7-22-2023 West Palm Beach Seventh Day BAPTIST Pastor Garfield “When God Closes A Door” Acts 16;6-10

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7-22-2023 West Palm Beach Seventh Day BAPTIST Pastor Garfield “When God Closes A Door” Acts 16;6-10

 

 

I want to remind you that God is a way maker. Have you had a situation where you expected things to go a certain way and they didn’t go that way? We often feel that God has forgotten us. You feel that you should be walking through a certain door and as you reach the door, you put your first step thru the door, then the door is slammed shut. Have you felt lost after the door is shut? Have you asked what is next? Have you ever had a crying session asking where is God?

I want to encourage you when you have these experiences. You must go back to the promise God has made to you. If we remember the promise God has made to us, then we can have confidence that He which hath begun a good work in us is able to perform it until the coming of Jesus Christ. So it doesn’t matter what doors are shut. It doesn’t matter what distractions may come or how disappointed we are. We must understand that God is a way maker. We must understand that God is still on His throne. Paul had a similar situation where doors were shut on him. We must evaluate how Paul handled the matter when doors were shut on him. Have you ever applied to a school or applied to a job and the door was shut on you?

Brothers and sisters, Paul was called by God in a very special way. In Acts chapter 9 verse 15, Ananias was told to go to Paul. God told Ananias that Paul was selected especially to take God’s word to the Gentiles and Jews. This was the ministry that Paul had. Paul went on missionary journeys where he traveled from one place to another sharing the gospel of Jesus. On Paul’s second missionary journey, he and Barnabus went to Galatia and met Timothy. Timothy joined them and they continued sharing the Word of God. As they traveled, the Spirit of God stopped them from going to Asia and Bithynia. God’s plan was for them to go into Macedonia which is now part of Greece. Twice God has stopped them from going into countries that Paul wanted to go. If Paul was like me, he would have gotten frustrated.

A frustrated Paul would have said “I am not sure that God is really in this with me”. He could have said “I am not sure God has a plan for me” or “I thought God’s plan was for me to share His Word so why is He stopping me from going to Asia?” When coming back from Macedonia Paul ended up in Asia in the city of Ephesus. Ephesus became one of the seven churches that were recognized in Revelation chapter 3. God had a special plan for Asia but His word to Paul was “Not yet”. Brothers and sisters there are many times in our lives when we are anxious to get something done. We do not recognize the “Not yet”. This was Paul’s experience.

There are four simple words I want to leave with you about Paul’s experience. The first word is No. The second word is Continue. The third word is Come and the fourth word is Go. No, Continue, Come and Go. There are clear lessons that we will draw from this text about these four words. Say them with me. No, Continue, Come and Go. The context of all of this is that Paul understood that God had made a promise to him. God had made a promise to him and the promise was that Paul and others would take the gospel of Jesus from one place to another. What is the promise that God has given to you? What are these promises that God has given to you?

I want to remind you of something out of Isaiah 5;8-9. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts. Neither are my ways your ways” declares the Lord. Verse 9 continues with “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts”. This simply means that when we get a mission from God, our thoughts on how it is to be accomplished can be different from God. It is important that we understand Psalm 119;34 that says “give me understanding”. This is something that we all as Christians need. Then is verse 112 it says “I have inclined my heart to perform thy statues always even unto the end”. It is important that whatever purpose, whatever promise God has placed inside of you, hold on to God’s promise. You may reach a point where the Holy Spirit is saying no. but remember that the mission is not yet completed. It is not the time to be frustrated. Neither is it time to roll over and play dead. Understand that the mission continues. The word is “No not yet”.

The Word can also be “No not this direction”. Brothers and sisters lets look at the word No. Paul was under God’s guidance. In our text verse 6 it says the Holy Spirit prevented them from preaching in Asia. The Bible doesn’t tell us how the Holy Spirit prevented them but the Holy Spirit has many ways it can prevent you. The Holy Spirit can simply cause your application to be denied. The Holy Spirit can have you reach out to someone whose heart is hard. The Holy Spirit can tell you Himself “No this is not it”. The Holy Spirit can cause you to not have the money you need for the program. The No can come in multiple ways. Your inability to go to a place you had planned is God saying No. When Paul got the No, he simply turned and went a different direction because the No did not mean to completely stop preaching the gospel.

The second word is Continue. Brothers and sisters, Paul and his companions did not give up or lose hope when the door was shut to Asia. They pressed on and continued. When things look bad, we are to continue. When it looks like there is no way out, just press on and Continue. When you think that the enemy has won, remember that with God you will never lose! We glorify God, we give Him praise and exalt His name! So Paul just continued because God didn’t say to him that you are not going anywhere. You just are not going here. At least not now. To someone right now who feels that God has forgotten you, a time is going to come when you will see a new season where God will make a way out of the wilderness. Continue as if you have not been defeated.

The third word is Come. There is a song that says come as you are. As a parent when you say come to your child, this means you want your child to come close to you. God says “Come unto me all ye that are labored and heavy burdened and I will give you rest”. In Revelation it says the Spirit and the Bride say Come. All who are thirsty come. God is calling us unto Himself. It is like in an army and you are going back for a new assignment. The Lord is saying “Look I’m going to give you a new direction so you need to Come”. I want you to understand that the Lord is saying that He wants to pour His anointing on you so you need to come.

The “Come” with Paul was that when he was sleeping he had a dream that a man told him to come to Macedonia. Paul may have felt upset when he was told not to go to Asia, but in his vision he is being called to Macedonia by God. He is being called to Come. The word Be-coming means to be transitioning from one thing to another. When God says Come, you are being transformed from one thing to another so you can be more effective for God’s work. You cannot hear the Come if you are not Continuing from before. If you cursed God and did like Job’s wife has said, then you will not be called to Come. The vision Paul had to go to Macedonia was important because Paul was already ready. He was already anointed for the calling and it was now time for action.

The last word is Go. The way God works is He will lead you to the plans He has for your life. Every time you are discouraged and every time a door is slammed shut in your face, go back to the time when God told you His promise and plans. There has been a season in your life where God poured out His Spirit on you. He declared His ministry over your lives. I am saying that when you are feeling low, just go back to that time. God’s mercy kept us then and His mercy will keep us now as we Go. Jeremiah 1;5 says God chose us to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are on a journey with God and no weapon from Hell can defeat us. On this journey we will live and stand on the word of JESUS CHRIST !!

 

AMEN