 16
So that he who blesses himself in the land shall bless himself by the God of
truth, and he who takes an oath in the land shall swear by the God of truth;
because the former troubles are forgotten and are hidden from my eyes.
John 14:6 (NKJV) — 6
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the
Father except through Me.
1 John 5:20 (NKJV) — 20
And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding,
that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son
Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.
Isaiah 45:19 (ESV) — 19 I
did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness; I did not say to the offspring
of Jacob, ‘Seek me in vain.’ I the Lord
speak the truth; I declare what is right.
Numbers 23:19 (NLT) — 19
God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change
his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not
carried it through?
2 Timothy 2:13 (NLT) — 13
If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is.
Deuteronomy 32:4 (NIV) — 4
He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful
God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.
Psalm 25:10 (NIV) — 10
All the ways of the Lord are
loving and faithful toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.
Ezekiel 12:25 (ESV) — 25
For I am the Lord; I will speak
the word that I will speak, and it will be performed. It will no longer be
delayed, but in your days, O rebellious house, I will speak the word and
perform it, declares the Lord God.”
Joshua 23:14 (NKJV) — 14
“Behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth. And you know in all
your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all the good
things which the Lord your God
spoke concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one word of them has
failed.
III.
He holds the key of David.
Isaiah 22:22 (HCSB) — 22 I
will place the key of the House of David on his shoulder; what he opens, no one
can close; what he closes, no one can open.
Matthew 28:18 (NKJV) — 18 …
“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
2. Remain
Committed to God.
Revelation 3:8 (HCSB) — 8 I
know your works. Because you have limited strength, have kept My word, and have
not denied My name, look, I have placed before you an open door that no one is
able to close.
Hebrews 4:13 (NLT) — 13
Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed
before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.
Job 34:21 (NLT) — 21
“For God watches how people live; he sees everything they do.
1 Corinthians 10:31 (NKJV) — 31
Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of
God.
First, we must stay in the word of God.
Luke 11:28 (ESV) — 28
But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”
Second, we must be faithful to our faith in
Christ.
Revelation 2:13 (NET) — 13
‘I know where you live—where Satan’s throne is. Yet you continue to cling to my
name and you have not denied your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my
faithful witness, who was killed in your city where Satan lives.
Third, we must persevere in our faith.
Revelation 3:10 (NIV) — 10
Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from
the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the
inhabitants of the earth.
Matthew 24:13 (NKJV) — 13
But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
2 Timothy 2:3 (NKJV) — 3
You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 10:36 (NKJV) — 36
For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God,
you may receive the promise:
3. RELY
ON GOD’S STRENGTH FOR VICTORY.
Revelation 3:8–9 (NIV) — 8 I
know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can
shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have
not denied my name. 9 I will make those who are of the synagogue of
Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them
come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you.
1 Corinthians 16:9 (ESV) — 9
for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many
adversaries.
Revelation 3:8 (The Message) — 8
“I see what you’ve done. Now see what I’ve done. I’ve opened a door before you
that no one can slam shut. You don’t have much strength, I know that; you used
what you had to keep my Word. You didn’t deny me when times were rough.
Luke 12:32 (NIV) — 32
“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you
the kingdom.
“It is not the size or strength of a church
that determines its ministry, but faith in the call and command of the Lord.
“God’s commandments are God’s enablements.” If Jesus Christ gave them an open
door, then He would see to it that they were able to walk through it!”-- Warren W. Wiersbe
Did we in our own
strength confide,
Our striving would
be losing.
Were not the right
Man on our side,
The Man of God’s
own choosing.
Revelation 3:9 (ESV) — 9
Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews
and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your
feet, and they will learn that I have loved you.
John 8:44 (NKJV) — 44
You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to
do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth,
because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own
resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.
2 Corinthians 11:14–15 (NKJV) — 14
And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. 15
Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into
ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.
Ephesians 6:12 (NKJV) — 12
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities,
against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against
spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Revelation 12:10 (ESV) — 10
And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for
the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and
night before our God.
“It is not easy to
witness for Christ when the leading people in the community are spreading lies
about you.”—Warren Wiersbe
Revelation 2:9 (NKJV) — 9
“I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich); and I know the
blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of
Satan.
Philippians 2:10 (NLT) — 10
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and
under the earth,
4. Rest
on God’s Promises.
Revelation 3:9–12 (ESV) — 9
Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews
and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your
feet, and they will learn that I have loved you. 10 Because you have
kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial
that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. 11
I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.
12 The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my
God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God,
and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my
God out of heaven, and my own new name.
Revelation 3:9 (NIV) — 9 I
will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though
they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet
and acknowledge that I have loved you.
Isaiah 60:14 (NIV) — 14
The children of your oppressors will come bowing before you; all who despise
you will bow down at your feet and will call you the City of the Lord, Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
Philippians 2:10–11 (NIV) — 10
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and
under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is
Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Revelation 3:10 (NLT) — 10
“Because you have obeyed my command to persevere, I will protect you from the
great time of testing that will come upon the whole world to test those who
belong to this world.
The third promise to the Philadelphians is that God would
honor them (Rev. 3:12).
Revelation 3:12 (NRSV) — 12
If you conquer, I will make you a pillar in the temple of my God; you will
never go out of it. I will write on you the name of my God, and the name of the
city of my God, the new Jerusalem that comes down from my God out of heaven,
and my own new name.
Galatians 2:9 (NIV) — 9
James, Cephas and John, those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the
right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They
agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised.
CONCLUSION:
“In a
very real sense, the church today is like the Philadelphian church, for God has
set before us many open doors of opportunity. If He opens the doors, we must
work; if He shuts the doors, we must wait. Above all, we must be faithful to
Him and see the opportunities, not the obstacles. If we miss our opportunities,
we lose our rewards (crowns), and this means being ashamed before Him when He
comes.”.—Warren Wiersbe
1 John 2:28 (ESV) — 28
And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have
confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming.
