A Door No One Can Shut!

Have you noticed how our worldview affects our interpretation of things? Certainly in my case, I have seen how the revelation of peace with God and his good intentions toward man because of Jesus are changing the way I understand the bible. If it is true that God is perfect and cannot contradict himself, then the revelation of God through Jesus should be our guide for interpreting Scripture. Jesus is, after all, the exact representation of the Father. He said that if we have seen him, then we have seen the Father.


I enjoy thinking about the effect Jesus' words had on different people: To the weak and heavy laden, he was like an oasis in the desert. His words and actions refreshed, set free and loved. To the religious zealots, those who trusted in and took pride in their religious effort, he was confounding and infuriating. Those who came hungry left surprisingly satisfied and those who came to him haughty were generally left with a shaken foundation and a strange hollow feeling.
Most were surprised at what they got from Jesus. It was contrary to their training, to the accepted religious dogma of the day. The sinners expected an angry word and were given living water and acceptance, the religious elite expected a pat on the back but got a stinging rebuke.
Their worldview and training had shaped their view of God and their expectation. SCARY.

One of the things that is being adjusted in my worldview is the centrality of Jesus: If we read it right, ALL Scripture should point us to him. If it doesn't we're misinterpreting the meaning. 

So when Josh Mills was here in April, I noticed that a fuse had been lit in my understanding. I knew something had been triggered but it was going to take a while for me to realise what had happened. The words that he spoke that exploded in me were: "Jesus is the door."  I knew this was a key, but I didn't have a lock for the key to go in just yet...

The second event that precipitated the flood happened at a prayer meeting a few weeks later: Steve showed us how the name "Jehovah Jireh" (God who provides) was only used once in the bible, when he provided a ram for Abraham to sacrifice in the place of his son, Isaac. Jesus is God's provision. God PROVIDED. It is done. Jesus is the provision. He is the answer to every need!

Last Monday we were praying about our upcoming trip to China and I was reminded by the Holy Spirit of a scripture: "I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut."
This verse comes out of Revelation 3v7+8:

These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. 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.

This promise to the church in China is rocking my world: Jesus rebuked the pharisees: "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to." (Matthew 23v13)
The religious establishment is very good at giving us reasons why we are not eligible to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Religion, legalistic Christianity slams the door in sinner's faces. They're not good enough.

Jesus is so different. He says to the church in Revelation: "No one can shut this door!" Why not? Because HE is the door! No one can take that away. It doesn't matter what any religious authority says, Jesus said that no one can shut the door. No one can prevent me from coming to him. From entering in through him! WOW! No amount of bible bashing or guilt tripping or anything can close the door of Jesus that has been placed before me. There is no better news than this!

The second part of this truth is also good news, but not to all: "What he shuts, no one can open."
Jesus has opened a new and living way into the Kingdom of Heaven, but he has also SHUT the old way. What he has shut, no one can open. The door that has been shut is the door that was labeled "righteous works" no one can go in that way any more. 

I'm off to go dance in the door...the door that no one can shut!