Part 4 | Our Open Door
Revelation 3:7-13 | November 8, 2026
Dr. Mark S. Hartman, Lead Pastor – SCBC
Revelation 3:7-8 To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of Him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What He opens no one can shut, and what He shuts no one can open. 8 I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut.
1. GOD HAS GIVEN US AN OPEN DOOR.
A. Colossians 4:3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.
B. Acts 14:27 On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.
C. 1 Corinthians 16:9 But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.
D. In the New Testament, the open door always has to do with an unusual opportunity to reach others with the gospel of Christ.
2. OPEN DOORS ARE ONLY OF VALUE IF WE WALK THROUGH THEM. (Revelation 3:8)
A. Isaiah 43:19 Behold I do a new thing...do you not see it?
- God will open doors for us, but He will not make us walk through them. If we don’t, we lose the opportunity.
B. Doors only stay open as long as we stay humble. (Revelation 3:8)
- 1 Peter 5:5-6 God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may lift you up in due time.
C. Doors only stay open as we remain obedient to God’s Word. (Revelation 3:8)
- Revelation 3:8…you have kept My Word…”
- James 1:21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the Word of God planted in you, which can rescue you.
D. Romans 10:9 If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is your Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (NIV)