Church Health #6 - Philadelphia: Through Open Doors

Cape Elizabeth Church of the Nazarene

Church Health #6 - Philadelphia - Through Open Doors
Date: Sunday, February 11, 2007
Author: Rev. Jonathan K. Twitchell

If you happened to be listening to the radio last Saturday night, you may have heard my friend Joe talking to me about the new movie “Facing the Giants” which is now available on DVD. It’s a football movie, and since I barely made it through the Superbowl last week, I hadn’t bothered to rent it at the video store. But Joe told me that it was a great Christian movie, produced entirely by a church in Georgia . And so, despite having already seen enough football to last me the year, Melody and I sat down to watch “Facing the Giants” on Friday night.

If you like “Hallmark” style movies, you might want to check this one out. The movie tells the story of the struggles of a football coach at a Christian High School . While it may be quite predictable, and full of more happy endings than most of us will see in a lifetime, the message of the movie is one of great hope in the God who specializes in doing the impossible. Before you watch it, let me tell you that it was entirely produced on a $100,000 budget, with volunteer cast and crew from the church. And yet, while the acting and production may not be up to the standards that we’re used to seeing from Hollywood , the movie was so well done that it grossed over 10 million dollars in box office sales. How’s that for a return on a $100,000 investment?

But it’s not really the content of the movie that I want to talk about this morning, but the actual production of the movie. The $100,000 production budget came entirely from Sherwood Baptist Church , the church that sponsored it. The directors of the film were two brothers who serve as associate pastors of that church. The pastor of Sherwood Baptist believes that it is their mission as a church to “touch the whole world with the whole word.” His willingness to “do whatever it takes” has inspired this church to use every means possible to accomplish this mission, including creating and producing great films like “Facing the Giants.” And so, they devoted incredible resources into this film…oh, not monetary resources—for $100,000 is a shoestring budget in the world of filmmaking. But they dedicated all sorts of “people-resources” into this mission—if you watch the credits, you’ll see names of Sunday School classes going by in the list of caterers. The church devoted staff time, volunteer time, and personal resources into the making of this film.

As I considered the story of the making of the film, I was amazed and inspired. As you know, it’s one of my passions to help churches utilize technology to spread the Gospel throughout the world. You may know that since 2001 I’ve run a small webhosting company that has helped over seventy churches establish an internet ministry. You know that I’m involved in radio and television ministry through Positive 89.3. And, of course you’ve seen me be passionate about our podcast ministry—which has now reached over 12,000 sermon downloads since last April. Every week, we get to minister to an additional 250 people, besides those who are present here on Sunday morning.

And so I hear a story like that of Sherwood Baptist, and think “wow…that’s great. Wouldn’t it be great if we could do something like that? Imagine creating a full-length feature film that netted over 9 million dollars and impacted thousands of lives with the Gospel message.”

But then I have to stop and correct myself—because I don’t think God has called me to make movies. Oh…don’t get me wrong…I think He may have called the people of Sherwood Baptist Church to make movies. I think it’s pretty clear that He put that open door right in front of them so that it would be impossible for them to ignore. But it doesn’t seem to be what He’s called me to do…at least not right here, or right now.

If we’re honest with each other, we’d admit that sometimes we feel like a small, struggling church. We look at large churches around us, and wonder what we’re doing wrong. While none of us like the idea of a pastor who has to work outside the church to help make ends meet, that’s where we find ourselves today. We look at the culture around us and wonder if we are making any difference in impacting our communities. We long to do something BIG for God, but simply aren’t sure where to start. We lack the strength to do the things that our sister church in South Portland can do…let alone the sorts of things that Sherwood Baptist can do.

I think that the church in ancient Philadelphia may have felt the same way. As Jesus dictates, and John writes, we learn that they have “little strength.” Perhaps this refers to the results of the great earthquake of 17 AD, which demolished the city and made it uninhabitable for the next 20 years. Maybe instead, it refers to the strength of the actual church, which would have been persecuted—by the Roman Empire, by the trade guilds that required worship of their idols, and even by the Jews in their own extended families—Jews who had expelled them from their synagogues for their faith in Jesus. Maybe they had few financial resources, maybe they were weak in numbers. In any case, the church in Philadelphia was weak, it had “little strength.”

It is to this church that Jesus gave these words through the Apostle John, as recorded in Revelation chapter 3, verses 7-13:

⁷"To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:
These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. ⁸I 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. ⁹I 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. ¹⁰Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth. ¹¹I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. ¹²Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name. ¹³He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

The Word of the Lord for His children today

“See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut.” As I’ve studied and prayed through this passage this week, this one phrase continues to resonate in my heart as to what the Lord has to say to us here in Cape Elizabeth , Maine . These are the words of the One who opens doors and closes doors. What He opens, no one can shut, and what He closes, no one can open. “See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut.”

To be honest with you, I’m not entirely positive what that “Open Door” was. In previous weeks, we’ve been able to use historical, cultural, or archaeological clues to understand the meaning of the text. Unlike Ken’s story of the soldier who dropped his helmet over the wall of Sardis , thus exposing their city to a “Thief in the Night” –style attack by the enemies, I don’t have a story about Philadelphia and open doors. Unlike our discussion on the hidden manna and the white stones with names on them in Pergamum , I don’t have any archeological evidence to shed any light on this somewhat cryptic message.

Certainly, there are a couple of possibilities—this could be speaking of the door of salvation—salvation is a free gift, and nobody can prevent someone from accepting that gift. It is an open door which God has provided for His people. Even though the Jews in Philadelphia had excommunicated the Jewish Christians from their synagogues, Jesus had opened the door of salvation for them. This could be a reminder to us that no-one is to be excluded from the free gift of salvation which God offers to those who will receive it.

Along those lines, the phrase could be speaking of the door into the Kingdom of God , or into the temple, or the New Jerusalem. Later in the letter, Jesus speaks of making the believers in Philadelphia into pillars in this new temple. And, interestingly enough, each of the 16 times the word temple is used in the book of Revelation, it is the word that designates the temple proper—the place where God’s presence dwells—and not simply the outer courts. In other words, this open door may have been an invitation to the very place where God dwells, an indication that these were not second-rate Christians, or outsiders, but that once again Jesus had broken down all barriers that would keep people away from God.

Perhaps this open door was a bit more physical in nature—a continuation of God’s promise to hide the believers in Philadelphia from the coming tribulation and persecution. We do know that despite persecution and tribulation, a Christian witness has been sustained in Philadelphia from the times of the early church into the modern era. Was this open door representative of a place to hide from those who would seek to destroy those Christians? Revelation continues to offer hope to the churches who are standing firm against persecution, and so this may be the intended message.

And, there are many scholars who believe that the “Open Door” was representative of the influence that Philadelphia had on its neighbors and surrounding regions. Considered a gateway city, Philadelphia was in a unique spot to influence the surrounding region. The church in Philadelphia , despite its apparent weakness, was uniquely positioned as a great missionary outpost. In fact, the city itself was established in 189 BC as a missionary city to spread Greek language and customs to the areas of Lydia and Phrygia . The same trade routes and geography that allowed the city of Philadelphia to be a missionary of Greek culture, would also allow the church in Philadelphia to be a missionary of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

So, to put it plainly, I’m not sure that any of us can definitively state what that open door was. I think we have some good options, all of which ring true with history and scripture. But there doesn’t seem to be anything conclusive to indicate to us exactly what that open door was.

And maybe…just maybe…that’s the point.

Maybe we don’t need to know what the open door that God had put before the believers in Philadelphia was. Perhaps what we need to know is that He is the God who opens doors that no one can shut.

You see, I think it’s far too easy for us to spend time as a church worrying about what every other church is doing. It’s not that I don’t think we should be informed, or find out what’s working for other churches as they seek to engage their culture. But the point is this—the open door that God placed before Sherwood Baptist Church to make a movie is their open door…not ours. The open door placed in front of the church in Philadelphia (whatever it was) is their open door…not ours.

It’s so easy for us to long for the open doors that are working for other churches—a child daycare program, a dynamic youth ministry, or a successful revivalism campaign. And it’s easy for us to long for the doors that were open years ago—big church organs, Christmas and Easter cantatas, or regular Sunday night services. But if those aren’t the open doors that God has placed before us, then perhaps we shouldn’t keep trying to open them.

Let me clarify—before you have a chance to misunderstand me. That doesn’t mean that all of those things I just listed are bad. Nor do I necessarily think that they are doors that are closed to us. But I do think that it’s far too tempting for us to spend time trying to beat open doors that, for whatever reason, God has not chosen to open to us in this time and this place.

For example, if I came to our next annual meeting and tried to cast a vision that we would write, shoot, produce, and promote a movie as our means to reach the world, you’d all look at me like I was nuts. It’s pretty clear to us that God has not put that open door in front of us. We don’t have $100,000 to spare. We don’t have two associate pastors who are skilled in video shooting and production, we don’t have hundreds of volunteers ready to cook food, make costumes, do makeup, or serve as extras in the football stadiums.

And so, while we may explore doors to see if God has opened them, we don’t try to beat them down if He has not. After all, He is the God who opens doors that no one can shut, and who shuts doors that no one can open. We may even test out a door to see if it was effective to help us reach the world with the Gospel—for example, our attempts at a couple different styles of Sunday Night services last year. And, after many lengthy conversations, the church board believes that our Sunday night services at Wassamki Springs were effective at spreading the Gospel, but that our Sunday night services during Advent did not seem to be as effective. As a result, we’re going to continue to invest our resources into the doors that appear to be open to us, instead of trying to force open doors that, at the moment, don’t seem open.

What we learn is that we need to concentrate our efforts and our energies on the open doors that God has placed before us. We do this corporately and individually by looking for those open doors and investing our energies and our resources in going through those open doors. When God puts an open door before us, we sin if we fail to walk through it. Conversely, I believe it is equally a sin to attempt to beat down a door which He has closed. There is an apparent call to discernment here, for we must carefully determine if God has closed a door, or if the enemy is simply attempting to hinder us.

Interestingly enough, however, God doesn’t talk to the church in Philadelphia about the closed doors—He only talks to them about the open doors. After all, the enemy can’t possibly shut the door that God has opened, and so perhaps our task of discernment is not quite so difficult as we might think.

In other words—I think that God makes open doors pretty clear for us. In fact, I’d suggest that the open doors that God provides are so clear that if we invest our energy in walking through those open doors, we won’t need to spend a lot of energy discerning if other doors are closed or just obstructed.

The story is told of a man who badly wanted to share the Gospel with others and to fulfill the great commission. Every morning he would get up and pray, asking God to give him a sign—showing him who he should witness to. One day, as he was sitting on the bus, a rough-looking character came and sat down next to him, even though there were other open seats on the bus. Sandwiched between this burly character and the window, our praying friend spent the next fifteen minutes hoping that his stop would come so he could get off the bus. But before his stop came, the guy next to him started to weep. A few moments later he started to cry out—“I need to be saved. I need God in my life. Isn’t there someone who can tell me how to be saved?” Our praying friend closed his eyes and prayed, “God, please send me a sign that I should witness to this guy.”

We laugh. And yet, how often do we ignore the wide open doors that God has placed before us—as individuals, or as a church—in order that we might pursue the doors which are currently closed to us?

It’s easy for us to dream of the big things God wants us to do—I’d love to write a book someday. I wish that BackStage (the weekly music video program that I host) would make it out of local access cable and be picked up by a major network. I’d love for our church to outgrow these walls and transform the town of Cape Elizabeth into a town that puts God first in all that it does. One of my dreams in life is that I would, through internet, radio, and television, be available for ministry twenty-four hours a day. But there’s no point in me banging down those doors until God opens them for me. Instead, I must be faithful to invest my energies into the doors that He has opened.

The same is true for each of us as individuals. We should never expect the big door to be open until we can be faithful working through all of the individual doors that God has opened for us. We may wish to be doing something different, but we must first learn to do the tasks that God has laid in front of us.

And, the same is true for church congregations. Most churches invest more energy longing to be like the church down the street than they invest being who God has made them to be. Far too often, churches look at the doors that other churches have open, and try to do the same thing—to copy them, or be like them. How much better would it be to invest that energy discerning what the open door is that God has placed before us. How much better would it be to discern the vision that God has for our church, instead of trying to fulfill our vision of what a successful church looks like.

A healthy church is one that understands God’s purpose for their existence. A healthy church is one that looks for the open doors that God places before them and invests their time and energies in going through those doors. A healthy church doesn’t create vision out of their desires and goals, but out of the direction that God has given them.

At district assembly in 2006, every pastor on the Maine District was asked to state a tangible goal that could be evaluated. Because God was seemingly opening a couple of doors for us, I stated the following goals: “One: that we would establish a satellite church service during the summer designed to minister to campers at Wassamki Springs Campground. Two: that we would establish a weekly sermon podcast that would report 5000 sermon downloads by next district assembly.”

These were doors that God had opened for us—not doors that any of us forcefully opened by our own strength. And, not only did He open the doors, but He has blessed in unexpected ways. I expect that at District Assembly, I’ll be able to report over 15,000 sermon downloads through our internet podcast. Our services at Wassamki Springs were not only fun—but they bore fruit for the Kingdom, as people who hadn’t been in a church for years found themselves taking one step closer to God during the course of the summer. We anticipate another fruitful year of ministry at the campground, and are praying that God may open more doors for us there.

We’ve experienced great opportunities and open doors through the Root Cellar. As we minister to some of the poorest people in the city of Portland , we are filling God’s call to go to the weak, the poor, and the sick. When we step out from behind the counter and sit with them and get to know them, we discover what it is like to learn to love a stranger—and to be the hands, feet, ears, and eyes of Jesus. This is not a door we have to bash open, but one that God has placed within our scope of ministry.

Walking through God’s open doors. That’s what I want to be about—and that’s what I believe we, as a church, ought to be about. I know that there are lots of things we could be doing. I know there are lots of things that some of you wish we were doing. And, to be quite honest with you, there are a lot of things I wish we were doing as well. But more important than all that is looking for the things that God wants us to be doing…and doing them. May we be a church that sees the open doors God has placed before us. And may we invest our time, energy, and resources into walking through those open doors.

Benediction: Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

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