ABUNDANT LIFE MINISTRIES

(From March 19, 2010)
"A Great and Effective Door"
1 Corinthians 16:9 – “For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries”

Let’s explore this simple, yet powerful statement written by the Apostle Paul.

God gives you a promise, an open door, it is a new place that manifests and God makes available to you. This “open door” is a literal, tangible place that God has given you to walk through. Our goal and purpose in life is to make it to this place, through the “open door” that He has provided.

Satan’s goal is to make it seem impossible to reach your open door. He wants you to feel like it’s not even worth the effort any more to try. How does he do this? Through the “power of the protest” (previous entry in Pastors Message). Discouragement and depression comes into our lives through thoughts, feelings, tragedies, peoples words, etc. These protests comes between you and your promise. Satan’s purpose is to declare to you the opposite of the law that has been written for you, the opposite of your purpose, the opposite of your promise. Satan wants you to believe that what has been promised to you, the open door that God has made available to you, will never be obtained.

This becomes such a frustrating way of living! You can see the door, you can get an idea of what it may be like entering into God’s promise for you, but distraction and discouragement make it feel impossible to reach! So what do we do? Many of us try to enter the door, our promise, with all of the unresolved issues still attached to our lives, but we can’t fit through the doorway with so much excess surrounding us!


Let me show you some examples of what it’s like when God speaks a promise and how the enemy stands between the person and their “great and effective door”:

• Genesis 15 God spoke to Abraham, the “great and effective door” God gave Abraham was that his descendants (the children of Israel) would be given a “promised land”…a land full of freedom, blessings, and overflow. God spoke and it created a tangible door for them to walk through. Between them and their promise stood many adversaries. A man and woman being old and barren, not able to have children. The children of Israel being in slavery for 430 years. The person who was sent to lead them out couldn’t talk clearly, he stuttered, and was scared and intimidated.
• Genesis 37 tells the story of Joseph who had a dream that he, the youngest of all his brothers, would be a ruler and his family and others. His “great and effective door” God had for him, the tangible place for Joseph to walk into was a palace, a position in command. What was his opposition? The opposition he had to battle through was being left for dead in a pit, being sold into slavery, being accused of attempted rape, and being thrown in prison.
• What about the disciples? John 14:16 (KJV) –“And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever.” The promise the disciples were given was the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, the Teacher, the Power of God! The promise created the place the disciples had to get to, which was the upper room. The opposition they had to battle through was protests of fear, doubt, worry, and sadness, the opposition was monumental, they were discouraged and went back to what they knew. (They were promised Comfort! What came next w as Chaos!)

Almost every occasion you read about in the Bible where God gave a promise, there was always something that came between the promise and the place where the promise manifested. Why does this happen? Because we have an adversary. Adversary is defined as “one that opposes another in a battle, contest, controversy, or debate…an opponent.” When the adversary comes he brings adverse conditions, discouragement, and difficult times. Let me however tell you the great news: You’ve been made more then a conqueror, you are an overcomer, nothing is impossible for God, you’ve been fearfully and wonderfully made!

So what does the adversary target when he comes? Your heart…the very center of our thoughts, passions, desires, appetites, affections, purposes, will, and character...the inmost part of us. The reason why he targets our heart is found in Proverbs 4:23 (NLT) it says, “Above all else, guard your heart, FOR IT AFFECTS EVERYTHING YOU DO.”

Your heart is the target and your thoughts is the path he uses to get there...

Luke 6:45 (NKJV)- "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”

So what does God gives us to protect our heart?
John 14:27 (NET) - “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; I do not give it to you as the world does. Do not let your hearts be distressed or lacking in courage.
(NKJV - Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid)

Philippians 4:7 (NET) - And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Do you see this promise?!?! The peace of God is given to you to guard your heart and mind! This is why it is imperative that we surround ourselves with people, places, and things, that bring peace and not turmoil…thoughts of peace and not thoughts of strife.

Isaiah 26:3 (NKJV) - You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You , Because he trusts in You.
Stayed - when you refuse to abandon ones belief...hold your ground, be firm and unyielding...

We can’t expect to walk into our promise without peace, thanksgiving, and the joy that being filled with the Holy Spirit brings! No matter what the opposition is or how big it seems you were made to succeed! God has given you a great and effective door to walk through, so start walking!