January 2001
The New Year Will Present a Wide Open Door!
Happy New Year! I thank God for another year. "I thank my God upon every remembrance of you. Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with you. For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now; Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." (Phil.1:3-6) I look forward to what God will have for us as a church in the new year. As we start another year it is appropriate to look back and see where God has brought us from and to thank him for successes he has granted, to consider where we are and ask the question, where do we go from here? Finally, we should look to the future with a willingness to go where God will lead.
Paul, writing to the church at Corinth states, "For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries." (1 Cor. 16-9) With all the brokenness in the world there are many doors opened to our congregation for service. Broken marriages, broken relationships, children giving birth to children, AIDS spreading like a wild fire, sexual promiscuity, rampant drug abuse, a society that has become preoccupied with materialism, and in all of this, the church is losing its moral authority. The church has become salt
that has lost it savour. Jesus said, "The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few." (Matt. 9:37) We have an open door for mission and service.
Paul saw in Ephesus an open door and so he walked through it to be used by the Lord. We too, individually and as a church should seize upon the opportunities that this year will afford us. You should open your eyes to the doors that are open to you. What is your Ephesus? If you are a parent or spouse, it may have something to do with giving yourself to those closest to you in a more meaningful way. If you are a teenager, Ephesus may mean getting to know your parents. If you are a student, what you do in the next few years may determine the rest of your life. If you are on the edge of retirement, your Ephesus may be the beginning of a new adventure. Maybe a ministry you have never given any thought. To you as an individual and to us as a church, there is a door open to us.
We must keep in mind, that doing the Lord’s work in the Lord’s way is accepting opposition as a challenge rather than a hindrance. Whenever you go through open doors that the Lord has provided, you can be certain of adversaries. Just as Paul was not intimidated by the opposition, we too, must be of good courage. The Lord has promised never to leave us alone. Remember, the battle is the Lord’s. It is so much easier to drift, procrastinate, evade, than to walk through those
challenging doors.
Read the New Members’ section of the Epistle, and you will be amazed at the caliber of people that join First Baptist. The assemblage of all the talent and skilled individuals is for us to do great things for the Lord and to dare to walk through the open doors! I am convinced that God is about to do a new thing in our church. New times require new methodology. I look forward to being used by God in His divine plan for my life and for our church. Our level of success will be determined by our willingness to obey God. Come! Let us walk through the open door!
Mary and I, wish you and yours, a happy and prosperous New Year!
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