Sermon Date: 2009/1/18

Sermon 1/18/09
SCRIPTURE READING: I Corinthians 16: 5-13
SERMON: The Open Door
讲道题目: 開了的門
2009 marks the third year of my ministry in the Ottawa Chinese United Church. At the threshold of a new beginning I asked God, “Lord do you have need of me here or shall I move on?” The Lord showed me this Bible passage and I had no more questions to ask. When Paul wrote these words to the Corinthians, he was nearing the close of three years’ residence and ministry in Ephesus. In his heart was a desire to move on into Macedonia and then to visit Corinth. But while these other fields of service were beckoning him, he could not escape the sense of burden that God had given him for the city of Ephesus. To him an open door was God’s call to live, teach, and preach the Gospel.
I. A door of opportunity: “A great door for effective work has opened to me,” (v. 9).
Historians have described Ephesus as the “Vanity Fair” of Asia Minor. To anyone who did not have a vision for the lost and a burden for souls, Ephesus was a city to escape from, but to Paul Ephesus was a door of opportunity.
(1) The magnitude of the open door: “great” Paul believed in capturing the great cities as centers of evangelistic endeavor. Next to Rome, Ephesus was such a center. Geographically, it was the link between East and West. Commercially, it was known as “the treasure house of Asia.” Legislatively, it was an assize town, and here the Roman governor came to conduct the major trials and exercise justice. Recreationally, the Pan-Ionian games held here were attended by thousands of spectators and competitors. Religiously, the glory of Ephesus was the temple of Artemis, considered to be one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
(2) The ministry of the open door: “for effective work.” Acts 19 reveals the many activities in which Paul was engaged during his three years in Ephesus: (a) laboring as a preacher, evangelizing not only in the city but also in the whole area of Asia Minor, (b) laboring as a teacher, lecturing in the school of Tyrannus for a period of two years, (c) laboring as a pastor, shepherding the believers, so that the strongest church of the first century was located in Ephesus, and (d) laboring as a writer and writing what we know today as I Cor.
(3) The miracle of the open door: “has opened to me.” There was a time when Ephesus was closed to the apostle (Acts 16:6). For reasons not known to us, he was forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the Word in Asia. In the meantime, Paul had been prepared by a deepening work of grace and by heavy persecution for a task that now awaited him in Ephesus. So he recognized that the open door now before him was just a miracle of God.

II. A door of obligation: “Has opened to me.”
(1) An individual obligation. The tragedy with so many of us is that we never seem to realize our own personal involvement in the task of evangelism. Paul never expected anyone to shoulder his area of responsibility. Whenever Paul found himself, it was always the same. “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.” (Col. 4:2-3.) Each one of us is held responsible for the area of the world that we represent. The home, the school, or the office is an open door both of opportunity and obligation.
(2) An inescapable obligation: “to me.” When the risen Christ sets before us a door, he intends that we should use the opportunity. “I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name…I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.” (Rev. 3:8, 11.) Not to do so is to lose our crown of reward in the day to come. We are not only responsible to our Lord but also accountable. Paul also had a vision of the open door in heaven. One day he was going to stand before his Master and answer for every hour he had spent in Ephesus. “So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.” (Rom. 14:12.) How will you fare when you stand before the judgment seat of Christ?
III. A door of opposition: “and there are many who oppose me.” (v. 9).
If you have no opposition, you had better move on and find the places where you can get them. There is not much in Christian service if we do not know the power of opposition beating against us. To understand something of the opposition with which Paul was confronted, read Acts 19. There were at least three stubborn oppositions that Paul had to face at Ephesus. Each was arrayed in a religious mask, disguising under the satanic force of the opposition.
(1) The opposition of nominal religion. (Acts 19:1-2.) Certain disciples were followers of John the Baptist. They knew something of the baptism of repentance but nothing of the baptism of regeneration. Such nominal religion would have weakened the whole cause of Christ in Ephesus had not Paul dealt with it.
(2) The opposition of religious antagonism. (Acts 196-9.) When the message of the Gospel cuts across religion without regeneration or dead orthodoxy, there is always antagonism. Paul turned from the synagogue and rented his own lecture hall to preach and teach the Gospel.
(3) The opposition of religious professionalism. (Acts 19:23-35.) The worship of the goddess Artemis attracted tens of thousands of worshipers who invariably took home with them little model shrines as souvenirs. But it was the power of the Gospel that this trade of religious exploitation was being threatened. So Demetrius created a riot in which Paul could almost lost his life, but once again God vindicated the honor and message of his servant and a tremendous victory was won for Christ and the church in Ephesus.
Satan is not going to retreat so long as the door stands wide open, but like Paul we can say, “We are not ignorant of his devices”(II Cor. 2:11), and what is more, “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds”(II Cor. 10:4).
Last Sunday after I preached the sermon, “A New Person in Christ” a parishioner asked me this question, “What living example if any has our pastor shown believers on how to live out the new life in Christ?” My answer to the question is this. In the past three years I have lived, taught and preached sincerely, genuinely and honestly the Gospel of Jesus Christ to you. If you still don’t see the example, may be this is the reason why the Lord wants me to continue to live, teach and preach the Gospel here for a while longer. Paul admonished his people with these words, “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” (I Cor. 15:58.)
Amen

Sermon Synopsis
Paul worked in Ephesus for three years. God opened a door for him to stay a little longer for the work of ministry there.
I. A door of opportunity.
(1) The magnitude of the open door was great.
(2) The ministry of the open door was effective.
(3) The miracle of the open door was real.
II. A door of obligation.
(1) An individual obligation.
(2) An inescapable obligation.
III. A door of opposition.
(1) The opposition of nominal religion.
(2) The opposition of religious antagonism.
(3) The opposition of religious professionalism.

Paul admonished his people with these words, “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”

讲道大纲
保罗在以弗所工作了三年。上帝才为他开一道门，叫他在那里传道服务再多一段时间。
I． 一道机会的门。
（1） 蕴藏无限契机的门
（2） 大有果效的门
（3） 上帝行神迹奇事的门
II． 一道义不容辞的门。
（1） 个人的责任
（2） 不可逃避的责任
III． 一道反对的门。
（1） 有名无实信徒的反对
（2） 有宗教势力之人的反对
（3） 迷信群众的反对

保罗决定再逗留在以弗所，做信徒的榜样。他说，"所以，我亲爱的弟兄们，你们务要坚固，不可摇动，常常竭力多作主工，因为知道你们的劳苦，在主里面不是徒然的。"