Doors

Introduction

Revelation 3:20 “20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”

Body

Maybe there is more of the magical in the idea of a door than in the door itself. It’s always a matter of going through into something else. But

while some doors lead to cathedrals arching up overhead like stormy skies and some to sumptuous auditoriums and some to caves of nuclear monsters

most just yield a bathroom or a closet. Still, the image of a door is liminal, passing from one place into another one state to the other, boundaries

and promises and threats. Inside to outside, light into dark, dark into light, cold into warm, known into strange, safe into terror, wind

into stillness, silence into noise or music. We slice our life into segments by rituals, each a door to a presumed new phase. We see

ourselves progressing from room to room perhaps dragging our toys along until the last door opens and we pass at last into was.

Marge Piercy

Doors

Doors can be, like a lot of things in this world, very basic, ordinary things; nothing very special about them

Doors are, at their essence, designed for gaining entry, or barring entry

Hanging doors is a relatively simple process, but for me at least, was generally very frustrating.

I can imagine that building a functional door is, depending on how good you want it to look, also relatively simple

We use doors to keep out the heat, the cold, the rain and wind, and to keep in the nice air-conditioned air in summer and the heat in winter.

We use doors to keep people out who are not welcome into our homes.

If people have honest intentions, in our society they will present themselves at our door and either knock, or ring the doorbell

Then we have a chance to go and see who it is, and to evaluate the person.

Lawfully, only the owner of the house has the right to open that door. Only he/she has the key

The door guards access to our home until we have a chance to make a decision, whether to open the door to them, or to keep it shut.

If the door opens, that gives them permission to speak with us, but, again, in our culture, it’s typically expected to wait for an invitation to come in, unless you already have a close relationship.

If the door remains shut, the person outside knows that they are not welcome to come in, or even to converse with you.

Ever do anything door-to-door?

Doors can also be representative of something greater

It can be open to us on a cold, dark winter night, beckoning us and enticing us with the warmth and light it’s guarding inside

It can be shut to us, letting us know in no uncertain terms that we are not welcome here

My dream about doors - I didn’t know what was behind the door and was afraid to find out

In literature they can be (and often are) much more mysterious and filled with possibility.

While roads in literature typically represent an ongoing process, or a journey of some kind (discovery, personal growth), (The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost) doors typically represent a one-time event

In C.S. Lewis’ works, a wardrobe turned out to be a door to another world; another time

They can be portals to the unknown, hiding from us their mysteries for as long as they remain closed

They can represent a place of transition, moving us from one state of being to another

It can represent the unknown, or even an obstacle that needs to be overcome

In scripture we see doors mentioned quite a bit

Open doors, representing freedom, or possibility, or transition, or a moving forward

Acts 5:17-19 “17 Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation, 18 And laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison. 19 But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said,”

Acts 14:27 “27 And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles.”

Acts 16:26 “26 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.”

I Corinthians 16:9 “9 For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.”

II Corinthians 2:12 “12 Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ’s gospel, and a door was opened unto me of the Lord,”

Colossians 4:3 “3 Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds:”

Revelation 3:8 “8 I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.”

Closed doors, representing imprisonment, impediment, an obstacle to forward progress, finality

Matthew 25:10 “10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.”

Mark 15:46 “46 And he bought fine linen, and took him down, and wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulchre.”

Luke 13:25 “25 When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:”

Genesis 7:15-16 “15 And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life. 16 And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the Lord shut him in.”

The two most important doors

Matthew 7:13-14 “13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”

Jesus is the strait gate

John 10:7 “7 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.”

John 14:6 “6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

Right now they’re both open, and both are choices we can make

At some point they will be closed, and once God closes the door, no one will ever open it again

The first time doors are mentioned

Genesis 4:6-7 “6 And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? 7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.”

Genesis 4:6–7 (NASB95) — 6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 “If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.”

What door? Door to what?

Our hearts. Our soul!

We have the key to this door. No one can gain entry unless we allow them in!!

There are two persons seeking to gain access through this door

Satan - He crouches, hides in the shadows seeking a good time to rush the door. He’s an invader, a thief

Jesus - He approaches in good faith, in the light, out in the open. He seeks entry lawfully

Revelation 3:20 “20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”

Conclusion

Genesis 4:7 (NASB95)“…sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you,”

Revelation 3:20 “20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”

Two doors to choose from, two persons seeking to gain entry through the door of your heart

In both cases, the choice is yours

Exodus 12 - The first passover - The blood becomes a door of sorts, a barrier that God’s judgment will not pass through

In the N.T., the blood of Jesus completely wipes our sins away (I John 1:7; Revelation 1:5) and Jesus is the door to eternal life