Open Doors

how far we go with it.

Why not talk about Christmas?

We will.

In our songs, in our prayers,

in the things we say about Christmas.

Some of us who have been Christians for 40 years

have heard every message you can conceive

when we think about Christmas.

So that'll still weave its way in,

and I love the songs, and I love the skits

and the plays that we go to, and I love watching it.

But we also have to prepare for what lies ahead, eh?

And so we start with this new series called Open Door.

Why?

Because we are in that space.

We are in that space between,

we are in that space between one door closing

and another opening.

Both physically, geographically, locationally,

we are in that space, and some of you

are actually individually in that space

where you feel like one door is closing

and another is opening, and you're in that

in-between space.

We are in that space between one door closing

and the other opening.

And usually when that happens, it's a precursor.

Usually when that happens, it's a precursor

to new permission, to new permission.

Okay, so what does that mean?

That means that if this is a door that's behind me

and this is a door that's ahead of me

and I'm in this narrow place between two doors,

it usually means that I am or we are going to step into

a new permission that God is giving us.

What do you mean by new permission?

We've talked about this before,

but permission is an invitation.

Permission is an invitation into a greater measure of God.

Permission is an invitation into a greater measure of God

that he wants to manifest through you.

That's what permission is.

And God keeps increasing our permission

with every individual, every church.

He wants to keep increasing permission.

Jesus had to learn this too.

In Luke 1.52, even when he was young, it was said of him

that he grew in wisdom and favor and stature

with God and man.

When you grow in favor and wisdom and stature

with God and man, it means God is giving you

greater permission.

What does permission looks like?

It looks like the extent of your authority,

the radius of your influence,

the extent of your authority,

the radius of your influence,

and the license you have to do things.

Not everybody starts at 007, license to kill.

Only Nick has that in this church.

Nick can kill you with bok choy, be careful.

He'll bring dinner for me and it'll be really good.

It'll be lots of sausages, lots of meat,

lots of really well-made food,

and then he'll cover it all with bok choy.

That just kills you.

One of the things that happens with permission is,

I should call you the bok choy contract killer or something.

Anyways, back to what's, yeah.

So permission is an invitation.

Permission is an invitation into a greater measure of God

that he wants to manifest through you.

It's not, and permission doesn't mean,

oh, I'll make you this or make you that.

It is, listen, I want to manifest myself through you,

and the way I see you right now,

I think it's time to invite you into a greater measure of me

so that I can accomplish what I want through you.

And when he does that, three things happen.

One, it gives you a new license to do things.

Without license, when you do things, you get caught.

Doesn't matter where you are, whether you're in the nation,

whether you're on the road driving,

whether you're in the church, whether you're at home.

Children know the license they have.

When you cross that, one of two things happen.

Either there is discipline because I have crossed

what was appointed to me, or I break something

because I'm not ready for it.

One of the other happens.

And so one must discover one's license,

and according to that, you know your radius of influence.

With greater permission comes greater radius of influence.

And the third thing is greater authority.

These are three things that come with permission.

And so it's good to find out what you have permission for

every year in the Lord.

It's good to find it out.

Any questions thus far?

Any questions?

Okay.

You increase in permission by letting go

of things you were

some good,

some ugly.

As your radius of influence grows,

as my radius of influence grows, know that I have now

a greater chance of influencing you with my ugliness.

I need to get rid of it.

I also have a greater chance of influencing you

with what is old.

I've got to get rid of that too.

To hold on to it is to not be able to step into permission.

So it's death by installments,

bit by bit in each of our lives,

we'll have to let go of things.

Everybody here.

Otherwise you don't step into permission.

And when you don't step into permission,

you get left on the bowed potters.

That's called tabera.

Tabera is where the fire falls.

The fringe is always where those that

do not walk in permission end up.

And the fringe is not a good place to stay.

And so even with what we are doing with the church,

if I resist it, if I refuse it,

if I want to be the head honcho,

if I want everything to be under my charge,

the best thing to do is not to divide the church into two.

Not to let these things happen.

But if I do that, then I get left on the fringes.

Some good things that have to be let go now.

I think what we're doing in the rags,

well, you know, is pretty good.

Why disrupt it?

I don't think May's preaching will be

as good as mine initially.

I know for a fact that down dawn's preaching

will not be as good as mine.

Why let go of such great preaching?

Because it's not by might, not by power,

not by preaching, but by the spirit of the living God.

So some things are good,

but we still don't let go of it.

Good things have to be let go of too.

And if we hold onto it,

if we refuse to move into permission that God is giving us,

then you don't move with God.

You move with flesh.

And flesh stinks.

It rots, it decays.

Any questions?

Okay.

So it's death by installments.

Death by installments.

Of what?

Death of what?

Death Jacob of your mindset,

of your method of operation,

of your perception of things.

Sometimes guys, I've said this before,

vision must die for obedience to live.

Crazy, God may give you a vision

and then ask you to lay down that vision.

God may give you a vision,

and it is a godly vision.

It's a heavenly vision.

And then after giving you the vision,

he'll ask you to lay it down

because obedience has to live before vision can live.

This is what he does with Isaac.

He gives Abraham a vision that out of you will come a boy

who will be the son of promise

and out of him will come generations after generations.

Yet what happens?

The vision has to die, obedience has to live.

Sometimes the very things that are precious to us

that we nurture have to be laid down

so that it can live again.

Question?

Yeah, Abraham laid down his vision of Isaac.

No, he laid Isaac down.

Isaac was a visioned, yeah.

Yeah, but when you are given a vision,

the hardest thing to do is to lay it down and kill it.

But obedience comes first.

Vision sometimes has to be laid down for obedience to live.

It's one of the hardest things to do

because both are coming from God.

The vision came from God

and now God is asking you to lay it down.

We have to be so fluid to be Holy Spirit strategic.

We have to be so fluid to be Holy Spirit strategic.

It is not possible for the Holy Spirit to strategize

unless there's a fluidity of obedience,

even if it means a God vision must be laid down.

It's so much easier living the easy way

of not risking any of these, staying the same.

Any questions?

Okay.

The sooner I get used to this,

the less I'll prevent God from,

the less I'll end up preserving things

God intends to change.

The sooner I get used to this,

the less I'll preserve

what God wants to change.

So everything must be up for grabs, guys.

I mean up for grabs with God, everything.

And if you are old, then practice this regularly

because older minds are actually less flexible.

Practice it.

Yep.

If we don't follow the promises that God has given us,

then how do we,

it doesn't sound like a good question,

maybe you're not waiting for it,

but how do we determine if God has told us something

and we know it's true,

and if we hear it somewhere,

trying to do it, not to be a fool,

how do we differentiate between the enemy's lies

and impersonating him?

Yeah.

If God has told us that.

Yeah, two broader questions,

so let me narrow it down to the first part.

My responsibility is to hold onto God

before I hold onto the promises of God.

Knowing his nature is what brings me

to an understanding of his promise.

Therein lies the first key.

Know his nature,

and you will know how to handle the promise.

If you don't know his nature,

then if the promise is delayed,

you will begin to doubt, question, suspect God.

Know his nature,

and you will know how to deal with the promise.

That was what differentiated the guys in Hebrews 11

from all the rest.

Know his nature,

and you will know how to deal with the promise.

And two, once you know his nature,

even when, I mean, this is why I find the story

of the Syrophoenician woman so amazing.

Here is a woman who seems to know the nature

of a Jesus who is an outsider.

She's Syrophoenician.

The Israelites don't know him well.

She knows him well.

When he says stuff like,

I only feed, only the dogs are fed crumbs,

her response is different

because she's seen something about this rabbi.

And then, if you know his nature, you can wrestle with him.

If you don't know his nature,

you will never wrestle with him.

If you know the nature of God, you will wrestle with him.

Because these things are difficult.

How do you know how to lay down the vision

and how to be obedient first?

You have to wrestle with him.

You have to tell him, but this is not fair.

You said you would give me Isaac.

Now you want to take Isaac away.

What's happening here?

If you know his nature, you will wrestle with him.

This is not fair.

You said that if there are 10 people in Sodom,

you will spare it.

Can I go for five?

Can I go for 30?

Can I go for 20?

If you know his nature, you wrestle with God.

And sometimes wrestling may take two days,

three days, four days.

So what?

But if you don't know his nature,

all you have is his promise.

And somehow, even though it is a promise of God,

it is not as good as God.

This is what happens with the 10 lepers.

Nine of them got rewarded by the promise

that you are cleansed.

One ran after the nature of God.

One.

I'm not saying only 10% make it.

I'm just saying it's very sad

because the promise and the reward are so what we live for.

And that is why Hebrews 11 has the courage to say,

many stood on the promises of God and did not receive it.

And they are counted among the heroes of faith.

Because they received something far greater.

They received a knowledge of the nature of the King

and the creator of the universe.

The word that existed from the beginning.

It is the only way we can go through difficulties

when promises don't come to pass.

Or promises are taking long.

It is the only way we can go through difficulties.

Otherwise, difficulties will wreck your faith

and begin to have your question the promises of God.

I am saying that

it is easy to obey God if I know his nature

and lay down anything that is required if I know it.

It's really, the discussion is not about promise or nature.

The discussion is about.

Isn't that the first thing you go after the nature of God

to actually hold onto the promises?

Sorry, say that again, Marcus.

Isn't that you go to understand the nature of God

before holding onto his promise?

It makes it so much easier.

No, but isn't that the way we should go?

Yeah, it is, but it is not what happens in reality.

It is not what happens in reality.

In reality, especially in an instant,

gratifying Christian culture that we have,

the promise is what people go after, not the nature.

And here's the thing,

the knowing the nature of God takes long

because it's a relationship.

It's a relationship.

So you can't know the nature like this.

And so what's the easy way?

Go for the promise.

Nature takes long to happen.

Takes long to happen.

That is what we go after.

And so we short-circuit the process by thinking,

this is gonna take long, why not just go after the promise?

And if I know the nature of God,

there's another thing that happens.

The more you know the nature of God,

the more you become like him.

The more you know the nature of God,

the more you become part of the body.

The more you know the nature of God,

the more you become loving.

The more you know the nature of God,

the less you care about the promise because you know him.

It's like a child who knows his dad.

What does he need a promise for?

But it takes time.

The nature of God will require intimacy

and it removes this one thing called transaction.

That's why it takes time.

When reputation, responsibility to,

and the approval of people becomes more important than God,

I become an unreliable servant in the kingdom.

If I want to massage my reputation,

if I want to massage my reputation,

if I want to be responsible first to people,

if I want the approval of people before God,

I end up being an unreliable servant in the kingdom.

And yet all three are actually good things to do.

It is good to maintain a good reputation in public eye.

The Bible talks about it.

Make sure that the ones you place in position

have good reputation.

Nothing wrong with it.

It is important to be responsible to people.

It is important to have the non-suck-up approval of people

and yet all three become negatives

when they are placed before God.

When they are placed before what God is demanding of me.

And so,

guys, these are the things that oppose shifting,

oppose change, oppose stepping into new permission,

oppose moving with the body of Christ.

These are the things that prevent.

These are the things that prevent us.

These are the things that prevent us

from stepping into places that nobody stepped into.

These are the things that will prevent us

from the unprecedented step that Derek read of,

of stepping into something that hasn't been

since the times of Noah.

That's a ridiculous word.

How impossible is that?

Derek, stop throwing things around.

You see this with Elijah.

Elijah had the brook and the ravens.

And even though he had the brook and the ravens,

what does he do?

He's being fed.

There's water, there's meat.

And then God turns up and says,

I want you to move on.

No more water for you.

No more meat for you.

I need you to go to a widow.

For all the people that he's told to go to,

he's told to go to a widow.

The poorest of the poor.

And that's where he goes.

Quick to change, quick to change.

Is that you?

Someone asked me, go ahead.

Yeah, so if you, yeah.

Her question is, if a body wants to go one direction,

if a body is going a certain direction,

but Anne begins to feel that she needs to do something else,

how do you reconcile it?

If you had six children,

George is happy you look a little suspicious.

If you had six children,

and you guys want to go on a trip to Arizona,

but one of them wants to go to Vegas

and the other one to New York,

how does it really work?

So either they'll have to wait till they turn 18

before they can do what they want,

or if they're 18, they can say, we want to go.

But they can't go with the group.

So it's the same principle.

If you have a sense that what you need to do

is not what, let's say, this tribe is doing,

then there's only two options.

Either I have to place my desire subservient

to the desire of the people that I belong to,

or I have to say, this will not work for me

because this isn't what I think is my call.

And then you'll have to find a place

where they can help you around,

but you can't do both.

That's eating, there's something that is dishonest about it.

If it is striding two boats,

because you will split your pants at some point.

That was not the conclusion I was heading for,

but that's what will happen.

Yeah.

But that is how this works.

Because so many times you have to place

your personal vision at the foot of the corporate vision.

So many times.

What do you think Christ is doing?

Sacrifices and offerings you haven't, ask for.

What you are looking for is a body.

Why?

Because there's a large group of people

who will go to hell if I don't.

And so here I come and I offer you my body.

Hebrews chapter 10.

Hebrews 10 · chapter mention

So guys, when we talk about open doors,

let's look at some open door scriptures.

And, take them out of context.

And find what and how we can apply it.

There, that takes care of all the exegesis you wanted to do.

I'm being cynical.

Yeah.

The other thing is guys, every time God gives us permission,

you will always come to a threshold.

And divine thresholds will always end up

messing with your thinking, messing with your defects,

messing with the things that are familiar in your life.

Let me say that again.

Every time God brings us into a place of new permission,

let's say God brings Finn, Harry, and Mark

into a new place, a place of new permission.

But God is saying, hey, I want through you

to manifest myself and I'm inviting you

into a greater measure of what I want to do through you.

Let's say he does that.

As soon as that process begins,

and they're at that threshold where they're deciding

whether to cross over or not,

because there are two doors.

There's a door behind you, there's a door in front of you.

You can either return, and that is usually what happens.

There's no stagnant position in this corridor.

You can't stand in the middle of this corridor.

Not possible.

You either head this way or you head back.

There's never stagnancy in Christ.

There's never stagnancy in Christ.

There's no standing still.

And so either I move forward or I go back.

And so whenever you're at that point in your life,

know that God will break through for you over fear,

because it will come with fear.

Whenever there is things that are unfamiliar, there's fear.

It will come with intimidation, sometimes from people,

sometimes from the enemy.

It'll come with unbelief,

because you find it hard to believe

what God is asking you to step into.

How are you gonna manage?

It'll come with poor self-image,

because how God thinks of you

and how you think of yourself are not the same.

It'll come with a reminder of past defeats.

It'll come with the option of compromise,

where you don't go all the way, you go halfway.

All these things are there.

And God, if you come to this place and say,

Father, I really wanna go ahead,

God will break through for you in these areas.

I've been a believer now for 30-something years,

and have crossed many thresholds.

And each time these things come up,

and each time you decide that, nope,

gonna see through what happens is,

God will break through in that area of fear for you.

What is it?

Is it fear of money?

Is it fear of security?

Fear of job?

Fear of location moving?

Fear of losing people?

Fear of people coming against you?

Eventually, his intent is,

can I make you as fearless as I was?

And then the same thing then applies to intimidation.

People will intimidate.

The devil will intimidate.

Unbelief, common.

But with every temptation, there's a way out.

But this will happen.

If this isn't happening to you,

we need to bury you, because you're dead.

It is not that temptation won't happen.

It is that through even when temptation happens,

I will give you a way to escape.

So when one says, oh, these things don't happen to me,

that's a lie.

We have to overcome this,

till this becomes zero, zero, zero, zero.

Or we get there.

Yeah.

Sorry?

I could have completely avoided this question

by not writing that down.

No.

It would be nice to think everything has to be in context.

One of the people who used to take scriptures

and use it in different contexts to explain

the intent of the nature of God was both Jesus and Paul.

It doesn't sit well with the theological types,

but I can show you places where it's done again

and again and again.

We don't have a problem with things being taken

out of context in this church,

because I don't.

And that's why when I'm going to show you

these different scriptures,

I am taking them out of context to show you

how we need to function with God.

I'm completely comfortable doing it.

Yeah?

So the first one is, when it comes to an open door.

First scripture I want to take is Luke 12, 35, 36.

It says, be dressed and ready for service

like servants waiting for their master

so that when he comes and knocks,

they can immediately open the door for him.

As this church

is invited

to step

through an open door

into what 2024,

into what Hebrides 2.0,

into what Derek

read in terms of the prophetic,

in terms of your own individual lives

where God is showing you things.

These are some of the scriptures I want to use to show you

how to prep

and approach

and navigate

an open door.

Yeah?

So the first one is Luke 12, 25, and 36.

So one of the first things I need to do

if I believe that the church is stepping through an open door,

or that I'm stepping through an open door,

and I am, and the church is,

is that I have to make sure that I am dressed and ready.

It is not something that happens on one bright morning.

It is something that I have to be doing daily

where I'm dressed and ready,

dressed and ready, dressed and ready,

so that when the master comes and knocks,

there is no hesitation and I immediately open the door.

Dressed and ready.

This is what Jesus asks of Israel with the Passover meal.

He says, go get a lamb, start the Passover meal,

and then he says, make sure that your loins are girded

and your sandals are on your feet,

because as soon as the meal is over,

something is going to happen.

This idea of being dressed and ready is so critical.

So what does dressed and ready look like?

Dressed and ready looks like waking you any day

and asking you if you have finished reading

what you were supposed to read.

Waking you and asking you any day,

have you gone through the different types of prayers

we said we should pray?

Waking you and asking you,

so what is your identity for the new year?

Waking you and asking you, what have you let go?

What have you put behind you?

What is the debris behind you?

Waking you and asking you,

what are the promises of God that await you?

Waking and asking you,

who is God approaching you as right now?

Waking and asking you,

how are you dealing with a demonic

that has attacked you last year and you lost?

How are you going to deal with it this year?

Waking and asking you,

so what is the condition of the generosity of your heart?

Waking and asking you,

hey, how's the blazing purity thing going?

Waking and asking you,

how much are you a part of the body of Christ?

Waking and asking you, what is your role?

Waking and asking you,

how are you embracing what God is doing?

And immediately answers come out, why?

Because you're not going through the notes of one Sunday,

you're going through everything that God has been teaching

for the last 18 months and you're dressed and ready,

you're dressed and ready, you're dressed and ready.

Some of the guys who end up playing in the NHL

have spent four years, five years playing for a farm team,

but they practice and they practice and they practice

because they know one day they will be called

and that day will be the only game

that they can show the coach

that they're worth being called again.

And these are guys who had dreams to be in the NHL.

Instead of flying in planes, they're riding in buses.

As they're getting paid millions,

they get paid a few thousands, but they keep at it,

they keep at it and one day they get the call

and it changes their lives.

Now you see why David says,

I fought the lion and I fought the bear.

What can this uncircumcised Philistine do to me?

Why?

Because he was ready.

How are you ready?

If you're a soldier, you're ready by going into battle.

And they will ask you to sit, like his brothers did.

You little squirt, sit down there.

What are you doing in the front line?

Be dressed, be ready,

like servants waiting for their master

so that when he comes and knocks,

they can immediately open the door for him.

Be alert to divine disruptions.

Be alert to divine disruptions.

How can you be alert to divine disruptions?

By doing the same thing, waiting for the master.

One day he's gonna come and knock.

And when he comes and knock,

there'll be oil in my lamp and the wick will be trimmed.

And it's only a matter of time, guys.

Come on.

Yeah.

This is how God proves you.

This is how he proves you.

He will suddenly call you up and he'll say, come.

And then one of two things will happen.

Either you'll go and do the best you can

because you've been preparing for years,

or you'll go up and you don't know what to do

because you weren't prepared.

My first exposure to the demonic was

when I finished leading worship and I sat down,

and a man who called Alan Jones,

who has come to Acts 29, had a long lineup of people

that he had to deal with.

So he looks around, he couldn't see anybody else,

and he calls me up and says,

this woman just tried jumping off Alex Fraser.

She's got a demon, cast it out.

And I'm thinking to myself, I have heard, I have read,

I have never done.

I remember, I think Joan was there.

This happened at Richmond Pentecostal.

And be ready.

You never know when you're called.

And those moments will catapult you into another place,

catapult you.

Our understanding of be ready is,

why haven't you called me yet?

God's understanding of be ready is,

nobody can prevent you from stepping into

what I want you to step into.

And if they prevent you, I'll remove them,

but I'll make sure you make it.

Very simple.

Next one.

So now you know what I mean by out of context.

Next one, Revelation 3 20.

Revelation 3 20.

If anyone hears my voice and opens the door,

if anyone hears my voice and opens the door,

I will come in and have supper with you.

One of the ways you,

one of the ways doors open quickly for you

is if God finds out that intimacy

is way too precious to you.

In Revelation 3 20, it says,

if anyone hears my voice and opens the door,

I will come and eat with you.

I will come and dine with you.

I will come and have supper with you.

So one of the things that really creates

quick open doors in people's lives

is this idea of intimacy.

Intimacy always leads to Jesus saying,

hey, I wanna show you another door you can walk through.

And so, try to go down this road

of heightened intimacy internally.

Heightened intimacy internally.

Heightened intimacy internally

will lead to increased receptivity externally.

Beautifully, heightened intimacy internally

always leads to increased receptivity externally.

If you know it about your own spouses,

if you are extra sensitive and intimate with your spouse,

you know how things,

you know the things she notices outside.

You know the dress she wants.

You know what is annoying her.

You know when she's tired.

Internal intimacy always increases external receptivity.

Always.

This is why you go down this route.

You'll find that doors open one after the other

because God has found a friend.

Who would you like to take through a door?

An enemy, a stranger, an acquaintance, or a friend?

Sometimes you take a person through doors

not even because you want them to do anything.

You're taking them because you wanna show them.

That's the beauty of this.

I mean, Dawn has come to my house many times.

And I don't take him and show him the shelf

where I keep my planes

because there's no intimacy there

between his interest in planes and my interest in planes.

George came to my house once.

The fellow is almost as crazy about planes as I am.

And so where did we spend most of the time?

In front, talking about the SR-71,

talking about the 789, talking about the Raptor.

All those planes.

Why?

Because wherever there is a degree of intimacy,

you will take a person through a door

just to show them what you want to show them.

Doors happen quickly when intimacy increases.

I liked what May prayed.

Oh God, let the operation be boring.

But when it comes to God, it's very difficult.

Having a boring relationship with God makes it so difficult.

The church must provide you an opportunity

to know a God who is not boring.

And if this church is not providing you that,

please don't come back next week.

But if you're back here next week

and you get to hear part two.

Next one, Revelation 4.1.

Tim, you're still invited because it's your first time.

This only applies to anybody who's been here

more than two or three times.

Revelation 4.1.

After this I looked and behold, the door standing open.

Behold, the door standing open in heaven.

And I heard a voice saying, come up here

and I will show you what must take place after this.

Revelation 4.1.

After this I looked and behold,

the door standing open in heaven.

And I heard a voice saying, come up here

and I will show you what must take place after this.

Okay, so another thing that you need for open doors

is spiritual upside.

That's spiritual sight, spiritual upside.

Spiritual upside.

Ask this question of yourself,

is God continuously inviting me

to see more of what he's doing?

So we've already dealt with his nature.

So we're not talking about inviting you

to see more of his nature.

Is he inviting you to see more of what he is doing?

Ask that question.

And is it possible to do that without time spent?

I mean, he'll need time to show you things.

Not a lot of time, sometimes we can do it in a second.

But he wants to know whether you're interested.

So the question is,

is this something that is happening in your life

and my life where God is saying, hey,

first he'll present you a door and saying,

you wanna step through this?

Cause I want you to see what I'm doing.

Sometimes Mark takes Finn and Harry to work.

He wants them to see what he's doing

and then he gives them a hammer

so they can break down things.

He takes them to work.

He wants them to see what he's doing.

God is like that.

And if the answer to this question is no,

I really don't have an idea what he's doing,

then step into it so that these open doors become yours.

Why is it that this church has an abundance

of the prophetic spoken?

Why are we asked to step into things that are unprecedented?

Why say stuff like since the times of Noah?

Why Hebrides 2.0?

Where is this coming from?

It is because God wants to show us what he's doing

so that we can begin to step into it.

Whether we'll finish it or not is a different thing.

But whether we'll show it or not is a different thing.

The more we step into it

and the more we are willing to do it,

the more he will show.

Any questions?

Ask this question, eh?

And once you ask this question,

decide that if this is not my experience,

then father, can I also have this?

Because who are the fellow workers in the vineyard?

Who are the builders?

Who are the laborers?

You.

Come up high, I wanna show you what I'm doing.

Every few months, guys, this is not once in a blue moon.

Next one.

Next one.

Revelations 3.2.

Revelations 3.2.

I know you have little strength,

but I have placed before you an open door no one can shut.

I know you have little strength,

but I have placed before you an open door no one can shut.

Look at this girl.

Can you stand, please?

Don't worry, you're not on camera.

Doesn't it so fit her?

I know you have little strength,

but behold, I placed before you an open door.

To begin with, she's a girl.

That itself makes it difficult.

And look at her.

Does she look like a fiery preacher?

Can you see any anointing on her?

Look at her.

He takes what seems to be, thanks, May.

He takes what seems to be of little strength,

and then he takes it and he turns it around.

Look at her.

Do you mind standing?

You, Sue.

Yeah.

Do you know how much she's done?

You're more than 70, right?

Or 70.

I want to call it out, Sue.

I'm not trying to mess around with you.

It doesn't matter, man.

Look at that guy.

Thanks, Sue.

That one, stand up.

These are the people that in the end

will start being used like huge champions.

Why?

Because behold, I know you have little strength,

but with this little strength, see what I will do.

I'm placing before you an open door.

Look at you and me.

You think this is not a church of little strength?

What do we have, man?

Other than a handsome preacher, we got squat.

That was too loud, I said.

And thanks, that one.

At the end of the day, one of the things I marvel at

is how little strength we have

and what an influence we've had

and will continue to have across the world.

Three eighths, sorry.

You have little strength.

Behold, I place before you an open door.

Why does God place an open door

before people of little strength?

Because he gets all the glory.

The power.

I do not know of another church

that is this small, this weak,

that has received as powerful

and as impossible promises as we have received.

Do not know of any other church.

It's crazy.

And you have an opportunity to step into it.

So I say to Don and Keziah, I say to me, I say to the others who will follow after this,

you have an opportunity to step into it and prove God.

Prove God.

It's huge, man.

Go home today and write what David wrote, if you dare to.

Go home today and write what David wrote.

The Lord comes and says to David, that I picked you from the field.

You were a shepherd. I picked you from the field and I brought you.

And I set you up as king over my people.

And David's response is, who am I?

What am I, O God, that you decided to choose me?

What is my father's family that you decided to choose me?

And not only have you chosen me, now you give me a promise saying that for the rest of eternity

there will be a man from my family that will sit on the throne and that his throne will be everlasting.

And David begins to cry out to God and write this beautiful poem saying, O God, who am I?

Go home today and write or say to God, Father, who am I?

That you have given me the privilege of being amongst the people to whom you have given

promises that are impossible.

And O God, as I say this, count me worthy, make me worthy to walk with you

into what awaits us as a people.

Sometimes if you don't count our blessings, we lose sight of what God is doing.

Next one.

Acts 12.10.

One of the things that happens is once you have an open door you have to begin to walk towards it.

And as you walk towards it, it's only then that it will open.

Acts 12.

It's Paul in prison.

And what happens is, Acts 12, then the angel said to him, put on your clothes and sandals, and Peter did.

Wrap your cloak around you and follow me, the angel told him.

Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea what the angel was doing and what was really happening.

He thought he was seeing a vision.

They passed the first and the second guards, came to the iron gate leading to the city.

It opened for them by itself and they went through it.

When they walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left them.

One of the ways, once you recognize open doors, and please write them down, please write them down.

It could be in the area of business, it could be in the area of church, it could be the area of ministry,

it could be the area of what God is calling you to become.

It may have nothing to do with the church.

It may have everything to do with you.

It could be for the church.

It could be for Acts 29.

Whatever it is, one of the things, once you define it, it is so important to define what God is doing.

This out there little tweety bird circling around your head is pointless.

You must write it down.

Once you write it down, you'll find that now that you know the definition of the door,

it is only as you walk towards it that it swings open.

Things don't swing open till there is a start.

It doesn't matter how, whether the start is a failure or a success,

whether the start has two people or no people or a hundred people, there must be a start.

And once you have a start, that is when doors begin to...

Just imagine, Apollo is approaching this huge iron door.

This was a word that Anne Mebs gave this church, that guys, always remember,

that what seems impossible will open as you approach it.

Then they swing wide open.

Faith requires action.

Faith requires starting.

Faith requires walking.

Faith requires the risk of thinking that,

Ah shucks, when I get there, maybe it won't open.

But it'll...

Next one, 1 Corinthians 16, 9.

1 Corinthians 16, 9.

It says there,

A great door for effective work has opened to me,

though there are many who oppose me.

A great door for effective work has opened to me,

though there are many who oppose me.

Doors that God wants to open for the church,

or for your own life,

are doors that are for effective, divine work that benefits others.

God doesn't open doors just for my personal...

It is so that any door that He opens is an effective, divine work that benefits others.

Always.

Always.

It must benefit others.

It is a divine effect.

It is for effective, divine work.

And when these doors open,

it is so that any door that He opens is an effective, divine work that benefits others.

Always.

And when these words mix together,

then you have opposition.

Any authentic door will have an opposition in terms of being open.

Pardon?

Any authentic door that God wants to open in your life

will be resisted by the world, by the enemy.

There will be resistance.

But that is the nature of warfare.

Any authentic door will be resisted.

Why would an active enemy not resist the work of God and lose?

Like I said, every child should be bought an iPhone 3 that they can drop or throw.

Not to use, just throw.

So, any effective, divine door that comes into your life,

expect, not expect as in have faith for,

but don't be surprised if there is opposition.

There will be opposition.

And in the very area of opposition,

you begin to see where your victory lies.

In the area of the prophetic, if you find opposition,

prophesy like crazy under the power of the Spirit.

In the area of going into a nation and trying to convert that nation,

if the nation is being shut to you,

in that very area, step up and begin to break down doors.

Your opposition shows you where you will be most effective.

I'm making a list of things where there is opposition,

because then I get to know where I should not remove my focus from,

because I know I will have success there.

An ashaddo, five questions.

How do you know the difference between opposition and ashaddo?

Five questions.

We have to figure out who is it coming from.

And how we figure out who it is coming from is,

is it a test?

Is it a test?

Is it a test?

Is it a test?

Is it a trial?

Is it discipline?

Is it Satan?

Is it fallenness of the world?

Last one, is it persecution?

Six questions.

I'm not saying it's easy to get an answer for these six questions,

but these are the six questions you ask.

And in asking these six questions, you usually identify the source.

And once you know the source, you know the response.

This identifies the source, and once you know the source,

you can plan your response.

Which one?

Fifth one.

Is it the fallenness, oh that's terrible.

Is it the fallenness of the world?

As in the world is corrupt, the world is rotting, the world is decaying.

What is causing the opposition?

Is the opposition a test where the opposition is a test?

Is the opposition a test where God wants me to overcome it

because he wants to show me what he knows about me?

Is the opposition a trial?

Then what brought on the trial?

Was it my mistake?

Was it my sin?

Was it your sin?

Was it your failure?

Was it my failure?

Is it discipline?

In which case, what do I need to correct so that it doesn't continue?

Is it Satan?

Then what is the weapon I need to use to end what he is doing?

Is it the fallenness of the world?

If it is, what promise is there in the word that I can use to counter it?

Because the finished works of the cross are meant to take care of certain things in the fallen world.

Is it persecution?

In which case, does God want me to escape it or go through it?

Trials can be caused by...

Okay, so trials can be caused by David.

David is taking the cart with the ark.

Two guys die.

That wasn't a test.

That wasn't the devil.

That wasn't the fallenness of the world.

That was his mistake that he made.

And so he had to correct it.

It wasn't even discipline because what happened was already predicted will happen if you touch the ark.

But that is something he did.

Sometimes a trial is caused by somebody else.

Another time David is going through a time when there's famine in the land for three years.

It wasn't his fault.

It was that Saul had killed the Gibeonites when there was a pact with the Gibeonites that it shouldn't happen.

So sometimes it's your fault.

Another story.

A woman saying, alas, alas...

She goes to Elisha and says, alas, alas, the debtors are coming to take away my two children because my husband was in debt.

It wasn't her fault.

Sometimes trials are caused by my sins.

Sometimes it's caused by someone else's sins.

Sometimes it's caused by me taking on your problems.

Sometimes we take on people's problems willingly.

But is it a trial? Yes.

This identifies the source.

Once you know the source, you know the response.

Strong opposition in an area, slander or accusation in areas often indicates a door that you need to focus on.

Here's another one.

Two more and we're done.

Second Corinthians 12.

This is a very odd one.

Second Corinthians 12.

Second Corinthians 12.

Started talking again, huh?

There.

You just have to talk back to them.

Second Corinthians 12.

No, it's not 12.

Second Corinthians 2.

Second Corinthians 2.

Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened the door for me, I still had no peace of mind because I did not find my brother Titus there.

So I said goodbye to them and went to Macedonia.

Sometimes, guys, the Lord opens a door for you.

And if you sometimes those that open are those where it is permissive for you to step through or not.

And if you don't, it does not affect your life in God.

Some doors that God opens are doors that are like bonus.

Hey, do you want this?

It's up to you whether you want to go through it or not.

Always have a discussion about any door that God opens in your life.

It doesn't matter what area it is in.

Always have a discussion with God.

Okay, so you've opened this door, Father, for me.

What do you mean by door?

Okay, so I can only speak out of my life.

So for me, a door would be, hey, Jacob, what about this nation?

Or hey, Jacob, what about becoming this so that Acts 20 and can step into this?

Had a question?

Okay, because you were grinning in a way that I thought you had a question.

You had a smirk on your face, so I thought you had a question.

I thought so.

Yeah, I thought so.

So when it comes to an open door in my life would be something like that.

Where it would be something that Acts 29 needs, that God will say,

hey, why don't you become this so that Acts 29 benefits here?

Or what about this nation?

Or why don't you begin to focus on the prophetic?

Those are open doors for you, for me.

What is the open door for you?

For a businessman it might be something else.

So depending on which person, who you are as a person,

you can begin to decide what kind of door God is asking you to step into.

And when he does, sometimes you have to have a discussion about the door.

Father, is this something that I can delay for now?

I don't have the courage to.

Or Father, I do have a degree of fear.

Can you help me with it?

Father, is this a door that I have to go through right now, or can I delay it?

Ask God, because some doors are permissive.

Some doors are just a bonus given to you.

Hey Jacob, I know you're doing this, but do you want this too?

It's like a father.

Never forget that he's a father.

Fathers do that with their children.

Fathers do that with their children, saying,

hey, this is something I want to give you, but if you want, I can give you this too.

Or a dad says, I want to take you on this journey,

and sometimes the boy says, Dad, can I not do it today?

Can I do it tomorrow, because I would rather do this?

There are those options too.

All of this happens through conversation, eh?

Can't happen without conversation.

And the better I know the nature of God, the easier it becomes.

Any questions?

Yeah, so there are times where I'll say to God the Father,

I've been away for two weeks now, and I know you want me to go here,

but can I not go now?

Can I go later?

Will this door shut if I don't go now?

Can I postpone what I'm going to do?

Or Father, I was supposed to go to Japan in November,

because there was a time that I was supposed to be in Japan from November 14th or something.

And Father, I'm not ready for it.

Spiritually, I didn't prepare myself.

I can go if you ask me to, but I really don't want to go.

If you tell me to, I still will.

If it be your will, I still will, but if I can skip this this time, I'll skip it.

Conversations. And the Father will talk back.

Sometimes I'll go regardless, because He's saying,

no, I want you to go.

Even if you're weak and tired and exhausted, I'll still use you there.

Other times, He'll say, okay, take a pass.

Some doors are permissive.

Paul has been given an open door in Troas.

And even though he has an open door in Troas, he was not at peace.

He's saying that God opened the door, and yet He's saying He's not at peace.

And so He doesn't go. He goes to Macedonia.

And what happens in Macedonia? God opens a door in Macedonia.

And later on, Paul comes back to Troas.

Next one. Act 1626.

Act 1626. It says,

A great earthquake so that the foundations of the prison were shaken,

and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bonds were unfastened.

Sometimes, doors open because of the ferocity of God.

Sometimes, doors open because of the ferocity of God,

because of the sheer power of God that shakes things.

Be ready for that.

It usually happens when how God works with you is in sheer power.

But some of you expect in the years ahead that one of the things God will do

is He will use you in acts only of power.

It won't be love. It won't be wisdom.

It'll be sheer power.

And when it is acts of sheer power, know that you have to be like Joshua,

knowing that on the seventh day,

when you go around the city and you shout,

the ferocity of God will cause doors to crumble, and you have to be ready.

Some of you will be used in sheer power.

I wish it was me.

But be ready for that.

Because sometimes God just dusts things through a massive earthquake or a massive wind shaking.

He just shakes things, pulls things out of the...

Some of you, I pray God, I pray God that someone like Don ends up being a Samson

who can carry the gates of Hebron on his back.

That the church that may will operate will be very different from the church that Don operates.

That one will have maybe a door of power, one will have a door of wisdom or whatever.

Find out.

One of the requirements that now is incumbent upon them and upon me to help them is,

Oh God, what is the nature of the church?

And pay attention, eh?

This goes back to the whole idea of being dressed and ready.

Do you know why?

Not do you know why.

One of the reasons why they are in a place to do what they're doing

is because when they had nothing to do, they were being dressed and ready.

Be dressed and ready.

Because it's only a matter of time.

Last one.

Isaiah 49...

What's Isaiah 49, 24 to 26?

Let me just read it.

I don't know that scripture.

Isaiah 49, 24 to 26.

Can plunder be taken from warriors or captives rescued from the fears?

But this is what the Lord says.

Yes, captives will be taken from warriors.

Plunder will be retrieved from the fears.

I will contend with those who contend with you and your children I will save.

There is a ferocity of God that opens doors, eh?

I pray God that you embrace it.

Because some places need to be shaken and doors be opened

just because you have the ability to channel the sheer power of God.

Last one.

Psalm 24, verse 9.

Psalms 24:9

Love this one.

Psalm 24, verse 9.

Psalms 24:9

Open up the ancient gates.

Open up the ancient doors.

Let the king of glory enter.

What's your name?

Jane, can you finish with the Shekinah song that you had in your list?

Psalm 24, verse 9.

Psalms 24:9

Open up the ancient gates.

Open up the ancient doors.

Let the king of glory enter.

Who is this king of glory?

The Lord, strong and mighty in battle.

There is this opening of doors too.

And that, this church absolutely has to, must buy into.

Hebrides 2.0 does not happen without this.

And it is across the earth, eh?

It seems impossible.

It seems like such an impossibility.

Open up the doors.

And for this, the one thing that is required is blazing purity.

Clean hands, pure heart.

That we must never escape.

That is dressed and ready.

Give me clean hands.

Give me pure hearts.

Why?

Because it is only those that have clean hands and pure hearts that can ascend the holy hill.

And it is from there that ancient doors are open and demonic ancient doors are shut.

There is two ways this happens.

On one hand there is an opening of ancient doors that heaven has ordained.

And then there is a shutting down of demonic doors that have been open for so long that they need to be shut down.

It's both.

The strange thing is because it is God doing it, you can do this with a pebble or a stone like David did.

Or you can do it with a storm where God sends hailstones from heaven.

You can do it with a mustard seed because all you need is a little faith and it hits Goliath right where, in the center of the forehead.

Or you can do it with an earthquake.

You can do it however you want as long as you know the weapon that God wants you to use.

But this is how the king of glory enters.

So go examine these scriptures that I'm going to write and see if you want to make a fresh start.

I'll write them down for you. You can go home and look at them.

John 21, 6.

For some of us, we are in the place where Peter was.

Messed up. Don't feel good about ourselves. Let people down. Let God down.

John 21, 6. Peter. Fresh start.

For some of us, it's Isaiah 43, 19.

Can you not see it? Behold, I'm doing a new thing.

Seek new vision. This is the best time to do it.

You get 12 months to practice it.

For some of us, we already know what we need to do.

But we need to start. Havoc 21 and 2. It is time.

Write the vision down. It won't tarry.

It is for the appointed time. It is time.

For some of us, it's Isaiah 54, 2.

Time to extend the tent pegs and the stakes.

Whatever you're doing, this doesn't apply to just church.

It could apply to whatever God is.

I mean, God doesn't limit it to church, right?

He does it on the individual level and He does it on the corporate level.

Sometimes it's Luke 47, where it's time to let go of all the things that haunt me from my past because all is forgiven.

Sometimes it's Judges 6, 2.

Time to step out of the shade.

And then the last one is Jeremiah 1, 7.

You're not too young. You're not too old.

Get one of these scriptures.

See if you sense any of these applies to you.

Go home and say, if you need a fresh start like Peter, after messing up and going fishing, start.

If it's new vision, ask.

If it is time, have a good two.

If it is time to extend your tent because you've been waiting and God is saying, here's the rope, here's some more canvas, extend your tent.

If it is, oh my God, my life is defined by my failure and my shame, Luke 7, 47.

Step out of the shade for some of us.

Judges 6, 2 is the story of Gideon.

Step out of the shade.

Come out of the winepress.

And then the last one is Jeremiah, where God says to Jeremiah, listen, don't say you're too young.

And I say that to you.

Don't say you're too young.

But don't say you're too old either.

Come.