THE DOORS OF GOD’S PLAN* (Part 3)

You have probably heard the saying, “When God closes a door, He opens a window.” Doors, closed doors and opened doors, have been an important part of God’s relationship with mankind since the beginning. During this three part series, I’ll examine some of the places where a door – either one that closed or one that opened – has made a difference to mankind and his relationship with God.

PART THREE – Nothing but opening doors from this point forward.  

THE VERY TEMPORARY DOOR TO THE TOMB

After rending the curtain of the Temple, God was not done with the dramatic door opening. Mark 16:4-8 [ESV] 4 And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back--it was very large. 5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. 6 And he said to them, "Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you." 8 And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

God opened the door to the tomb and Jesus left. Luke 24:2-3 [NIV] They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. Death and the grave could not hold Him back – could not hold back God’s plan.

After that, as He had previously explained, there was no door on our way to an intimate, personal relationship with God other than Jesus.

I AM THE DOOR 

John 10:7-9 [ESV] So Jesus again said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.

God holds to Himself only the ability to open and shut the doors to salvation, to priesthood, to prophesy, to eternal life: Revelation 3:7-8 [ESV] 7 "And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: 'The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens. 8 "'I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.

The door into relationship with God has been propped open by Jesus and all who hear the call may enter. But, actually, there is one more door and YOU are in control of the opening or closing of that door.

BEHOLD I STAND AT THE DOOR 

It is not for us to decide who will be called in this life or when they will be called. Matthew 22:14, which tells us “Many are called, but few are chosen,” indicates that not all are called in this age. God controls the call toward that open door. 

However, each of us controls one door.  Revelation 3:20 [ESV] Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. We each control the door to our own hearts, minds and lives.

Today, if you are hearing this message, perhaps God is calling you to open the door to your heart. Do you hear Jesus saying to you as He said to those around Him on His last celebration of the Last Great Day when He walked this earth: "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink” [John 7:37 [ESV]]? 

Does Jesus bid you today: Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. [Matthew 11:28 [ESV]] 

If you are hearing that voice, God is calling you to baptism and to a personal, intimate, one-on-one relationship with Him now. I encourage you to open the door and welcome Him in.

As God calls the few today, He also reveals to us that He is still not done. The personal, one-on-one relationship will be open, according to God’s plan, for everyone who ever has lived or yet will live.

BACK TO THE OPEN-DOOR POLICY

God has not yet fully returned to His open-door policy – walking the earth and speaking face-to-face with every living person. But great news - the best news of all – can be found in studying the doors of God’s relationship with mankind – that is that, since God first shut the way to the Garden of Eden, God has been faithfully working His plan to get back to that Edenic relationship.

Throughout the scriptures He tells us of a future with no closed nor restricted doors.  Habakkuk 2:14 [ESV] For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. 

Revelation 22:17 [ESV] The Spirit and the Bride say, "Come." And let the one who hears say, "Come." And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.

Since the time of the Garden of Eden, doors have been an important part of God’s relationship with mankind and His plan to ultimately save us all. 

Praise God that there is a future of only opened doors to God. May He speed that day!

I welcome your thoughts, comments and questions. You can write me any time at Nancy@DynamicChristianMinistries.org. 

*This blog series was inspired by a booklet I picked up at the Ark Encounter, titled “Doors of the Bible.” While we addressed many of the same doors, my work is original content and not copied from the booklet. My beliefs about God’s plan of Salvation, reward for the saved and that there is no eternal hell fire as a place of torment for the unsaved, significantly separates my focus the doors of God’s plan from the Ark Encounter’s “Doors of the Bible