Acts 16 – When God Closes one door… by Ben Fronczek

http://granvillenychurchofchrist.org/?p=244

Acts 16 – When God Closes one door…

When God Closes One Door and Opens Another

Read Acts 16:1-18

(Click on link to read) http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=acts%2016:1-18&version=NIV1984

Have you ever had something like this happen?  You are going along with plans or doing this or that and all of a sudden, ‘BAM’  it’s like God closes a door and prevents you from heading in that direction or doing some activity anymore.  ( eg. a career, Job, a relationship, a vacation, or even something as simple as a planned trip the grocery store. )

A. Have you ever wondered why God closes some doors and opens others?  In God’s sovereign wisdom, grace, and love I have to believe He is leading us to what is best.  You know what Paul said in Romans 8:28, ^“ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,  who  have been called according to his purpose.”

No person, no organization, or group really knows what’s best for you, whether it be for the short term, or for eternity. Only God really knows what’s best for us, and He’s the only one really able to do something about it.

In this story that we just read here in Acts 16, when the Spirit prohibited Paul and Timothy from preaching in Asia, I don’t know what they thought about when these doors closed, but I can’t help but believe that they knew God had something else in mind. That He would eventually open up another door, and possibly a better door for them.

It’s not like Paul was unfamiliar with something like this happening.  When we first started reading about Paul, do you remember what he was doing? He was persecuting Christians. In other places he talked about how he was advancing quite well as a young Jew.  He had even acquired permission from the Jewish leaders to go off to other communities to arrest Christians. He thought he was doing something real good, a service to God. But then, do you remember what happened, ‘BAM!’  God closed that door and his whole life changed from that point on.

Now the whole point of this sermon is that I don’t what you to get overly discouraged when you get a door slammed in your life, when you get a rejected for that special job, or you don’t get that promotions you hoped for, or if certain relationship doesn’t work out,  or if something blocks you from going on that planned vacation,  or whatever.

The point I want you see here today is that God understands things, and can see things that we just can’t see, things that will hurt us or others, things that are not in our best interest. He even knows which things are better for us and will help us grow. He even knows what will bless us in the long run.

Like a loving parent who tells their child, ‘No’ when they want to do something that may cause that child harm. Or when the parent forces their kid to do something that the kid may not want to do at first, but then they excels and even like what he was forced to do, we have to believe that God knows us even better than a loving parent.

We need to learn and be convinced of the fact that God sees beyond these closed doors, and so we need to learn to trust Him when those doors close. Like Paul in this story, God may close one door or even two, but He may have one that He is about to open that may be a greater blessing for you or someone else.

I what you to notice a few things in this story:

#1. God may close a door even though we are doing a good job.  Do you remember what Paul and his companions were doing here? Paul left the well established church in Antioch to visit and encourage those churches he had helped establish on his first missionary journey. He deeply cared for those new Christians and he wanted to make sure they were fairing well, and there is nothing like a personal visit from their father in the faith. And of course he continued to spread the Good News about Jesus where ever he could.

(Re-read verse 5) “So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.”
What he and his companions were doing was good, but God not only closed one door but also another. They text say that they were kept from going into Asia, that door closes, and then into Bithynia, and  ‘Bam!’  Those doors shut, but notice another opens. “⁶ Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. ⁷ When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.”

There are times in life when you are also doing a good job, or doing all the right things, doing your best, and then ‘BAM’ a door closes. It may surprise you or even disappoint you when it happens, but you need to trust God and believe He knows something that you do not know.

#2. Another observation: They were open to a plan B.   Even a plan C. 

They didn’t give up and go home because things didn’t work out.

– They remained open to God’s Spiritual suggestion

Listen to what  Alexander Graham Bell once said   “When one door closes another door opens, but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.” 

– Helen Keller also once said   “When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.”

Are you guilty of that. If a door closes in your life; if you don’t get that one Job you expected and hoped for, do you focus so much on what you lost that you don’t see any other opportunities that may be opening up right in front of you?  If you were hoping to buy a certain car and all of a sudden  that door closes and someone else buys the car before you, do you mope around so much that you don’t see other cars that are just as good if not better right in front of you?

If a door closes it closed, move on to another. These men remained open to other opportunities, and when the Spirit spoke to Paul about Macedonia, they did not hesitate and focused on what could have been, rather they trusted in God’s providence and moved on through a open door that they would have never considered beforehand.

Sometimes God will close a door to protect us from a situation, or even bless us in ways that we may never have thought about.  But there is also something else that we also need to consider as we look at this text, and I see this more than anything else in scripture…

#3. Sometimes God may close a door in our life for someone else’s sake; maybe even someone  that we don’t even know yet.

As this story continues on, we read that Paul and his companions eventually wind up in Philippi and we see a number of people turning to the Lord because Paul and his companions went through this open door.  In this chapter we read about an influential woman by the name of Lydia and her whole household who turned to the Lord and were baptized. Later in the same chapter we read about a jailer and his whole household accepting  Jesus and then being baptized. What we have here is the birth of the Philippian church, and who knows how many more were converted to Christ  because God closed a couple of doors in Paul’s path, but then opened another.

God will sometimes close a door in our life to redirect us for someone else’s benefit.  You have to realize, IT”S NOT ALL ABOUT YOU. God loves others as well.

Do you remember the story about Joseph? I’m sure you do. The boy with the coat of many colors. Talk about having a few doors closed in his life:  – Favorite son – ‘BAM’, Sold into slavery and dad thought he was dead.  -Potiphar’s favorite servant – “BAM”, thrown into prison and falsely accused of groping Potiphar’s wife.

But in his case you know the rest of the story   –God opened a huge door of opportunity – to become 2^nd in charge over Egypt.   Do you remember why?   Was it for his benefit only?   Was it all about him?   No! God chose to close certain doors in his life and then opened another, ultimately, to save his family and all of Egypt in a time of great famine. And this also opened up the door for the Israelitesto settle into the richest part of Egypt for 400 years and grow from a handful into a mighty nation..

Sometimes God just may close a door in your life to bless another. He may just keep your where you are because he wants you there or He may open door of opportunity so you can help someone else that you don’t even know or may never get to know..

#4. Sometimes God may choose to close a door in our life to help us, even force us to grow. How do you know what potential you have unless you learn,  or unless you try something new.

Someone once said, “Closed doors are opportunities to move forward in our lives. They are the universe’s way of telling us to move on from a situation that doesn’t serve our highest good.”  It’s not the universe’s way of telling us to move on to a higher good, it God way of telling us….

We are all created in God’s image, that’s what scripture tells us. That means you have unlimited potential. In most cases the one holding you back, more than anyone else, is the person you see when you look in the mirror.

Does a baby bird know that he or she can fly. Probably not until mama bird pushes them out of the nest. Likewise God will sometime kick you out of your nest in order to get you to experience something new and hopefully grow.

God may say, ‘no’ to certain prayers in order to direct you to roads that will lead you to what he wants and expects from you.

So in Conclusion:
I say, Ask the Lord to give you the courage, tenacity and toughness to overcome rejection when it comes your way. Ask Him to help you exhibit a resilient attitude in your pursuit of His best interest.

Ask the Lord to keep your mind open to whom you should be ministering to while putting away any of your personal preferences, expectations or prejudices.

Ask the Spirit  to help you recognize His open doors.

And don’t let your self get too discouraged or depressed about a door that closed in your life.

Remember God is in control and He wants not only to bless you, but also others as well.

Trust Him and his judgments and plans!