When God Opens a Door

Tim Rivers | July 9, 2023

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What's up everybody? Come on. Give Jesus some praise. If you're glad to be in the building, man. Anybody not like the rain? Am I the only one? When I see the rain, I'm like, Lord, I know we need it, but let the sun come quickly whom the sun sets free. I'm so glad that you're here. If you are a guest with us, we want to say Welcome to Embassy City Church. We're so delighted that you are here and we pray that whatever you need from the Lord, you will receive. And for those that are watching online and that are into overflow, thank you so much for joining us. I believe God's going to do something special today. And how many believe that last week? I got a dress last week, I got a little carried away. I, I'm usually a lot more calm, but when I think of the goodness of Jesus and all that he's done for me, and I think about where he's taken us and where we're going, I can't help myself. You know what I'm saying? I get a little excited about what God's getting ready to do and so we're going to do it again.

I was supposed to start a series today, but the Lord said, nah, we got more. Yeah, we got more. We got to get into, so that's what we're going to do this morning. But before we do, I got to say for all the ladies in house, make some noise. Yeah. All right. Well, I want to ask you, have you registered? You don't have to answer that for the girls' night out. Okay? If you register, makes a noise, get signed up. It's going to be an absolutely fun time. They have so many great things planned and an amazing speaker is going to be speaking. Janice Rivers. My wife is going to bring the word.

And she's already shared a little bit about what she's going to share, and it's going to be really good, so you don't want to miss it. Make sure you register. It's happening this Friday night, and for all the fellas in the house, make sure that you give your wife the opportunity to go have fun. So you're on baby duty popcorn movies, Benadryl? No, just kidding. Not the third. Not the third part. I would never do that. I would never do that, and I don't encourage anybody to do that at.

But ladies getting registered, let's have some fun. All right, grab your bibles. We're going back to the book of numbers chapter 13. We're going back to numbers chapter 13, and we're going to hop around a little bit. So numbers 13, put a thumb there and then we're navigating to First Corinthians chapter 16, and then we will end in Romans chapter three. All right, if you have your Bible, say amen. Amen. If not, it'll be up on the screen or it's on your phone either way. Numbers chapter 13, we're going to read the continuation of the story that we let read last week. We read the first part of it. Now we're going to read the ending of it. Numbers 13, verse number 30, but Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, let us go up at once and occupy it for we are well able to overcome it.

Then the men who had gone up with him, these are the other 10 spies, said, we are not able to go up against the people. Now, this is the polar opposite of what Caleb just said. They are literally intentionally trying to go against what this man just said. He says, they say, we are not able to go up against the people for they are stronger than we are. So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, the land through which we have gone to spy out is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height. And there we saw the Nept, Tellum, the sons of Anac who come from, and we seemed to ourselves pay attention to that. We seemed to ourselves else like grasshoppers. And so we seem to them, we seem to ourselves as grasshoppers. And so if I feel that way about myself, I'm going to project it against what God said, right? I'm going to project my insecurity on the enemy and convince myself that if I feel small, then the enemy must think that I'm small. I'm going to disregard everything that God has done and said, and I'm going to stick with how I feel about the situation.

Okay, we got to keep reading. Let's go to one Corinthians chapter 16, one Corinthians chapter 16. This is Paul writing verse number eight, but I stay, I will. I stay in Ephesus until Pentecost for a wide door for effective work has opened to me and there are many adversaries. Wow. I'm going to read it again, but I will stay in emphasis until Pentecost for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries. There is a door, but I'm also not ignorant to the fact that there are adversaries. All right, one more passage, revelation chapter three, verse number seven and eight, and to the angel of the church in Philadelphia, right, the words of the holy one, the one, the true one who has the key of David who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens. I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one, which no one, which no one is able to shut. I'm going to stop right there. Oh man, I feel like preaching today.

I'm going to preach on this subject. When God opens a door, when God opens a door, let's pray. Heaven and Father, we thank you so much for your goodness and mercy. We thank you for what you're getting ready to do in this service. I pray that we will be humble and open and honest and transparent in your presence. I pray that you'd give us ears to hear, heart to receive, and a mind to understand what you would say to us today. Help us to walk out of here different than when we walked in. We give your name all the praise, the glory and the honor because you are worthy of it in Jesus name. And everybody say amen one more time. Can you give God some praise for what he's getting ready to do when God opens a door? Now, I want to talk about theology for a moment because when we say the word theology, it can feel overwhelming, but theology is a compound word, and when you actually break it up into its two parts, it's the word theos, which means God and or logi, which means the study of, so theology means the study of God.

Now, theology feels very complicated because you are studying God. Now, think about how complicated it is to study human beings. This is called anthropology. It is very complicated to understand just a human being, but imagine trying to understand the deep things of a divine God. Yes, sir. That's why the Bible says that his ways are past finding out that there are certain things that we know about God, but there are many things that we will never know about God. If we could know these things about God, then God would cease to be God. Because if you could figure God out, you could figure out how to become like God and God will not compete with anybody else. In fact, I, I've spent years studying theology. I'm in my last semester in seminary and I'm about to graduate, hopefully, God willing, knock on wood.

But even in my pursuit of understanding theology, I still feel like a preschooler oftentimes because the subject matter is so huge, and I think the reason why we have a difficult with theology or the concept of theology is because there seems to be a paradoxical nature and character of God. There seem to be two sides of God, and sometimes we can understand him and sometimes we cannot. Right? For instance, on one side, on one, one side, we have the fact that God is static. He's unmovable, he's unchanging, he's steadfast, he's not fickle. He doesn't wake up one day up and then wake up the next down. In fact, God doesn't even sleep. So we have the notion that God is steady, that God is unchanging, unmovable, steadfast, and I don't know about you, but in the context of the world that we're living in today where everybody is fickle and everybody is up one day and down the next and everybody is going through a rollercoaster of emotions and attitudes and relationships, I am thankful for a God who does not change.

I'm thankful for the fact that when my, while life is in trouble, I can go to God and he is the same yesterday, today and forever. In fact, Malachi God says this about himself. He says, I am the Lord and I change not God is a rock upon which I can stand. When the wind blows and the storm rages, I can go to God. I can hide myself in the cleft of the rock because God does not. Somebody ought to give God praise for the fact that God has been steady in your life. When your family's acting crazy, God is steady. When your kids are emotional, God is steady. When your marriage feels out of sorts, God is steady, steady. So on one side, we understand the static nature of God, that God is steadfast, he's unmovable, he does not change. The word of God is very clear about for the grass withers and the flower fades, but my word will remain forever. Forever.

That's what the Bible says. So on the one hand you have the fact that God is steady, but what we have a difficulty understanding is that on the other side of the coin, we see God as being a God who is progressive. So God is steady and static, and yet he's moving and progressive. How do we know this about God? Well, our very introduction to God in Genesis chapter one, verse one, the Bible says, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth and the earth was without form and void and darkness was upon the face of deep and the spirit of God moved upon the waters. So our very introduction to God, we see him moving, and after he is moving on the waters, he begins to create. And with every day that he creates, he looks at what he creates and says, it is good.

But then the next day he creates more things to add to the things that he just did, and then the next day he creates more to add to the things that he just did. So when God created the sky, he said, it is good, but I want some stars. So God created some stars. He said, that's good, but I want a moon. And he looks at the moon and he says, that's great, but I want a sun. So God creates the sun. He likes the sun, but I want some clouds. So he creates the clouds and he likes that, but he wants the ocean, so he creates the ocean and it's good, but then he wants vegetation. He creates vegetation and it's good, but he wants some animals, so he creates some animals and it's good, but he wants some people. So God creates some people and it's good, but he gives 'em purpose.

So now we have Adam and Eve that are created and the image and likeness of God who are placed in the garden, and then God who is a God of progression. And yet he steady looks at Adam and Eve and says, Adam and Eve, I want you to be fruitful, multiply, replenish the earth, subdue it, and have dominion. You see the very instructions from the very beginning that God gives to man as progressive. Yes, because God says, I first of all need you to be fruitful before you can multiply. I need you to multiply before you can replenish. I need you to replenish before you can subdue. I need you to subdue before you can have dominion. You see, God's plan for mankind has always been to go from glory to glory to progress. God didn't create Adam and Eve placed them in the garden and said, I just want you to sit here but naked eating avocados and talking to animals, the intent of God was not for Adam and Eve just to stay static in the garden, but God says, I've got more doors of opportunity that I want to open for you to go into deeper levels of what I have designed for your life.

God's plan was never for Adam and Eve just to live a life that was static. That was just stop, stopped somewhere. He didn't create them and say, you know what? All I need you to do is eat fruits and run around the garden naked.

God said, I have got progression for you. And so when God begins to tell Adam and Eve that he has a plan for their life and they're operating in the plan, you have to wonder, why did God give Adam and Eve this progressive plan? It's because they were created in the image and likeness of God. Not only were they created in his image, but also in his likeness. And when we look at God, we realize that God, he is static in who He is, but he is progressive in what He does. Yes. Ooh, that's a revelation for somebody right there. So when he creates Adam and Eve, he creates them to be progressive, to move forward into the plan that he has for them. So when God begins to open the doors for Adam and Eve, it's no wonder that the serpent whose life became static begins to attack Adam and Eve, right? And he begins to question what God is doing in their life because Satan knows he could not shut the door. He can't stop the plan of God, but he can crowd it. Satan knew I can't stop the plan of God because I tried it, and now look at me. I'm bodying a serpent.

I can't stop the plan of God. I can't shut the door of the plan of God, but I will stand in the way to block them from seeing what God has for them on the other side of that door. Can I tell you that God has always been a God of open doors? Yes, God is the God who opens doors when doors seem shut. God is the God who will make a way where there seems to be no way. God is the God who will turn water into wine. God is the God who will deliver you out of Egypt with a high and a mighty hand. God is a God of open doors. He opened the door when he told Abraham, I will make of you a great nation. He opened the door with Elijah when he answered by fire. He opened the door with David when he let him kill Goliath, he opened the door with Rahab when she survived and her family, he opened the door with Naomi own him, and he brought her back and changed the name.

He opened the door with Jacob when he wrestled with him after the brook of Jbo, he keeps on opening somebody. I thank God that God's opened some doors in your life when you thought the door was shut. God opened the door. You didn't come from the right family, but God opened the door. You didn't have the right education, but God opened the door. You didn't have the pedigree, but God opened the door. They didn't call you back, but God opened door. You weren't qualified for the job, but God opened the door. You didn't have the right, right pedigree, the right family history. But God opened the door. Somebody give God praise for being a door opener. When I look back over my life and I think about all the doors that God has opened for me, it's just a sample.

The reason why so many of us become static is because we forget the fact that God has opened up doors for us that men thought were shut for us. I'm supposed to be calm and collective today, but when I think about all the doors that God has opened for me, I got to stop for about 30 seconds and give God praise. We forget too easily about where God has brought us from. You weren't saved all your life. God reached down to where you were. He opened the door for you and he saved your life. Your kids weren't always acting right, but God saved them when he opened up the door. Somebody ought to praise God for an open door. Now may just be preaching to myself. Sit down. Y'all make me think I'm supposed to close because I got to get you to understand what it means to have an open door. Because a door is a sign of access.

A door is a sign of access. You get into a house through the door. You get from the house to the backyard through a door. A door. A door represents opportunity. A door represents transition from one phase and to the next phase. You may not know what's on the other side of the door, but what you do know is if there's a door, it's a sign that something else is on the other side waiting for you. And too many of us will stand on this side of the door and brag about all the opportunities that God has for us and all the access that God has for us, but we'll never step through. Why? Because there are obstacles in the way and because there are obstacles in the way we will back off and we'll share with all of our friends. God has given me so much access. God has given me so many ideas. When are you going to walk through the door? Too many people stand on the other side of the door talking about all the things that God has in store for them, all the things that God wants to do for them, but they will not walk through. Why? Because there are adversaries standing in the way. Can I tell you that the devil cannot shut the door, but he will crowd the door so you can't see through it what obstacles and adversaries are why they stand in the way of the door. You know why they stand in the doorway? Because they're trying to block your vision of what's beyond the door.

I can't stop you, but I'll stand in your way and get in your face and try to convince you to back up and just be satisfied being in the front yard. So too many Christians are in the front yard waiting on God to remove the adversary and God's like, no, I need you to push through

Because it's necessary for you to get some opposition so that you can handle what's on the other side of this door. I've already opened the door. Now I'm waiting on you. And too many of us are waiting on God, and God is waiting on us. They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. And God says, wait a minute. That word wait is a verb. It means to anticipate with expectation of what's to come. So when you wait on the Lord, you are literally saying, I'm about to move every obstacle, every opposition, every adversary. Cause I got to get through the door. All right? I got to give y'all some more word I can tell. Let me tell you about these four guys who had a friend who was sick on his bed, and they heard that Jesus was at a house. And because Jesus was at a house, they knew if Jesus is in the house, something good can happen. And so they said to their friend who had no say so in the matter at all, we're going to take you to Jesus. He could have refused. It don't matter. You can't walk.

We're taking you anyway. And could you imagine the embarrassment of the man who's laying on the bed as his friends are carrying him? And they didn't have nice gurneys, they didn't have nice beds. These were four dudes walking through cobblestone streets, over rocks, and he's on the bed shaking, going, I don't know what you guys are thinking, but this ain't going to happen. And the Bible says that they get to the door and the door is open, but it is crowded.

Now they know that Jesus is inside and they know if they can get to Jesus that this man is going to be healed. But there are adversaries,

So many times we think of adversaries as the devil. Too many times we try to say, well, the devil tried to stop me. Sometimes it is not the devil, it's just you. Sometimes it's your own mind convincing you that you can't get through. Sometimes it's so family members that you got to cut loose. Some of y'all have a lot to deal with. Go and go and watch what that means. But they came to the door. The word adversary means one who opposes. So they get to the front door and there are adversaries, there are obstacles before their opportunity to enter in. Now, the four had an opportunity to either walk off

Or try to get in. Well, they tried to get in, but they couldn't because the door which was open had adversaries and obstacles in front of it. So they went to the window which was open, but there were people standing in the window. And because that happened, they could have left. But instead they went to the top of the roof and the Bible says that they begin to remove shingles and destroy this man's house that they did not know to make a doorway, to release the friend into the house where Jesus was. And Jesus looks at this man who has now left down while he's in the middle of teaching. Can you imagine Jesus is teaching and while he's teaching cheat rocks and dust is falling on his head and those pictures where Jesus has nice flowy hair, I don't know if he actually did, but if he did, it would be the perfect time to get this

Dust and sheet rock and dirt and mud and pieces of wood and straw and hay are all falling down and Jesus has to stop his message and just look and see what in the world is going on. But if you know Jesus, Jesus is smiling because he probably already knows what's about to happen, and he's laughing because he knows that the people in the house don't understand this type of desperation, that Jesus knows that there were many people that came to the door that turned around and went back home cause there were obstacles in front of the door, but four men said, we are not going to allow opposition and adversaries and obstacles to stop us from getting inside this house. If I got to rip the roof off, oh by myself, I'll paid for it later. I don't know if he has insurance, but I got to get to Jesus. And the scripture says that they let down the bed, and when Jesus looks at the man who was in the bed, he doesn't say anything to him. He looks up and he says, Hey, because of your faith, I'm going to heal him because you refused to stop at an open door and turn around, but you pressed your way on air. You are going to receive the miracle that you were expecting, but you got to get beyond the doorway.

Oh my Lord, why am I yelling and screaming,

I'm just up here preaching that somebody when I walked away here from here last week, the Lord said, you need to go back and tell 'em that there are many people that have open doors that are not walking through them because they're afraid of the obstacles. They have convinced themselves that there are grasshoppers and they don't understand that I've already brought 'em thus far with a high and a mighty hand. That 10 spies that had an evil report against the land that God provided them for God about the fact that you were a slave 420 days ago and I brought you out of Egypt and you didn't even have to lift a finger. The Egyptians could have smothered you with OneSite, but I brought you out and I drowned him in the ocean. All because I'm God all by myself. And when I opened the door, no man shall shut it.

When I open the door for your freedom out of Egypt, all you had to do was walk on through. When you got to the edge of the Red Sea, I opened up that door and all you had to do is walk on through When you were thirsty, I made water come from a rock. I opened that door and you had to let us walk on through. When you were hungry, I opened the door and give you manna and Rell and you just had to walk on through. I'm preaching and telling somebody, God has brought you thus far through open doors. Why would he stop now?

He's progressing. He goes from glory to glory. He doesn't just have one door. He's got another door. When I walk through one, I see another one open. When I see one open and I know another one's coming, God's not done until he's done and God is never done. Oh my Lord. You weren't qualified for the job. Yes, but God opened the door. You didn't have what it took, but God opened the door. Think about your life. Think about your testimony. Think about the fact that you would not be here today if it wasn't for the hand of God, opening doors that you could not have done in your own power, that business, you didn't have the knowledge and wisdom to start a business, and yet God opened the door. You didn't have the education to get the job. There were 10 people ahead of you, but for some reason they liked you. No, it is because God divinely opened the door. You didn't have the ability to speak, but you knew that God had a platform for you. Why? Because he opened the door. And if you walk through every other door, why would you stop now?

For seven years in our church, God has been opening crazy doors and we ain't stopping now, but I got to tell you that there are going to be adversaries. Here's what happens oftentimes with us, we will walk through doors that God has opened for us when we are desperate to get out of the place that we are. The Israelites were okay dying coming out of Egypt, but when their bellies will full of manna and quail and they had water, they said, I don't know about going beyond here to there. So I want to help you with three things that you need to get through the door. How many know that there's an open door for you? I'm talking about at your job, there's an open door for you. I'm talking about in your family. There's an open door for you, and so many of us will stop in front of open doors and brag about open doors. Oh man, God's got an opportunity for me. Oh man, God's got a plan for my life. It's been five years, bro. You still telling us about the idea? We want to see the product? Yes. Oh, sorry. That was a little too personal of a semi.

So I got to give you three ways that you can get through the door. Number one is by faith.

You got to believe it before you see it. Yes, you got to trust God before it happens. You got to twit your faith in who God is and not what you see.

Well, it's about to free somebody right here because too many of us are waiting for all the minute details to come through about what's on there. Tell me where the furniture is. God, tell me how the house is laid out. Tell me where the bathroom is. Tell me where the master bedroom is. Tell me, do I have a jacuzzi tub or is it just a regular tub? Want? We want all of the details about what's on the other side of the door. And God says, I'm not going to let you through until you believe that what I have for you on the other side is better than what you have right now. You need faith now. Now I got to go back to the 10, the 12 spies that went into the land and they came back and they all agreed that it is a land flowing with milk and honey and here are the fruits of it. And 10 of them said, but there are obstacles.

There are adversaries, there are blocking our entrance into it. Now, this has never been a problem before because this is a news flash, but anytime you go to pursue the will of God, you will face add adversaries. Think it not strange the fiery trials which might try you. No, I need some Bible scholars think it not strange the fiery trials which are to try you as though some strange thing in my pursuit of the willow. God, I've been facing some stuff now. They told me I was signing up for the army of the Lord, but these people shooting at me. I know the Bible says to equip yourself as a soldier, but I didn't actually think I was going to have to fight. I know the Bible says to get my sword and my shield, but I didn't think I was going to have to swing it. And too many people joined the church and they're like, wait a minute, I'm fighting. Yes. You know why? Because every time you walk through a door, it wreaks havoc on the enemy.

Every time you step through a door, the devil takes the blow. Every time you walk through an open door, the kingdom of darkness has to flee. Every time you walk through an opening, the devil has to get nervous. Every time you walk through a door, God knows he's doing something special in your life. When you progress, family curses have to go away when you progress, everyone that said you weren't going to make it has to eat their words. When you progressed, everyone that said you were never going to amount to anything has to go back and say, I'm sorry. Why do you think the devil is fighting you? Because every time you go through a door, you disprove that he has power in your life. You are going to fight to get through the door. You're going to face some obstacles. You're going to go through some adversaries. You're going to have some opposition. God ain't going to give it to you for free. He wants you to exercise your faith. Now, faith is the substance of things. Hope for the evidence of things not seen. Faith is a requirement for you to walk through the door. Can you think about what God's going to get ready to do in your life and have the kind of activation in your life as if it already has happened?

Can you work as a C E O while you're an employee? Can you behave yourself as a leader when you're following? Can you behave yourself as a shepherd while you are a sheep? Can you be yourself in such a way? That said, I may not know what's on the other side of this doorway, but I'm sure enough not going to go backwards. I'm going to believe that what God has for me is for me. And if I got to get through this, I will fight tooth and nail to get through the adversaries to get to the other side of this yes threshold. Yes, you're going to have to fight and you need faith, but you don't just need faith another way. Another thing that you need is you need action. This is where it gets real because a lot of us can believe, but faith without is dead. It's one thing to believe that God has an open door for you. It's another thing to walk through it. It's one thing to believe that God has a plan for your life. It's another thing to act like he does. Let's get back to these spies. 10 of 'em said,

We got the evidence, it's good, but we feel like grasshoppers. We don't think it's possible for us to get into the promised land past the opposition. But one joker named Caleb from the tribe of Juda, I don't have time. I don't have time, but Caleb said, shush your mouth. I saw the same things that you saw.

Okay. I know I got some Bible scars in there. So let me give you a little bit of context here. They said, them jokers that are in there are the sons of Anec who come from now. You read that and it doesn't mean anything. But what you have to notice is that the first mention of Neptun is in Genesis chapter six where the Bible says that the sons of men came and laid with the daughters of men, the sons of God labeled the daughters of men, and there were giants. Now, I don't know for sure there were literal giants, but we do know that this is hundreds of years later and they are so convinced that they say these jungles look like demigods. I don't know if it's true or not, but I feel like it. When you start facing opposition, you become irrational. You start exaggerating obstacles. You start making mountains out of mo hills. When you have a lapse in faith and you start getting scared to convince yourself that this is not the door that God has for you, you will start saying that all the things that you need to face are bigger than they actually are. And what happens is you will start judging the plan of God by external circumstances instead of the internal power that God has given you to walk on through.

So Caleb says, we are well able to possess it. Now, you know how crazy that sounds? Because most of the times when we think of Israel, we think of Israel as the children of Israel under the kingship of David killing everybody. These are released slaves that have only been released for 420 days. Who y'all going to fight with no experience. We don't even know if they had swords. We just know this dude is so bent on getting through the door that he's like, I'm willing to die getting in then stay here in the desert alive.

Do you have the type of faith that says, I am willing to die pursuing what God has for me? Then live, stop and short of what God has for me. And so many people blame everything else in their life instead of realizing there is no action with your faith.

There you go. Don't tell us about the plan anymore. Execute. You need faith, but you need action because when God opens the door, he's not going to force you in it. He'll invite you in it. The question is, will you say yes to the invitation? Yes. God, here's the third thing. I'm going to close with this one. The third thing you need to get through the door is praise.

Isn't it amazing that the ten five said there are adversaries standing in our way. I don't know how we going to get them juggers. I don't know how we're going to fight. I don't know how we're going to get through. God says, man, I didn't like that unbelief. So I'm going to smite y'all down and I'm going to give y'all 40 years to get prepared. So it takes 40 years to get prepared. And now they're under the leadership of Joshua. And Joshua goes right back 40 years later to the place that they were, and he's right there in front of Canaan and he looks at Jericho and he says, this is the first stronghold that we've got to overcome. Now by this time, they've got some skills. They've been practicing. They know how to move with the sword. They've been practicing every day. They are ready to go occupy what God has for them.

And when they get ready to go into Jericho to occupy it, God says, put your swords up. Put your shields up. Because 40 years ago, I didn't want you to go in with the sword. And today I don't want you to go in with the sword. I want you to go march around what I've got for you, and I want you to praise me in advance for what I'm getting ready to do on the other side of this door. It's never God's intention for you to try to fight to open the door. It's God's intention for you to get through the door and praise him while you do it. It may not be perfect, but I'm going to give God praise while I break through. It may not be what I want it to be, but I'm going to praise God while I make my way through the doorway. Can you give God praise in advance for what he is getting ready to do in your life?

Praise is your secret weapon. Do you know why? Because praise aligns God right in your mind. Praise doesn't look at circumstances. It looks at a holy God. Praise is the weapon that you have that the enemy can't take from you. He can't stop you from praising. He can't stop you from giving glory to God. He can't stop you for being thankful. He can't stop you from going back in your memory bank and thinking about everything that God has done for you. He can't stop you. So you got to give God praise in advance for what he's getting ready to do in your life. And if you got to do it all by yourself, you better do it all by yourself. Somebody give praise right now. Come on, somebody give praise right now. It hadn't work out yet, but I'm going to praise them in advance. I don't know how it was going to work out, but I'm going to praise them in advance. My marriage isn't fixed yet, but I'm going to praise him at advance. My kids are still acting crazy, but I'm going to praise him at advance. You can't stop my praise. In fact, I know that the Lord will make a way somehow if I just give him praise.

How do I get through the door? I dunno, but I'm going to praise my way through. How do I get through the obstacles? I don't know, but I'm going to appraise my way. How are these walls going to come down? I dunno. But God said I need to praise. And so that is what I will do. I'm preaching to somebody here today.

I'm preaching to. So maybe I'm just preaching to myself. But there are times when I'm looking at the open door and I'm looking at the adversaries and I say, I don't know how I'm going to make it through. I don't know where the money's going to come from. I don't know where I'm going to get the connections from. I don't know how I'm going to advance. And I hear the word of God saying, you got to remember that you didn't get this far by yourself. You didn't get here by yourself. What makes you think you could get there by yourself? You still got to have faith. You still got to have action, and you still got to stop and give me praise. All right, I'll give you some more words. 10 lepers need a healing. Come on.

Jesus passing by and they get the bright idea. We've been hearing about what he's able to do. And so while he's walking by, I'm going to shout and get his attention. So they say, hi, Jesus. Now son David, have mercy on us. Open the door. So Jesus says to them, go show yourself to the priest. Now, this makes no sense because I asked for healing. Why are you telling me to go to church? You never asked anybody else to do it. They got healed on the spot. Why do I need to go to church?

I do not have the time to walk you through the Bible and the significance of what Jesus was saying, because in the book of numbers, you will find the instructions for what needs to happen In order for a leopard to be declared clean, the first thing they had to do is they had to go to the house of God and the man of God had to declare them clean before they were integrated back into society. So Jesus says to them, I just need you to go show yourself to the priest. And the Bible says that while they're on their way, walking in obedience to the open door that God has for them, the Bible says that they are being cleansed while they have faith that God is able to do it. God opens the door for them and then they walk through it by action through the door that God's open. And while they're walking, they look and they see the scabs are drying up. They see that God is healing them as they're walking through the doorway. But one of them jokers turned around and said, I cannot go all the way to the priest without going back and saying, Jesus, I just want to thank you for what you've done thus far. Jesus, I just want to thank you that the scabs that were open are now dried up. Jesus, I just want to thank you that I'm not the way I used to be. Jesus. I just want to thank you that I'm not where I used to be. I just, I'm going to go. But before I do, I just want to stop and give you praise.

Jesus looks at him and he says, where there not 10 of you? Where are the other nine? I didn't ask for it, but I'm just wondering, where are the other nine? And the man, the one out of the 10 said, I don't know where they are. And Jesus said, because of you return to give me praise. I will not just cleanse you, but I will make you hope. In other words, everything that you lost, your praise will restore it. Everything that you lost along the journey, I won't just make you whole. I'll restore some things that were lost in your life. Everything that you lost Israel while you were in Egypt. I will restore it, but I need you to give me praise. Is there anybody in this place who will praise God just for what he's done thus far? I praise him because I'm not what I used to be. I praise him because I'm not where I used to be. And while you praise him, I promise you some of y'all waiting on the to come out. Some of y'all waiting on the worship team. I'm looking for somebody. I just give God praise

When I think about my life and where I should be, and I think about where I am, I got to to pray.

I'm not all the way, but I'm give him, come on, somebody. Stand your feet and give God praise. I can hear it now. Well, I'm not just not a really, I'm just not that type of personality. Do you turn up when the Cowboys win? Are you losing your mind when the Rangers hit a home run? Then why wouldn't you stop and get buck wild over what God's done in your life? The Cowboys ain't done nothing for you since 1996. But every day that I wake up, God gives me new mercies every morning. So why would I hold back my praise from a God who's brought me through so much and brought me to so much? Somebody ought to give him praise in this praise for that open door.

That open door worship. Tell you, I better come out. Y'all keep standing. Why am I up here preaching this message? Thank you, God. Because I felt the Lord prompt me last week. He said, I need you to go back and tell them what they've experienced is only a sample. Yes, but standing in front of them is an open door. Yes, but we are not ignorant concerning Satan's devices. We ain't. We ain't out here no ignorant to the fact that the devil's going to fight you. And sometimes it's not the devil. Sometimes it's you fighting you. We thought of ourselves as grasshoppers. I didn't think I was qualified. I didn't think what I have, what it takes. And so because I don't feel that way, I think they feel that way. And so I'm going to stay on this side. I don't think I have the infrastructure to handle the business opportunity that God's given me. And so instead of walking through that door, I'm going to stand on this side and just be mediocre. Don't project your insecurities on the plan of God. You wouldn't have made it by yourself to this point. You ain't going to make it to the other side by yourself. You need faith.

But faith without action is dead. You need action and you need praise. I don't feel like it. Praise is not about how you feel. That's right. It's about who God is.

Praise is not circumstantial. It's evidential. Oh, somebody missed that one's not. I got evidence that God is good. I got evidence that he brought me from a might long way. I've got evidence. And when I didn't have what it took, he had enough. I've got evidence that God has opened the door for me. And if God opened the door for me, I'm walking through how many people going to walk through that open door standing in front of, here's my declaration to you. Stop waiting. That's it.