TRANSCRIPT | Sun, Oct 11, 2020 | Don't Stop on Green

 

Pastor Eric
Amen and amen and amen. Anybody glad to be at church on a Sunday morning? Huh? We are
so glad you’re here. I just wonder, anybody saved and you know it, on a Sunday morning?
Praise the Lord. You guys may be seated. I want you to look over at somebody and let them
know you are in the right place at the right time on a Sunday morning.

 

Pastor Eric
We so appreciate our band and our Praise Team for leading us into the presence of God. I
sense the nearness of God. Would you guys let those folks know how much you appreciate
them, very grateful for them and the atmosphere that they create. You know the Bible tells us
clearly that if we will praise God, then He will inhabit those praises. If we will praise God, He will
inhabit those praises. So, praise is not a spectator sport; it is a moment for participation. So,
when we begin to gather together in the name of Jesus, God has promised as well that He will
be in our midst, and today we are not here in the name of a preacher, we’re not here in the
name of a church, we’re here in the name of Jesus. That settles everything. It means we get to
experience Him. And when Jesus shows up, anything is possible because He brings Heaven
with Him. And in Heaven, there is no sickness, there is no discouragement. In Heaven, it is a
place of peace, and healing, and salvation, and grace, and so that’s our prayer today. Let
Kingdom come, the Kingdom of Heaven come in earth as it is in Heaven.

 

Pastor Eric
In just a moment, I’m going to get the privilege to share with you in the series we’ve been in
called “What in the world” out of 1 Corinthians. Last week, we had a parenthetical insertion, got
to hear some about Nehemiah and the importance of overcoming intimidation because we have
a great work to do. How about you let Pastor Jaron know how much you appreciate him, for
sharing and preaching. It’s not fair. He shouldn’t get to play, sing, and preach the way he does.
He’s so gifted, and we’re grateful for him and his family, appreciate you sharing last week. I
have to make him preach, aren’t ya’ll glad I do? Amen.

 

Pastor Eric
Dawson, why don’t you come up here for a minute. I would like to let you guys know about our
upcoming fall outreach. The outreach ministries of 3trees are called Captivate, for those of you
that may be new to the church. And, through Captivate, we’re trying to do a handful of things
that Jesus has specifically told us to do and also other passages within the New Testament,
feed the hungry, clothe the naked, take care of the widows, take care of the orphans, and
minister to the prisons. Those are five things that we try to do through Captivate. We’re very
intentional about that. We do it the best we can, even as we work through a calendar year. But,
we also have another mandate from God when it comes to outreach, and that is we are to go
into the highways and the hedges and compel the lost to come in that the house of the Lord
may be filled. And so we also incorporate into Captivate, moments where that we can share our
witness, moments where that we can give people the good news of Jesus Christ, let folks know
that Jesus loves them and 3trees does as well. And so, at each of the locations today, we got

about 25 of these boxes, and they will be available to you as long as the supplies last. It’s really
just a simple concept, they are not for you. They are for someone that you think might benefit
from having an opportunity to hear the Gospel in a unique way. There’s a variety of things in
these boxes, but one of the things that are within them is a carving kit that gives instruction for
carving, and in that shares the Gospel. It’s meant to be seeds of salvation for the hearts of kids
because we believe every kid needs Jesus. Amen. And so, if there’s a family, somebody that
you know that it would bless, you could just say “Hey man, here’s a gift for you guys as you are
participating in October 31st. Here’s something, you know, just to bless you from our church,
you can use it,” that kind of deal, and we are just believing God’s gonna use it. Take a very
simple thing and use it to His glory. I do want to say as well that we are so grateful for the way
that you guys have given and the way that you continue to give. You’ve made it possible, I
mentioned this a couple of weeks ago, I believe, for us as a church to sow, since the beginning of
2020, over $100,000 into outreach ministries. The majority of that has went local and regional.
But, our church also has a national and a global mandate. We’ve planted over, we’ve planted a
little over 25 churches in China, partnering with a church planting organization there, and we
want to continue to be able to do those kinds of things, and we’re getting ready to possibly do
some of that as we end the year up. And so I just want you to know that your giving is still super
important. And as you contemplate and think about giving, there’s a variety of ways you can do
that. I think they can put a number on the screen that you can text your giving to; or you can
mail your giving, PO Box 399, Columbia, KY; or you can just drop it in the offering buckets as
you exit today. I believe it’s never been more important for the church to be the church. And one
of the things that have happened during this season of COVID is that our church has been given
some really unique opportunities that we are trying to pray through, trying to make sense of,
trying to see if it’s something God wants from us. One of the cool things that happened is we’ve
actually been offered the opportunity to go national with our radio broadcast, and obviously, that
takes a lot of finances. It requires a significant investment. We’re praying about whether that’s
something God wants for us. But, you guys are making it possible right now for the radio
broadcast to reach far and wide across Kentucky. In fact, last I checked it was somewhere
around I think 50 or 60 counties that you guys are ministering to through radio ministry every
single Sunday. And we have had some incredible testimonies come in from that. People that
literally, like one guy wrote us one time about a year ago, he said this that he was contemplating
suicide and in the message, we actually specifically dealt with the subject of suicide. He pulled
his car over on the side of the road, realized God was talking to him specifically, and decided to
not take his life. We’ve had folks that have shared with us, I’ll be out, you know, Walmart or
somewhere, and somebody will say “hey I recognize your voice.” And then we will find out that
they’ve been listening to the radio for 5, 10 years, they consider it their church and a way in
which that they are able to engage with the Lord, and maybe they’re not always able to get out
on Sundays. So, I just wanted to say thank you guys for that. I tell folks I got a face for radio.
Alright. Hallelujah. Prayers are appreciated.

 

Pastor Eric
So, if you want to grab a Bible, you can join me in 1 Corinthians. I’m also going to take a look at
Hosea chapter 2. And, we’re in the middle of a series that we’re referring to as “what in the
world.” It’s a look at the letter to the Corinthian Church, 1 Corinthians. It comes from the Apostle

Paul to this church that he originally planted and this church had some issues. Worldliness had
started to slip into their behavior and their lifestyles, and what we’re doing on Wednesday nights
is we’re taking the Book of 1 Corinthians chapter by chapter. You can tune in on Facebook,
Youtube, 6:30pm Central, 7:30pm Eastern time. You can go to ericgilbert.org. You can get
discussion guides, message notes, transcripts, all kinds of things that will help you just to digest
that word and learn about 1 Corinthians. It’s been a real enjoyable moment for me to walk
through this book. I’ve learned a lot. Hope you guys are getting things out of it too.

 

Pastor Eric
Today, I’m going to deviate a little bit from going through it chapter by chapter. I just want to pull
a verse from 1 Corinthians, and it’s one of my favorite verses in the entire book, 1 Corinthians
16:9. I’m going to read it to you in just a moment, before I do, I want to give you this verse out of
Hosea 2:15, “I will give her her vineyards from there, and the Valley of Achor as a door of hope.
She shall sing there as in the days of her youth, as in the day when she came up out of the land
of Egypt.” I want you to notice something specifically, Hosea the Prophet, Old Testament
Scripture is decreasing on behalf of God that the Lord is going to give His people a door of
hope, a door of hope in the Valley of Achor. The Valley of Achor. Look with me, 1 Corinthians
16:9, “for a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.” This is
Paul as He’s closing down the letter to the Corinthian Church. His first one that he sent to them,
he’s saying “I want you guys to know I’ve got a really big,” in fact some translations say “a wide
door that’s open to me,” but he said, “I’ve also got adversaries.” I want to share a message with
you this morning entitled “Don’t stop on green.” Don’t stop on green.

 

Pastor Eric
Father, help me to preach, help me to deliver your Word. Show me where to pierce, show me
where to heal. Bind every spirit of hindrance. Bind every spirit of distraction, loose us Father
God. Provoked by your Holy Spirit to take that next step in You, whatever it might be, in Jesus’
name and this Church said, amen.

 

Pastor Eric
I wonder if you’ve heard my confession because I make it quite often from the Pulpit. I figure it’s
good to do so because the Bible tells us if you will confess your faults to one another you will be
healed. There’s a place in my life where I need healing. I don’t have a lot of patience when I’m
in a vehicle. Okay. It’s just, it’s just not a place where patience thrives in my life. Yeah. Can you
tell me why would anyone ever stop on a green light? There’s one area when it comes to a
vehicle that I have maybe my greatest frustration, and it’s at stoplights. Have you ever noticed
how that you can be in a hurry, and you can be passing a lot of vehicles and trying to make up
time in your journey, and then you get to the stoplight and every car that you passed 15 minutes
ago catches you? Like, we are from rural America, we’re not accustomed to a lot of congestion
when it comes to traffic, but maybe you’ve been in Lexington, or Louisville, or Nashville, and
there have been moments when you’re there at the stoplight, and people are turning left or maybe
their turning right, and the car in front of you will just not ride the bumper of the car in front of it.

 

Pastor Eric
And the impending result of that is that you get caught at the stoplight because they wouldn’t go
on green. If you’re at a stoplight, and it turns green, it means go. Please, go! I had it happen to
me this morning. I was traveling to the first service, and there was a gentleman who was
apparently in a hurry, and he pulled out in front of me, and then he was no longer in a hurry.
And the result of that was that he caused us to get stuck at a light. And as though that were not
bad enough, when it turned green, he just sat there! He wouldn’t go! Could you just help me
preach for a minute, look at somebody, and tell them “don’t stop on green.” Like, you legit could
change somebody's life with this revelation. You could transform their driving experience. Tell
somebody “don’t stop on green.”

 

Pastor Eric
The other day we were traveling, and you know sometimes my schedule is pretty tight, and I
don’t have a lot of time to get from this meeting to the next meeting, and I feel the pressure of
getting from point A to point B. In this particular moment I was traveling, and the car in front of
me, we were just making forward progress, and the light in front of us was red, and as we’re
approaching it, it turns green; and he stopped! Like, I don’t know if he had vision problems. I
don’t know if he’s color blind. I don’t know if he’s driving distracted. I have no clue, but why
would you stop on green? Don’t stop on green. 1 Corinthians 16:9, Paul said, “For a great and
effective door has opened to me.” A great door has opened to me. You know what Paul is
saying, there’s a green light. In a place where that there once was a red light, a place where that
there once was a blockade, a place where that there once was a wall that you could not
proceed forward through. It has been opened up by the hand of God. You have a green light.
That’s what Paul is stating is I have a green light. He’s saying the door is open. But here’s what
we learn, Scripture tells us that when God opens a door no man can close it. So, if God puts a
door somewhere, there is nothing the enemy can do about it. There is no personality that will
ever come into your life that will be able to shut that door. There is no demon that could ever
crawl out of Hell that would be able to shut that door. When God opens a door, no man can
close it. But here’s the thing, when God opens a door, no man can close it. But it’s up to you to
walk through it. So, just because the door is open does not necessarily mean that you’re going
to get to walk through it. Because it is up to you to put one foot in front of the other and keep
making forward progress. And in order for that to happen, you have to make a decision, I’m not
going to stop on green. And so when you start thinking about well why would someone stop on
green? There’s a lot of things that we could fill in the blanks with that about, but maybe it’s
because they are concerned about something that’s in the intersection. Here’s something that
you will learn about God. When He opens a door for you, there will always be Hell in the
hallway. Because the enemy understands that if God has opened the door, he can’t close it. So
the only solution that he has to combat your further effectiveness is to distract you, discourage
you, intimidate you, paralyze you, defeat you while you’re in the hallway. So that’s the reason
when you start to sense that God’s opening up a new level for you. God’s opening up a new
door for you. That all of a sudden you start to feel like you’re under attack from every single
side. Like, sometimes it will literally feel like it’s coming from the north, the south, the east, and
the west, and you will be like “man, but I sense that I had this incredible opening. Where are all
these adversaries coming from?” Notice what Paul said, “There is a great door open for me, but

many are my adversaries.” He’s saying “I got a really big opportunity in front of me, I’ve got a
wide door that God has chosen to make available for me to walk through, but at the same time
I’ve got all these adversaries that are attacking me on my path in that direction. All these
adversaries that are coming at me in the hallway.

 

Pastor Eric
I’ve learned over and over again in my relationship with God that when he opens a really big
door, like when a great door gets opened for you, you can anticipate that there is going to be
Hell in the hallway. Like, I remember when God began to deal with our church about becoming
a multisite congregation. I had gone away to a prayer cottage to pray, and I was spending some
time trying to seek the Lord. I was praying about whether or not I was supposed to take another
opportunity that had been presented to Mandy and I. God spoke clearly, you're supposed to go
home, and you're to raise up a multisite congregation. And so, we came home, we cast that
vision. Leadership bought in 110%. We were all systems go. Doors of opportunity began to be
made available to us, and we even began to find out that there were going to be opportunities to
partner with other churches, and that was one of the ways that God was going to make that
multisite congregation come to pass. But I remember sitting in a meeting as these great doors
were opening up, and we were talking about financially how we were going to be able to pay for
it. How we were going to be able to make it possible from a budget perspective, and something
came apart in my gut. Something ripped. It was a pain, unlike anything I had ever felt up to that
point in my life. I remember being in the meeting, falling on the ground, laying in the floor, and in
literal embarrassment writhing in pain. I remember that in this journey of pursuing what a
multisite church would look like as the door was opening up for that, in and out of doctors visits,
walking into an ER and their words being put into an emergency surgery. Five surgical
procedures over the course of 2-½ years. I remember losing 90lbs, going from 240, or 250
something pounds, down to 150 lbs. Like my wife humorously refers to that season of our life as
the period of time she spent sleeping with the field goal kicker, even though she was married to
the linebacker. No offense to field goal kickers. Like, I remember this door was opening and this
opportunity was becoming available, and we knew man, we’re going to be more effective than
we’ve ever been before. But there was a struggle. There were challenges. There was anxiety.
There was a fight. Isn't it amazing how that every time that God opens up a great door for you,
there is a fight in the hallway where the enemy just starts trying to get you to stop so that you
don’t go forward on green.

 

Pastor Eric
You know, I was thinking about 1 Corinthians 16:9, “For a great and effective door has opened
to me, and there are many adversaries.” And I believe that would say to us, don’t stop on green.
But I also realize that Paul lived this out literally. And aren’t you glad that he didn't stop on
green? That when the door opened up for him and adversaries tried to put him in jail, he would
look at whoever was beside him and say “I know our hands are shackled above us, and our feet
are shackled beneath us, but I feel like singing one. How about we break out, and He set me
free right about the midnight hour.” And all of a sudden chains break, bars come asunder, and
the prison has to open up.” Aren’t you glad that when they did put him in prison, he would say
“Do you mind if I have a pen and a piece of paper because there’s still a great door open before

me despite the adversaries,” and he would not stop until he had penned ⅔ of your New
Testament. That when he was shipwrecked, and when he was reviled, and when he was lied
about, and when they tried every way in the world to come up with a reason to rid the earth of
him, he did not stop on green. He didn’t stop on green. He came to understand there’s a door
open, and that means there’s going to be a fight.

 

Pastor Eric
I think about how there are people and nations throughout Scripture that had to repetitively
make this kind of decision that they weren't going to stop on green when God started to open up
doors for them. I think about the nation of Israel and how that we learn from them not only do
you not stop on green but don’t get stuck in transition. Because what happens with the Israelite
people is they are in Egyptian bondage. They are in slavery, and God opens a door for them,
and He reveals to them that He’s going to give them a Promised Land. And they travel for just a
few days, and now they’re arriving at the promised land. They go in and spy out the land. They’re
peaking through the door, and they realize there are giants there. That scares us. We’re afraid.
We’re intimidated. And they retreat backward into the wilderness, which was meant to be
nothing more than a place of transition for them. And what should have been a few days
journey, turned into forty years of wilderness wandering. Because they got stuck in transition. I
got a question for you, where did you expect the giant to be? David, there will always be a Giant
between you and the throne God promised you. Caleb, there will always be a giant between you
and the mountain God told you you could have. Israel, there will always be a giant between you
and the Promised Land. Because the enemy knows if you get through the door, if you get
through the door, he has already lost. So, he’s got to find some way to keep you from ever
gaining access through the door.

 

Pastor Eric
I wonder if there are those of us that are maybe, we are stuck in transition. That we were at this
level of prayer, and God was calling us to the next level, but adversaries came in the hallway,
and we've been just taking laps for going on years now. I wonder if we were on the milk of the
Word and God was calling us to the meat of the Word, but we came under adversary attack.
And now we’ve just been wandering. Listen, at some point, you got to look up and realize I’ve
seen that mountain before. Because if there’s anything worse than stopping at a green light, it
may be wandering around lost and refusing to admit it. I just wonder, like how many times have
we gotten stuck in transition. I found that when we’re stuck in transition, we love to talk about
potential. Potential is what we would be, could be, should be, but isn’t because we won’t or
don't. Do you know how I know that? Because when this church was still in a storefront, there
was a friend of mine who was preaching, and he stopped, and he looked at me. It was a pivotal
moment for our church. We had been told, we felt an unction from God, that we were to come to
this property that we have in Russell Springs, purchase the land, build a building, but there were
some legal issues. There was a problem with the right away, and there were all kinds of
adversaries, and like we were stuck. And I remember we used to talk about “Boy if we could
ever get to that land. Man, if we could ever get that building built. Boy, if we could ever get a
parking lot where we could park the people. Man, if we could ever have a facility for kids.” And
we would sit in that storefront, and we would talk about the potential that we had. He looks at

me, and he says “Eric Gilbert, potential is what you would be, it’s what you could be, and it’s
what you should be, but it isn’t because you won’t or don’t.” It rocked me to my core, to the point
20 years later I can quote it because I realized God was rattling my cage. And at some point,
you got to decide, I am going to stop making excuses about why I’m still in transition. It gave me
the courage to walk on this property and stick a shovel in the ground with no right away to it.
Aw, I don’t know. I don’t know who I’m trying to help this morning because I realize in some
ways I’m talking to everybody, but in other ways I’m talking to somebody. Because everybody at
some point is going to need this word. You’re gonna have a moment where it’s clear, man God’s
opened a great door and yet there’s adversaries, and you’re gonna just need to be reminded
“don’t stop on green, and don’t get stuck in transition.” But there are others of you, this is a now
word for you. And the reason you know it is because you can’t hardly sit still. There is something
that is beginning to turn over on the inside of you. Your spirit is beginning to leap, and you’re
beginning to realize this is exactly what God has been trying to get through to me. That I gotta
stop making excuses for how big the giant is, for how challenging the battle is, for how difficult
the struggle is, and I gotta realize there is a great door, and God has called me to it. Come Hell
or high water, I’m gonna walk through the Hell, and I’m going to walk on the water, and I’m
gonna testify that if God be for me, who or what can be against me. So, don’t stop on green, but
don’t get stuck in transition. Why is it that we get stuck in the intersection, in transition? You
know, another reason why we get stuck is because we get paralyzed by past failures. I just
wonder, was there anybody that would be willing to admit that at some point in your life, you’ve
lost battles in the hallway. That’s okay nobody would admit in any of the previous services
either. I’ll tell you this, I have lost more battles in the hallway than I care to count or admit
because it gets ugly in tight quarters. Those moments when you know that you know the door is
opened, and yet you can see so many reasons for why you’re not qualified, you’re not capable,
you don’t have the gifting, you don’t have the education, you don’t have the networks, you don’t
know the right people, you don’t have the right last name, you don’t. And all those things just
start to paralyze you. And you don’t even realize that you're somewhere between stop and
stuck. You ever lost a battle in the hallway? Because if you have, it can have a lingering effect,
and it can mess with you for years to come, and the enemy knows it. And that’s why he gives
you everything he’s got when he’s in the hallway fighting you. But I need you to see Hosea 2. I
need you to hear a prophet from a bygone era speak a now word into your life. Hosea 2:15, “I
will give her her vineyards from there in the Valley of Achor as a door of hope.” It may not mean
anything to you. Valley of Achor as a door of hope. It has incredible significance. Because when
the Israelite people were in this moment of transition, they finally reach a point where they are
starting to walk through the door that has been opened for them, and they are given instruction
as they enter the Promised Land that when they defeat Jericho, which would have been the
most walled fortress in that part of the world at that time. They are to not take anything from the
spoils. They are to leave it all laying on the ground as a tithe and an offering to God, the first
fruits of victory. They go into the next battle. They just defeated this walled fortress Jericho.
They go down to a little village. It has less than 3000 people in it, and they get their tails kicked.
They are nearly initiated. From overwhelming victory in Jericho to utter defeat and demise in this
little village. Joshua was the leader of the people at that time. He gets on his face before God.
He says I don’t understand God. Like, I don’t know what we did wrong. Like, everything was
going so well. We were starting to enter through this door, and now God we’re defeated. And

God reveals to him the reason you lost is because there is a man named Achan, and he has
stolen from the first fruits. He has taken from the tithe and the offering that belonged to God
himself. He says “you need to go back, and you need to enter into Achan’s tent.” Joshua walks
into Achan’s tent. He starts to tear the thing apart, and what he discovers is that Achan had
taken three things that belong to God. They take Achan. They take him out into a field. This field
was in a valley. Achan had stolen from God. He has broken one of the Ten Commandments. In
that day, if you broke a Ten Commenademnt because they were written by the finger of God on
stone, you were to be stoned to death. Achan, in this field. They take their stones, and judgment
and wrath comes down on him. And he laid dead in a field that was located in what they began
to call the Valley of Trouble. In native language, the Valley of Achor. They were headed through
the door. They lost a battle in the hallway. This place became known as trouble, defeat,
discouragement, loss. And then God sends Hosea years later, and he says “You tell my people
that I want them to position their eyes on the valley that they have perpetually associated with
trouble, and I want them to look to the other side, and what they are going to see with eyes of
faith is that I have positioned a door of hope there. And in this place, where they thought that
they could never really have victory, the place of desolation is about to become known as the
place of fruitfulness. The place of defeat is about to become known as the place of victory. You
tell them I’m going to put a door of hope where they thought there wasn’t any. And there are
those of you, you’ve had mistakes in the hallway. Like, there’s been places where you just had
trouble, and it’s almost like you look back at that place as like “Well I’ve never really
experienced everything God had for me in that area or maybe in my life because of what
happened in that area.” And you’ve just labeled that, that place is trouble. And some of you,
even as I’m preaching this, you’re saying “I don’t know what door is open for me. Like, I don’t
even know what he’s talking about. I don’t even see a spiritual door opened for me when I pray.”
Maybe you ought to look at the place where you got the most trouble. Because what you’ll
discover is that we have a God who specializes in putting stuff where you don’t expect it. He will
take the foolish things and confound the wise. He will take the weak things and confound the
mighty, and He does it over and over again all the way from Genesis to Revelation. And I even
think about the fact that I believe God is positioning the Church and believers, followers of
Jesus, perhaps for the greatest door that has ever been open for us in history. Why, because
there’s a whole lot of struggle, challenge, and Hell in the hallway right now. And it just says to
me there is something that the enemy is trying to keep the followers of Jesus from getting to and
taking as a promise that he has positioned for them before the foundation of the world.

 

Pastor Eric
I dare you, look into that valley, look in, and with eyes of faith, search out the door of hope. Oh,
this addiction is so much trouble for me, I just can’t overcome it. Oh, my lust, man, it’s just got
the best of me, I just can’t overcome it. Man, I’ve been victimized. I’ve been hurt. I’m bitter. I’m
offended. I just can’t overcome it. It’s just so much trouble for me. I’ll never be able to. God will
never allow you to be tempted more than you can bear, but with every temptation will provide
you a way of escape. And He will prop the door of hope open with the cross of Jesus Christ
from 2000 years ago. There is an opportunity for you to pass through! See, here’s the thing, He
never said there wouldn’t be trouble. He never said there wouldn’t be a giant. He never said
there wouldn't be a big 'ole devil that would come out and try to fight you. He just said that when

He opens the door, no man will be able to close it. And I came to tell somebody there is still
hope in spite of what the doctor said. There is still hope in spite of what your momma, and your
daddy, and your granny said “there is still hope. Because as long as Jesus is on the throne, He
is Alpha, He is Omega, He is Author, He is Finisher, He is Beginning, He is the, I feel like
preaching! And I wish somebody would just give Him praise for putting a door where there
wasn’t one. Come on somebody.

 

Pastor Eric
Come play Jaron, because I’m getting rowdy. I just, I know what it is to lose in the hallway. I
know what it is to have trouble. But I also know what it is for God to put a door of hope in what
you used to only know as a valley of trouble. For yea though I walk through the valley of the
shadow of death, I will fear no evil. For you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort
me. You anointest my head with oil. My cup runneth over. You prepare a table for me in the
presence of mine enemies. And surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my
life. So I got a word for ya, don’t stop on green. Don’t get stuck in transition. And whatever you
do, choose to walk through the door of hope. Keep putting one foot in front of the other. Keep
walking. Keep making forward progression, even when it feels like trouble has reached the point
of being shadowed by death, you keep walking. Because what we learn from the Book of
Hebrews and the Gospel of John is that Jesus has said that He himself is a door. To the point
that Hebrews tells us His body is like a door that we can pass through His grace and experience
the presence of God at any moment, 24/7, 365 days a year. You are one prayer away from
stepping through the open door into the presence of God. It’s the one thing that the enemy will
never be able to separate you from. And regardless of how hopeless your situation feels when
you invite spiritual Heaven into your life. Because you see, here’s the thing, Jesus gave us a
door into the physical Heaven, but He’s also given us a door into the spiritual Heaven. That’s
why He said, “pray, let your Kingdom come in earth as it is in Heaven.” Have you took Him up on
the offer? Have you seized those moments to engage with the presence of God on a regular
basis? In the middle of a hopeless news cycle, have you ever just chosen to step through into
the presence of God. Because here’s the thing, when we’re talking about these doors that are
open in front of your life, nobody is saying that you’re just going to instantly fast forward and be
on the other side of the valley. Nobody’s saying that there won’t be a few more days to fight the
trouble, or to battle against the hindrances in the hallway. What I am saying to you is that when
God opens that door, no man, no devil can close it. And the moments when you feel alone, that
door never closes to be able to experience Heaven in your humanity. And just know if He’s with
me, I’m not afraid. And if He’s for me, I’m not afraid. And though all Hell assails me, I’m not afraid
because Jesus will not fail me.

 

Pastor Eric
Sing it Jaron. Come on somebody. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus.

 

Pastor Eric
Here’s what Hosea 2:15 says in full context, it says “I’ll give her her vineyards, and I’ll give her
the Valley of Achor as the door of hope.” Listen, the valley of trouble. You may have to walk
through that valley, but there’s a door of hope. There’s a door of hope on the other side of the

trouble. Watch this, “and she shall sing there. She will sing in the place of her trouble.” He’s
talking about the nation of Israel. He’s saying, you're going to revisit that place where you had
one of your greatest failures of all time, and you’re going to stand there, and you're going to
celebrate that God put a door where nobody expected one, and you’re going to sing it to the top
of your lungs. And I just wonder if there’s anybody that just for a minute would like to get your
song on and just sing a little bit, that I have this confidence because of who Jesus is in my life.
Maybe you need Jesus as Lord and Savior today. If so, man I challenge you pour your heart out
to Him. Give your life to Him in this moment, and just say “God I receive that door that you’ve
opened through grace, through Calvary, through the price paid for my sin. I receive it, God.” A
fresh start in you. Jesus, you’re my Lord. Jesus, you’re my Savior. You’re my Door of Hope for
all eternity.