Introduction
Are you willing to walk through the doors God opens, even when you feel small, under-resourced, and unsure what’s on the other side? The central lesson I want to press into your heart is this: the mission of the church never changes (we proclaim Christ and make disciples), but faithful disciples learn to recognize and courageously step through the open doors Jesus places before us.
There are seasons when a passage of Scripture doesn’t just inform us, it meets us. That happened as we worked through Revelation and landed on Jesus’ letter to the church in Philadelphia (Revelation 3:7–9), right as war erupted nearby and opportunities to serve suddenly appeared that we never expected. This letter anchored me: in crisis, confusion, and uncertainty, Jesus still leads His church, still opens doors, and still calls us to faithful obedience.
Main Points
Are you willing to walk through the doors God opens, even when you feel small, under-resourced, and unsure what’s on the other side? The central lesson I want to press into your heart is this: the mission of the church never changes (we proclaim Christ and make disciples), but faithful disciples learn to recognize and courageously step through the open doors Jesus places before us.
There are seasons when a passage of Scripture doesn’t just inform us, it meets us. That happened as we worked through Revelation and landed on Jesus’ letter to the church in Philadelphia (Revelation 3:7–9), right as war erupted nearby and opportunities to serve suddenly appeared that we never expected. This letter anchored me: in crisis, confusion, and uncertainty, Jesus still leads His church, still opens doors, and still calls us to faithful obedience.
Jesus Is Holy And True
Revelation 3:7 introduces Jesus as the One “who is holy and true.” That matters because our culture often misdefines holiness.
- Some think holiness is mostly about rule-keeping and external restrictions.
- Others imagine holiness as withdrawal from ordinary life, like the person who isolates in a monastery.
- In Jesus’ day, many would have pointed to the Pharisees as the “holy ones,” because they were separated and meticulous.
Yet when we look at Jesus in the Gospels, He didn’t fit the popular stereotype. He ate with people the “holy” crowd avoided. And still, He is the holiest person who ever lived.
Biblically, holiness is both putting off and putting on. We put away sin, sexual immorality, impurity, evil desire, covetousness (idolatry), anger, slander, obscene talk (see the themes of Colossians 3:5–9). And we put on Christlike character, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, forbearance, quick forgiveness (Colossians 3:12–13). This kind of life is produced by the Holy Spirit, shown in the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23).
Jesus is also true, genuine, authentic. He is not a substitute version of life with God. He is the real thing. And as His disciples, we’re called to reflect that authenticity, not pretending perfection, but practicing honest repentance and real grace toward one another.
The Open Door Comes From Jesus says He holds “the key of David” (Revelation 3:7), He has authority to open what no one can shut, and shut what no one can open. Then He tells the church:
“See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut” (Revelation 3:8).
Notice what He emphasizes: the door is His doing. The church doesn’t manufacture it; Jesus places it there.
And He connects that open door to their faithfulness:
- “You have kept my word”
- “and have not denied my name” (Revelation 3:8)
This is crucial for discipleship: faithfulness today prepares us for opportunity tomorrow. When we keep Jesus’ Word and cling to His name in ordinary life, we’re being shaped into people ready for whatever assignment He brings next.
Also notice something humbling: Jesus doesn’t even tell us what the open door specifically is. He simply says it’s open. Many doors in life don’t come with flashing signs. Often, obedience requires prayer, wise counsel, and the willingness to take steps without having every detail explained.
Be The Church In Brotherly Love
Philadelphia was known historically for “brotherly love,” but Jesus wasn’t writing to a city, He was writing to a church within that city. A church must be wholly genuine and demonstrate what true brotherly love looks like.
Jesus taught that love among His disciples would mark them as distinct: our devotion to one another shows the world we belong to Him (John 13:34–35 is clearly implied).
So I want you to hear this plainly: many times the church gets wrapped up in things that are not the mission. But the mission remains, make disciples, hold the gospel, live out love, and adapt to the opportunities Jesus opens without compromising what He has called us to be.
In a divided world, people desperately need a church that “keeps the main thing the main thing”, a community that holds tightly to gospel truth and loves its neighbor, refusing to let go of either.
Little Strength Is Not A Problem
Jesus tells them:
“I know that you have little strength” (Revelation 3:8).
The open door wasn’t given because they were impressive. Not because they were influential. Not because they had money, numbers, or prestige. Jesus explicitly acknowledges they were small, and yet He entrusted them with opportunity.
God loves to use what the world dismisses. Throughout Scripture, He champions the imperfect and insignificant to display His power. That means:
- God can use anyone.
- Doors are not reserved for the “strong.”
- Opportunity is not dependent on your résumé.
But when the door opens, our instinct is often to check our “inventory”: finances, time, age, connections, energy, family constraints. We start asking, “Can I do this?” instead of “Is God calling me, and is He enough?”
Open doors reveal what we’re truly trusting.
God Prepared You For This Moment
You are not an accident. God made you uniquely you, your personality, skills, gifts, and story, and He has been arranging your life for His purposes longer than you can imagine.
David recognized this in Psalm 139:13–16: God formed him, knit him together, and wrote his days before one of them came to be. If God did that for David, He has done that for you.
This changes how I face opportunity. When Jesus places a door before me, I’m not looking at randomness; I’m looking at a prepared invitation. And it may be “big” or “small”, the size of the door isn’t the point. The point is obedience.
Sometimes those doors also expose insecurities, prejudices, and blind spots. Each of us has “those people”, the ones we’d rather avoid. But Jesus may be opening a door precisely there, inviting us to extend His love and grace where we naturally resist.
Faith Fixes Its Focus On God
Numbers 13 gives a vivid picture of what happens when an open door meets fear. Israel stands at the edge of the Promised Land. Twelve spies go in. They all see the same land, fruitful and exactly as God promised. But ten return with a report dominated by fear:
- “The people…are strong.”
- “The cities are fortified.”
- “We saw giants…we were like grasshoppers” (Numbers 13:27–33).
Caleb, however, responds with faith:
“Let us go up at once…for we are well able to overcome it” (Numbers 13:30).
Same facts. Different focus.
The ten effectively said, “God may have promised, but…” They looked at themselves and concluded failure. Caleb looked at God and concluded obedience.
Here’s the discipleship question I want to put in your hands: How many times do we reframe the real issue from “Will God be faithful?” to “Am I capable?” God has never failed His people. He may not always do what we want, when we want, but He does not fail.
Expect Resistance, Walk In Courage
Jesus warns Philadelphia of opposition, “the synagogue of Satan” (Revelation 3:9). Whenever you step into Spirit-led opportunity, conflict comes. Paul said the same:
“A wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries” (1 Corinthians 16:9).
Opportunity and opposition often travel together.
So where do we get courage when we feel we have “little strength”?
God’s words to Joshua are a direct answer. In Joshua 1:2–9, God repeatedly commands:
- “Be strong and of good courage…”
- “Do not be afraid…”
- Why? “For the LORD your God is with you… I will not leave you nor forsake you.”
Courage is not something we manufacture by personality. Courage grows from presence, God’s presence. The command “be strong” is tied to the promise “I am with you.”
Even our children understand this instinctively. A dark basement is terrifying alone, but it’s different when a father goes with you. In the same way, the Lord doesn’t merely point at the door and demand you figure it out, He promises His presence as you obey.
And when God opens doors for His church to serve, even across historical hostility and deep wounds, He can produce something the world cannot explain: unity in Christ. That’s what the body of Christ is meant to be: not a place of turf wars and division, but a family that works together to love people, including those who don’t yet know Jesus.
Conclusion
Jesus is the Holy and True One, and He holds the keys. He places open doors before His people, not because we are strong, but because He is faithful. Our calling is to keep His Word, not deny His name, love one another authentically, and step forward in faith, expecting uncertainty, expecting resistance, and trusting the God who promises, “I will be with you.”
So I’m asking you to take this personally: What door has the Lord placed in front of you right now, and are you focusing on your “little strength,” or on His limitless power?
Father, You are holy and true, and Your Son Jesus opens doors that no one can shut. Forgive us for the times we have looked at our weakness and concluded that obedience is impossible. Teach us to keep Your Word and to never deny Your name. Make us an authentic people, quick to repent, quick to forgive, and marked by love for one another.
Lord, give us courage like You gave Joshua: not courage rooted in self-confidence, but courage rooted in Your presence and Your promises. Help us recognize the doors You are opening, and grant us faith to step through them for the sake of the gospel and the good of our neighbors. We trust that You will not leave us or forsake us. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Conclusion
Jesus is the Holy and True One, and He holds the keys. He places open doors before His people, not because we are strong, but because He is faithful. Our calling is to keep His Word, not deny His name, love one another authentically, and step forward in faith, expecting uncertainty, expecting resistance, and trusting the God who promises, “I will be with you.”
So I’m asking you to take this personally: What door has the Lord placed in front of you right now, and are you focusing on your “little strength,” or on His limitless power?
Closing Prayer
Father, You are holy and true, and Your Son Jesus opens doors that no one can shut. Forgive us for the times we have looked at our weakness and concluded that obedience is impossible. Teach us to keep Your Word and to never deny Your name. Make us an authentic people, quick to repent, quick to forgive, and marked by love for one another.
Lord, give us courage like You gave Joshua: not courage rooted in self-confidence, but courage rooted in Your presence and Your promises. Help us recognize the doors You are opening, and grant us faith to step through them for the sake of the gospel and the good of our neighbors. We trust that You will not leave us or forsake us. In Jesus’ name, amen.