HOW TO WALK THROUGH YOUR OPEN DOOR - Part V

HOW TO WALK THROUGH YOUR OPEN DOOR - Part V

Today marks the final entry of our devotional series highlighting FOUR ADVERSARIES that typically manifest as believers prepare to enter open doors that Almighty God has designed and dispatched.   Our foundational scripture text for this series is I Corinthians 16:9, “For A great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many ADVERSARIES.”  We learned that ADVERSARY NUMBER ONE is SITUATIONAL DOUBT, Satan’s attempt to promote fear and faithlessness.  ADVERSARY NUMBER TWO is GIFT-BASED PRIDE, our archenemy’s strategy to distort the self-images of gifted believers and thus paralyze their forward progress.  ADVERSARY NUMBER THREE is excessive INDEPENDENCE, in lieu of submitted Kingdom connections and covenant relationships.

ADVERSARY NUMBER FOUR is COVETOUSNESS.  Dictionary.com defines “covetousness” as “inordinately or wrongfully desirous of wealth or possessions.” Therefore, covetousness is synonymous with greed.  Jesus Christ issued a crystal-clear warning about this, printed in entirety below:

Luke 12:15-34
15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consists not in the abundance of the things which he possesses.
16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:
17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.
19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?
21 So is he that lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
22 And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on.
23 The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment.
24 Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?
25 And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit?
26 If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest?
27 Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
28 If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and tomorrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?
29 And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.
30 For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knows that ye have need of these things.
31 But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.
32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
33 Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that fails not, where no thief approaches, neither moth corrupts.
34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

While there is absolutely nothing wrong with believers being desirous of financial stability and prosperity, it is important to be acutely aware of those things which constitute our greatest priority and emphasis.  As KINGDOM-KIDS, we seek first THE KINGDOM!  May I repeat?  As KINGDOM-KIDS, we seek first THE KINGDOM!   

In some segments of the institutional church, distorted teachings about wealth and prosperity have supplanted the true gospel.  Such teachings have the tendency to morph into a spurious form of greed, manipulation and oppression – all in the name of GOD.  We must critically reflect on our motives and monitor our ambitions.  Is gaining access to more power and possessions our primary goal – or are we all about saving lost souls?  Jesus declared “you have the poor with you always.” (Mark 14:7)  Since HE did not promise riches to every believer (as some erroneously proclaim), wealth and riches are not the end goal of the gospel.  Therefore they should not be the primary objective of believers. (Matthew 19:23-24 and Colossians 3:1-2)  In the words of the Apostle Paul, “the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” (I Timothy 6:10)  If we are serious about walking through the open doors GOD has promised and provided, it must be accomplished in the realm of the Spirit, i.e. it must be ALL-ABOUT-JESUS, and never all-about-us.

Our God has promised the manifestation of open doors (Revelation 3:8), but He also warned that strong adversaries would show up to potentially block our entry. (I Corinthians 16:9b)  To recap, DOUBT is our adversary.  PRIDE is our adversary.  EXCESSIVE INDEPENDENCE is our adversary.  COVETOUSNESS (greed) is our adversary.  

Bottom-line: each one of these enemies is delivered as an express package from hell, designed to impede our passage through open doors of divine destiny and blessing.  Since we are not ignorant of Satan’s devices (II Corinthians 2:11), how can we achieve continual victory over such powerful adversaries?  The answer is an immediate return to the basic fundamentals of the faith: 1) intensive Word study, 2) fervent prayer, 3) regular fasting, and 4) being filled with and led by the Holy Spirit.  When we are filled with the Spirit, we are provided with guidance, comfort, Word-remembrance, and peace. (John 14:26-27)  Believer, are you ready now?  Are you ready, willing and able to embrace ALL that GOD has planned for you?  Get up now, believer, and start walking (with faith, knowledge, power, humility, love and confidence) through your open door!

While we are marching forward in faith, let us offer an expectant praisE to our Lord:

“Now thanks be to GOD who always leads us in triumph in CHRIST!”  (II Corinthians 2:14a, NKJV)

Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING.  Maranatha!