A Door That Can’t Be Shut

by: William C. Brownson

The church in Ephesus received a grave warning. The gathering of believers in Philadelphia heard a stirring promise. No one would have called this church outstanding. They thought that they were weak, and the Lord agreed with them! “I know that you have but little power.” But they still had a lot going for them. They had kept Jesus’ word and had not denied his name. They had obeyed his call to patient endurance, and the Lord viewed them and their labors through eyes of appreciative love.

Here was his promise to these Philadelphian “nobodies.” “Look, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut.” An “open door” in New Testament language is a God-given opportunity for fruitful Christian witness. Paul asked the Colossians to pray for his apostolic band “that God will open for us a door for the Word, to declare the mystery of Christ.” The church in Philadelphia was going to experience just that. They would have a spreading outreach beyond their best dreams. And nothing could possibly stop them!

Isn’t that a wonderful assurance for us? We don’t have to be big and powerful as a church. We simply need to keep his word and not deny his name. And then we need to believe his breathtaking promise, pray for his empowering, and launch out through every open door.