CLOSED DOORS ARE AS IMPORTANT AS OPEN DOORS
Matthew 2:12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
The birth of Jesus is recorded in both Matthew and Luke. At first glance there may seem to be a conflict in the setting. Luke has the setting in a cave where animals were kept. Infact some shepherds were told by an angel of the Lord that they would find the Christ child lying in a manger. In Matthew it tells us that the Magi on coming to the house, they saw that the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they gave him their gifts of gold, incense and myrrh. The difference may have come from different times. Luke’s record could have come at birth and Matthews possible several weeks after his birth. The reason I say this is in Luke he tells of Jesus being circumcised on the eighth day and then when the time of purification had been completed they took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord to be consecrated. This time period is mentioned in Leviticus 12:2-4. It was different for a boy than a girl. I am not use why this was the case but it was. The mother (Mary) was ceremonially unclean for seven days following the birth of a boy. On the eighth day he could be circumcised, but the mother had to wait 33 days from her bleeding and could not touch anything sacred or go to the sanctuary until the days of purification were over. This could have been 33 to 40 days before Mary could go into the temple. During this time she and Joseph could have rented a room or stayed at relatives. It could have also been during this time that the Magi came to visit Jesus. It is not uncommon even in the gospels to see events not necessarily be listed in the exact same order even though all the gospels have the same similar events mentioned. It wouldn’t be that surprising for different authors to remember and record events differently regarding the exact time they took place. I have trouble with what all was supposed to get at Wal-Mart. Ha!
What I would like to talk about today is God’s warnings to the Magi and Joseph. The Lord warned the Magi not to go back to King Herod and also the Lord warned Joseph that he was to leave while it was still dark and to take Mary and Jesus to hide in Egypt, because King Herod wanted to kill him. Neither the Magi or Joseph seemed to question the dreams they had from God. Today we hear very little about God speaking to people using dreams. We hear occasionally of someone having a vision. I had one myself at my conversion and I never questioned that it wasn’t from God. In fact it never entered my mind that it wasn’t from God. It even affected me physically making me upset at my stomach and left my heart burning.
In Acts 2:17 Peter said, “In the last days, God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.’” It really shouldn’t be too surprising to hear or even expect this to be happening, but the church for the most part seems to think that this was meant just for Jesus’ apostles as well as the other gifts of the Holy Spirit. Yet most pastors certainly believe in their gift of prophecy or preaching. Maybe it just depends on what side of the pulpit you are looking at this. I personally believe that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are for the church as it says in I Cor 12:1-11, and that the church today still is in as much need for them as the early church.
Well, getting back to the Magi and Joseph’s dreams, I would like to point out that in God’s thinking and guidance his closed doors are as important as his open doors. Sometimes Christians get frustrated with closed doors an even feel that they are under attack by Satan and the powers of darkness. In reality Satan and the powers of darkness may be trying to open the door because they know it will be bad for you. And the reverse can be the case too. God can be opening a door and Satan and the powers of darkness can try to get us to not walk through it.
It is all about discernment, and discernment from God the Holy Spirit. Sometimes as we grow in our maturity, we think that we can figure it out on our own. I might warn you from experience that this is not a good idea! The Holy Spirit is never wrong, and I find that more likely than not I am wrong.
Sometimes I like to watch the TV show of house hunters. It is fun to see all the different styles of homes not just in our country, but all over the world. Usually a single person will take a friend along with them to give them a second unbiased opinion. I find this interesting, because more likely than not the people buying the house never takes their friends advice. They don’t even take mine! I am sitting on my couch saying don’t take that old dump, go for the modern house or whatever. Seldom do they listen to the realtor either. In the end most people go with what they want for the good or the bad.
More often than not it is the same way spiritually for many people. They read their Bible, ask friends, have people pray to God for them, and then in the end they go and do what they were going to do all along. Advice or guidance from loved ones, friends, fellow Christians or even God is only as good as what we are willing to follow.
Many things get in the way of following advice or God’s will. Surprising enough education can be one of them. We put our trust in our physical intelligence on the matter. We look it up on line, read about it, talk to others about it and think that this is as sure of a deal as can be made. The problem is if the Holy Spirit isn’t the first and foremost important source of insight we may be missing out completely. The Holy Spirit knows all the implications to our decision and guidance not for just this moment, but how it will impact the rest of our life.
We can pick out the best looking house, getting the best savings, in the perfect location, but only the Holy Spirit knows if we will truly be happy and safe there. Maybe the neighbors will sell their house to some people that will be a bad influence on you or your family. Maybe in a few years a sinkhole will form under your house. So how do we know if it the answer is from the Lord? If you are a Christians then you have the Holy Spirit in you He will give you peace and everything will go smoothly. If it is God’s will he will level the mountains and fill the valleys. I God wants you to go through a door you will not have to kick it open. The tricky part is setting our will aside and passionately looking for the will of the Lord. When we do we will find our self as happy with a closed door as a opendoor. The key is to intently look for God’s hand to move.
When Beckie and I retired we needed to find a house to live in. In the United Methodist Church they usually supply a parsonage for the pastor and their family to live in. That helps with the income, but at retirement and you are old and don’t own a home all of a sudden a need has arrived.
About three months before we retired we contacted a real estate agent near our son’s house to see if he could find us a nice place for us to hang our hats. Weeks passed and we heard nothing. Findly with about a month and a half before retirement he called and said he had a couple of places for us to look at. Neither houses even seemed close to what we felt comfortable with. I was pretty upset and discouraged to say the least. As we were taking our son back to his house I was praying asking for the Lord to help us find something. In just a few minutes and about five miles from our sons house I noticed a moving van loading up the belongings of a family. I had our son Joshua turn in the drive, and I went up and asked if that house was for sale or rent. The fellow looked surprised and said he had no idea. He did have the phone number of the owner and I could call and ask him. In the meantime he invited us to take a tour of the house. He explained he had just been transferred, and they had just refinished the house a few months before. It was only five years old and everything was fresh and new looking after the renovation. By the time Beckie and I had finished walking through the house Joshua was talking to the owner. The owner said he would consider selling it, because his wife had been pestering him about it. Joshua asked for a price and the fellow gave him one right back. Joshua told us and asked what we thought. Well, it was a little more than what we intended on giving, but we did need a house badly and it was only a few miles from Joshua and his family. He wouldn’t even have to go out of his way to drop the kids off and pick them up after school. It really sounded perfect. I looked at Beckie and she noded her head and we told Joshua to tell him we would take it. He quickly started messing with his phone and said we can get this cheaper. I told him not to insult the man with too cheap of an offer. He explained that the seller would not have to pay realtor for selling it and he deducted that commission. He called the man back and explained our offer and the man came right back and said the house is yours. Beckie and I just looked at each other with the thought of, “What did we just do?”
Well, to make this long story shorter, We got the house and love it. Several months later Beckies mother moved in with us, and she paid the rest of our house off. What seemed impossible only months before, the Lord made possible. The Lord knew those people were moving. Infact Jesus is so good he probably gave that man a better job, so he would move so we could have that house. Do I really believe this? Well, yes I do! That is just the way God treats his kids and Jesus treats his Bride. Oh, it’s good being a child of the king!
Do you have any decisions that need to be made? Just remember that Jesus loves you and he always wants what is best for you. You can trust his leading. He will show you the open doors, and he will also close some too. Just remember don’t get discouraged, because the next closed door may only be pointing to the open one.
Prayer: Holy Spirit, Thank you for all the help that you give us in our life. We thank you that nothing is too small, or too large for you to help us with. Please help us have the wisdom, knowledge and insight as well as the persistence to wait for your leading and answer. We ask this in Jesus name.
