Marcus Mecum - The Importance of Recognizing
1 Corinthians 16:9. One verse and then we're gonna preach the paint off the wall today. "For a great and effective door has been opened to me and there are many adversaries". For a great and effective door has been opened to me and there are many adversaries. Paul is speaking specifically about the city of Ephesus, and he had spent many, many years trying to break through to this city, and no matter what he did, the doors had been closed. He worked hard, he had prayed, he had fasted, they had invested their resources, but no matter what they did, the city of Ephesus was closed, there was no progress, there was no souls being saved, there was very little to no results.
And I like the fact that the Bible communicates to us these things, because many times when we're looking in our life, we've been praying, we've been fasting, we've been trusting God, and there's still areas where it's like there's no progress, it's like there's no results. And we don't understand, God I don't get why there is nothing happening in this area of my life. But finally, Paul is letting us know that the atmosphere is changing over Ephesus, that the resistance is crumbling, and that the gospel and the believer's prayer are causing the doors of the city that has always been closed, to finally open. This is a great door that would turn into one of Paul's greatest works.
Ephesus would become known as one of the greatest churches in world history. The revival that would sweep through the city of Ephesus would be so great that this massive church would be built, and it would become the most influential church in the first century. And the Bible says what stood between all the resistance, what stood between all of the closed doors and this incredible revival and this great church that would Mark history was a door. It was a door that Paul was being called to walk through. It was a great door, it was effectual door, and the problem was there was adversity on the other side of it.
There were adversaries standing between him and that great door, and he had a choice whether he would walk through that door or not, which is what I wanna talk to you about today, recognizing an open door. In the Greek, the word great there, the great and effectual door, the word "Great" means mega, the word, "Effective" or "Effectual" means energy or power, and "Unto me" speaks of a door that was uniquely open to Paul. So, this is a mega, powerful door that was unique to Paul. And so, Paul was keenly aware that this door in his time and his space was open to him and only to him, and that if he did not walk through it, it would hinder the gospel from influencing history.
But if he would walk through that door, if he would discern the moment, discern the time, discern what was going on, and if he would walk through that great and powerful door, he would end up changing history as we know it. It was a unique door. It was an unprecedented door. This opportunity was about to open to him. It wasn't possibly going to open, it was opened, and this massive opportunity was right in front of him, and the same thing is here today. There are doors that are unique to us, they are great doors. It's not that we're better than another church, it's not that we're greater than another church, but there are doors that are unique to them that they're responsible to hear from God, they're responsible to have a vision, to walk through those doors, and there are doors that are unique to us that God is calling us to walk through.
Well, the Bible says in Romans 12:3 that, "I have my grace and you have your grace". That this is a door that we're talking about, when we talk about vision, we're talking about opportunities, where we can go, next steps that we can take, and we have to recognize that this is not a pastor's door, this is all of our doors. I have my grace, you have your grace, I have my abilities, you have your abilities, I have what I can bring to the table, you have what you can bring to the table. And I think that we can all take just a second and say we're thankful that someone is bringing what they can bring to the table.
Thank God the people who were up here singing that know how to sing, that I didn't have to get up here to sing. Or that you didn't have to get up here to sing, 'cause I hear y'all behind me sometimes, you can't sing. I'm just Messing. But we all have a unique gift, a unique grace, and we're to chip in with the grace that we've been given. This is what the apostle Paul was saying. He was saying, "This is bigger than me". Every man, every woman, every person that's here has something they've been given. When you look at the apostle Paul, he was a lawyer, a politician, a pharisee that was highly regarded, he was a successful business owner, he had a tent making business, and was known as a very successful businessman, yet individually, he's announcing he was limited. Individually, he was announcing that even though he had a lot of abilities, those abilities on his own could only go so far.
And so, the assignment, what Paul was saying, is going to take everyone, it's going to take all of us, it's going to take you and me coming together, and the person on your right and your left, it's gonna take all of us coming together under one common goal, one unified vision, and if we'll do that, we can walk through the great and powerful door that is unique to us. I believe nothing is more powerful than a church coming together with a single focus, making a decision, "We're going to work together to advance the gospel of Jesus Christ into all the world". It is a powerful thing. Unfortunately, most churches are not focused on that, they're focused on what do I need? They think the world orbits around them, and as a result, there's never a great and powerful door that's opened to them.
But every now and then, some people get together and they say, "We wanna do more than talk, we wanna do more than spectate, we wanna do more than, you know, theorize about it. We want to actually get our feet on the ground, our hands to the plough, and we want to do something about it". And when that happens, the next thing Paul said is, "Do not be naive, there are going to be adversaries on the other side of it". There's going to be adversity on the other side of it. It is a normal thing in our own hearts, in our own minds, and even in other people's minds to say, "What's the point of doing something great? What's the point of walking through that door"?
Because a lot of people just think about themselves, and when they do that, they don't understand the purpose of continuing to say, "God, we want to do more". Paul said, "I excel still more". He was already excelling, he was already doing an excellent work, but yet he said, "I excel still more". In other words, you can always get better, you can always improve, you can always find a way to adjust things, you can always find a way to take it up a notch. So, Paul said, "But when you decide to go through a open door and you decide to say, 'okay, God we're asking you to do it again, we're asking you to use us again, we're asking for you to open this next door in this next season'. When you do that, there will be adversaries".
For Paul, that was a silverSmith by the name of Demetrius, and what Demetrius did was he had this massive campaign that he launched against Paul the apostle. He filled up an entire auditorium with 24,500 people, and these 24,500 people would riot against Paul. They would run Paul out of the city of Ephesus. And this is what I'm trying to say, there's always a spirit at work, there's always a demonic assignment at work to try to get us to not believe God for more. Our battle is not against flesh and blood, our battle is not against people, that's not what I'm talking about. I'm saying, when you announce a vision and an open door to a church, the Bible actually says that's what the church does.
"The church makes known to principalities and powers and rulers of darkness, the manifold wisdom of God". In other words, we announce to the devil, "God's kingdom is here, and you no longer have authority". And when you do that, the enemy pushes back and he resists, but our battle is not against flesh and blood, but our battle is against principalities and powers and ruling spirits of darkness in our region. And our job as a people of God is to say, "We're not going not allow the devil to have our families, we're not going to allow the devil to have our schools, we're not going to allow the devil to have, any area that we can have anything to do about it, we're going to stand and walk through the open doors".
It's an unfortunate reality that when God opens the door to our life, this great door, that we face adversity, that people just draw back. "Ah, that's too much. That's too far". Hebrews 10:38 says, "We're not of those who draw back". Why don't you say that? Say, "We're not of those who draw back". One more time, every campus. "We're not of those who draw back". It says this specifically to perdition. The word perdition describes something ruined and rotten, something decomposing, whether it's an animal or a human body that has died, and the nauseating scent that comes off of it. Paul was saying, "We're not of those who draw back into lifeless, dead, nauseating, lifeless, nothingness".
Can you see it? That when we come into the things of God, if we draw back, it's a nauseating thing, it's a lifeless thing. How many churches do you know that are dying or they're dead because somewhere along the way, a preacher refused to get up and say, "Hey, we're not of those who draw back, we're not of those who set back. That's not who we are, that's not who we're ever going to be. And I'll scream it to the rooftop. Because why? I love you enough, I want the best for you enough, I really do care about God's best for your life, and God's best is not of those who draw back". There's nothing in drawing back, there's no victory in drawing back, there's nothing that is great that God can do for you in the retreat. But focusing forward and going through the door in spite of the adversity is what God calls us to do. Verse 36 says this is how we do it.
Hebrews 10:36 says, "We do it through patience". Not inactive, not sit back and do nothing, not wait for something to happen. The word "Patience" is a picture of a person under a heavy load. What we do is we say, "Okay, God, we know you've given us a heavy load, it's a burden that we carry". I love the fact that, that to me is the best description of vision, is it's a burden. You carry a burden for your city, you carry a burden for where God's placed us. God gives you a burden for the lost, God gives you a burden for the broken, and he gives you a burden for the addicted, he gives you a burden for the people that don't know the love and the freedom and the forgiveness and the grace that only Jesus, he gives you a burden for it, he gives you a burden for those who are outside of the walls of this church. He gives you a burden for people that do not know Jesus Christ. It's a burden.
And when God gives you that burden, it is a heavy load and you learn to carry it with patience and dignity and class, and you learn to stay persistent and not draw back no matter what, but to continue to move forward through the open doors that God has given you. Hosea 2:15 says, "In a valley of weeping, he's placed a door of hope". I love that. That the picture is here, whatever place you're in, it could be a sad place, it could be a broken hearted place, it could be a weeping place, but yet there's a door that stands between you and wholeness and healing. But what happens with a lot of people is they get so drug down into the valley, they don't walk through the door, they stay stuck in that place, but in every place you and I are, God is always faithful to provide a door.
To the addicted that are here this morning, to those struggling with just that burden, that bondage, you just can't break free from it, there is a door. And on the other side of that door, there's freedom from that, on the other side of that door, is you breaking free from those chains of addiction, and you walking in complete peace of mind, and you don't have to numb anymore, and you don't have to forget anymore, you don't have to try to escape anymore, but you can face whatever life has handed you with courage and boldness, you can walk through that door.
But on the other side of that door, there's adversity. There's voices saying, "You can't do it," there's your past saying, "You won't make it". There's friends trying to drag you back, but we are not of those who draw back. You gotta carry the heavy burden and walk through the door. On the other side of sadness, there's a door that you can walk through and there's joy. If you're in confusion, there's a door you can walk through and you can find peace that passes even understanding, the Bible says. So, you're looking at your life saying, "There ain't no way I could ever have peace". That's the point, is God can give you a door that even the peace that he can give you passes your understanding. I like the way the Bible says it like this, "Perfect peace". Not ordinary peace, not natural peace, "Perfect peace can God give those whose mind are stayed on him".
If you believe God can give you perfect peace in confusion, would you give him a big praise with me? Yes, he can. I'm done with ordinary church, I'm done with normal church, I'm done with just going through the motions, it exhausts me, it's exhausting. Are you tired of just coming to church and leaving the same way you came? There's a door. You gotta decide, "I'm gonna walk through the door". You gotta decide, "I'm not leaving the same way I came. I came in here one way, and if I'll have the courage to walk through the door, God can change everything in a service because I decide I'm not gonna stare and look at the door, I'm gonna walk through the door. Yes, there's adversity, yes there's resistance, but I'm not gonna just set back and allow that to take over, I'm going to walk through the door".
Recognize the door. Recognize it. So, the Lord is our door keeper, but he's also our door protector. The Bible says that the children of Israel were about to come out of Egypt and one of God's final instructions were to place blood on the door post and that the destroyer would pass over. Because wherever there's a door, there's the possibility the enemy's going to come and try to attack that opportunity, that dream that God's given you. And so, you have to learn to apply the blood to the door. You have to say, "Okay, there's an adversary at work, but there's a door that God's given me, and I need God to protect this door. Your family, your marriage, your home, your children, your dream, your business, your career, your finances".
We're not gonna leave here just saying, "God has opened a door," we're gonna leave here saying, "God, we're asking you protect the doors that you've opened. Protect them. Whatever assignment the enemy has to destroy and rob and kill and destroy, we know that on our own, there's only so much we can do, but you can protect the doors that you've opened". Isaiah 6 says, "At the sound of God's voice, the door moved". I'm not sure what you're looking at, but we still serve a God that opens, not just normal doors, he opens mega, powerful doors that are unique to you. Why don't you say that with me? Say "God is opening great doors in my life".
I want you to think about that company, that opportunity, that dream. The Bible says that God, in Matthew 27, "Rolled away the stone from the door". In other words, what was believed to be dead and destroyed and had no future, the Bible gives us the vision that God can roll away the stone from that door, God can raise up any dream, he can raise up any vision that we have, and whatever the enemy has meant for evil to try to kill and destroy it, God knows how to speak and move the stone away, move that door, open that opportunity back up in Jesus' name. Why don't we stand up on our feet and I'm gonna pray over the doors in your life.
Father, in Jesus' name, Father, in this room, we apply the blood. You're not only the God who opens doors, you're the God who protects them. And so, Father, we apply the blood to every family, Lord, we apply the blood of Jesus. The assignment of the enemy is being stopped. At this moment, we thank you, not by our own might or our own strength, but by your spirit. Father, the blood is being applied over every family, over every marriage, over every household, over every door in this place.
Father, you know the dreams, you know the opportunities, you know the call, Father, you know the assignments, God you know the purpose that you placed on your people, and we thank you for the blood being applied. The protection is over your people. And not only over their lives and their futures, but over your house. We apply the blood of Jesus over this place. We apply the blood of Jesus to the TV door that you opened and all of those things. And Father, even though I would have never imagined doing that, never even really wanted to do it, Father, we know that as you open those doors, we apply the blood.
Father, you know everything that you want us to do, you know everything that you're calling us to do. Our job is to simply say, "Okay God, if you wanna send someone, send us. We'll be there, we'll be there with integrity, we'll be there with character, we'll be there with heart and sincerity. We'll be there, Father, being who you called us to be that's unique to us Father". And we know you can use us to reach those who others are not reaching, just because of the unique anointing you have placed on this church and this house. Father, in little Ol' Florence, Kentucky, look what you have done, look at what you have done, look at what you have done. To you be the glory, to you be the glory.
And Father, I thank you that your word says that we follow those as they follow Christ. And Father, I thank you for your ability to give me the wisdom and the team around me the wisdom to walk through doors, and I pray the same anointing and wisdom on your people, that Father, they could follow the God in us, not me, but the God in me. And Father, as the God in us is bigger, at 7 hills, we thank you that that will attract people to say, "Okay, if God's doing miracles for them, if God's doing miracles in the house of God, may God, what we have done for your house, may you do it for their house".
Father, as the anointing flows down the head of Aaron, your word says it eventually reaches the garments. And so, Father, I pray that anointing that's flowing in this place, the anointing of opportunity, the anointing of open doors, Father, the anointing of increase, the anointing of influence. Father, not manmade, not man done, but Father, without any question, a God made, God ordained anointing. I pray that on their families, on their dreams, on their destinies, on their careers, in Jesus' name. Open a great and effectual door for them we're asking and let them have the courage to face any adversity that they need to, God, to walk in all that you've called them to. In Jesus' name.
Father, you know the dreams, you know the opportunities, you know the call, Father, you know the assignments, God you know the purpose that you placed on your people, and we thank you for the blood being applied. The protection is over your people. And not only over their lives and their futures, but over your house. We apply the blood of Jesus over this place. We apply the blood of Jesus to the TV door that you opened and all of those things. And Father, even though I would have never imagined doing that, never even really wanted to do it, Father, we know that as you open those doors, we apply the blood.
Father, you know everything that you want us to do, you know everything that you're calling us to do. Our job is to simply say, "Okay God, if you wanna send someone, send us. We'll be there, we'll be there with integrity, we'll be there with character, we'll be there with heart and sincerity. We'll be there, Father, being who you called us to be that's unique to us Father". And we know you can use us to reach those who others are not reaching, just because of the unique anointing you have placed on this church and this house. Father, in little Ol' Florence, Kentucky, look what you have done, look at what you have done, look at what you have done. To you be the glory, to you be the glory.
And Father, I thank you that your word says that we follow those as they follow Christ. And Father, I thank you for your ability to give me the wisdom and the team around me the wisdom to walk through doors, and I pray the same anointing and wisdom on your people, that Father, they could follow the God in us, not me, but the God in me. And Father, as the God in us is bigger, at 7 hills, we thank you that that will attract people to say, "Okay, if God's doing miracles for them, if God's doing miracles in the house of God, may God, what we have done for your house, may you do it for their house".
Father, as the anointing flows down the head of Aaron, your word says it eventually reaches the garments. And so, Father, I pray that anointing that's flowing in this place, the anointing of opportunity, the anointing of open doors, Father, the anointing of increase, the anointing of influence. Father, not manmade, not man done, but Father, without any question, a God made, God ordained anointing. I pray that on their families, on their dreams, on their destinies, on their careers, in Jesus' name. Open a great and effectual door for them we're asking and let them have the courage to face any adversity that they need to, God, to walk in all that you've called them to. In Jesus' name.