The Closed Door

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  The Closed Door from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.

  Transcript: 

  Today I am going to be talking about: “Closed Doors”. We have all hit them, but I have learned to be thankful for them. Don’t get too excited when things are going great, don’t get too depressed when things are going badly - BECAUSE the righteous shall live by faith - not by their feelings. 
  
  We choose to trust God because He is solid and unshakable. When we step outside of our home, we have faith that the ground will support us, and that gravity will hold us down from floating off into space. We do not even have to think about it. All of that just happens.
  
  
  What I want to tell you, is that if you completely submit your life to God, that He will take full responsibility for you and things will begin to happen automatically. 
  
  Psalm 37:4 (NKJV) — Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
  
  Who does He give the desires of their heart? Those who delight in Him. 
  
  Romans 8:28 (NKJV) — And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
  
  Good things happen to those who love God. There are many healthy, rich, and famous people, who commit suicide each year - because health and wealth do not necessarily bring happiness and fulfillment. Developing a relationship with God and learning to trust in His timing will. 
  
  In 1995 I worked with an international construction company as a maintenance foreman over a crew of men. After fasting to get closer to the Lord, I was called to the office and laid off. It was the last thing that I expected and I had just bought a new house. 
  
  I needed a job, but I could not find one anywhere. I had really been seeking God and felt like I should be working in a Christian bookstore, or at least a Christian environment. I thought perhaps He was moving me towards that. 
  
  In time, the Church that I attended had a Christian school, and they offered me a job taking care of the building maintenance. It seemed like a perfect fit. I wanted to be in a Christian environment and knew a lot about maintenance work, and they sure needed someone to take care of the place. We all took it for granted that it was a match made in heaven. I had the job - no questions asked.
  
  Then the leaders and I joined hands and prayed together about it, and the Lord said: “No. Not at this time.” We were all let down. Feelings of rejection and worthlessness flooded over me. I began to feel that I had let God down somehow and He had written me off. I bet it was because of blah blah…see when you face a closed door, all kinds of crazy thoughts will start coming from the enemy and yourself. But the righteous will live by their faith - not their feelings. 
  
  I kept looking for work and almost got a job painting houses. The man hired me over the phone after an interview and told me to show up Monday. When the day came, I drove to their office and prayed all the way there: “Lord, if this is the job for me then great, but if not then please close this door. I want what You want.”
  
  When I arrived at the office, the manager explained that he had just hired someone that he thought was me and that he was sorry, but he didn’t need anymore help. He was as confused as I was. I thanked God for stepping in. 
  
  With the time off, and unable to find a job anywhere, I began to tinker with computers, and began learning to build websites. I would often stay up until 2 AM benchmarking and overclocking computers in the garage. I loved taking scrap parts and making it into a working machine. My first computer was housed in a cardboard box. 
  
  I eventually got a job at a brass polishing plant running a buffing machine. Over the next year I watched God transform the place, people were saved, went to church together, and the Bible played throughout the building all day. I considered it a side quest like when Paul was on the way to Rome, but was shipwrecked on the Isle of Malta. It was just for a season and he impacted that area, then moved on.
  
  I continued to work with computers and began to delve into Internet related things like web servers and Linux. Strangers began to call me and persuade me to come work on their computers. I was hesitant at first, but they would be persistent and the Holy Spirit would urge me to go. Time after time He would anoint me to fix anything that I faced, and soon other technicians in the area were calling me for advice. Some still do today. The Lord began to push me into my own computer business and soon I had over 50 clients that I took care with networks of dozens of computers. 
  
  That went on for about 17 years, then the Lord closed the door on that and pushed us into full time ministry. Now here we are, building an online church, using the skills that He taught us along the way. 
  
  
  The Apostles lived by faith, praying at every stage. They had no long term plans, other than to serve God wherever they found themselves. 
  
  Acts 8:38–40 (NKJV) — So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing. But Philip was found at Azotus. And passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea.
  
  Picture Philip. He was headed towards Gaza when he met an Ethiopian, struck up a conversation, and baptized him. Then Philip was instantly transported to Azotus. He looked around, and then began preaching to them. This was the life of serving Jesus - complete trust, wherever I am, and whatever I am doing. You cannot go wrong with that attitude. 
  
  See, I look back now at those closed doors, and those unanswered prayers, the times when I thought that God was mad at me for not giving me that job that I wanted - and I can see that it was not part of His plan for me. It would not have fit. I would have continued to be a maintenance man, and there would be no Refreshing Hope or this meeting today.
  
  The best advice that I can give you is to submit yourself to God and trust Him with the big decisions. When you face a closed door, don’t get too upset. When you face an open door, don’t get too excited. What I have learned is that one door is preparing you for the next door. What we are doing today is not forever, and we do not have to understand it, or why something is happening.
  
  Get in tune with Him, pray, and trust Him to take care of the details. I thank God for the closed doors. Two years after the Lord put me into full time ministry, He told me stop. I could not make sense out of it. I enjoyed my work, but I could not shake this feeling, and there was no other door or work opened up.
  
  To leave a job without a job to go to in your mid 40s was not a very welcome thought, especially after the times of lack that we had been through. But we are committed to Him, so I began to update my resume and I gave my notice that I would be leaving the ministry. 
  
  Then the Lord inspired us to start Refreshing Hope Ministries. See, there was no other door open because He was going to us to create one. We had to step out in faith, trusting Him to catch us. Now I view the closed door as a coming promotion. God’s closed doors are like the painted lines on the highway. They keep you on His path. Don’t fight them. Invite them.