"Behold, I have set before thee an open door" (Rev. 3:8). Our Lord always opens doors for those who are faithful in the discharge of their duty in carrying out His will. He made known to the church at Philadelphia that He had done this for them (Rev. 3:7-13). That church was looked upon as a loyal church. Jesus wrote: "...thou hast a little strength, and hast kept My word, and hast not denied My name" (v. 8). In this letter, Jesus issues no rebuke. A wonderful job, evidently, had been accomplished by the saints at Philadelphia.
To the church at Corinth, the apostle Paul revealed that "a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries" (1 Cor. 16:9). Most of us view open doors differently. Where Paul saw adversaries, he also saw an open door, a door of opportunity. Had we seen the adversaries, some might have turned back, with the thought: "There is too much opposition. The work will not succeed here." Paul saw the opponents as an opportunity to carry the Lord's cause forward.
In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul found another open door "when I came to Troas to preach Christ's gospel" and he attributed the opened door to the Lord (2:12). This is why we contend that the Lord will open doors for those who are ready to enter into them. Too many today are crying about lost opportunities, and suggest that the gospel will not do today what it did 100 years ago. The gospel of Christ is still the same gospel, and has the same power now that it had then (Rom. 1:16). We need to find the doors that are open, and enter into them to do His will.
Jesus promised the saints in Philadelphia victory. He stated: "Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth" (vs. 9-10). With this kind of promise before you, how can any refuse to enter an open door? The promised reward is given in verse 12: "Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of My God..."
Brethren, let's seize upon the many open-door opportunities that face us today. Let's do our utmost to carry the gospel to a sin-cursed world. Let's enter the open doors together!
- Gospel Spotlight, 2/25/01