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Month 10:15, Week 2:7 (Shibi'i/Sukkot), Year:Day 5936:280 AM
SHABBAT 10:2
Gregorian Calendar: Thursday 27 December 2012
Unanswered Questions
Understanding Open & Closed Doors

      "Be still before Yahweh and wait patiently for Him" (Ps.37:7, NIV).

    Introduction

    Shabbat shalom kol beit Yisra'el! Welcome to back this assembly in Yah'shua's (Jesus') Name.

    Symbolism of the Dark Winter

    My theme today very much ties in with the season. For those of us living in the northern hemisphere, and especially far north, we have just passed through the winter solstice, or the shortest day of the year in terms of sunlight. For those even further north, who have not seen the sun for many weeks, and won't for many weeks more, the symbolism of what I want to speak to you about today is even more fitting. For as I have said to you before, Yahweh has purposefully ordained this to be a quiet season, devoid of festivities and merriment, so that we can use the silence of the darkness to contemplate, meditate, pray and draw close to Him especially if we have hard questions we urgently want answers to.

    A Difficult Question

    Yesterday, which was Boxing Day or the 'poor man's Christmas', was also my son's 18th birthday. After a dinner given in his honour, he came up to me and asked me my counsel in a matter that had been occupying his mind: What should you do when you have been asking Yahweh for an answer to a question - in his case, deciding upon a career and any further education he might need for such a career - and Yahweh gives you no answer?

    Life's Tough Decisions

    Now every one of us approaches Yahweh with difficult questions such as these. Many decisions we have to make are, of course, critically important, that can affect the rest of our life, like choosing a career, a spouse, what country to live in, knowing what to do in morally compromising situations, or what treatment to pursue if you have some life-threatening disease like cancer. But what do you do if you get no answer? My son had concluded, based on some counsel he had heard from the minister John Bevere, that the right course of action was to do nothing and continue as before because this was Yahweh's way of saying that what you are doing now was the right thing to be doing for the present.

    Most Youth are Impetuous and Impatient

    I was pleased with, and impressed by, his conclusion which showed a level of wisdom that most young men of his age would not have yet acquired, if ever. Most are impetuous, lacking patience or discretion. I told him that I believed he had made the right decision and to continue as before until Yahweh clearly spoke to Him as to what move he should make. A potential door had opened some weeks previously offering a journalism scholarship abroad but he did not sense a call in that direction, for now, at least.

    Waiting on Yahweh for Answers

    All of us face difficult questions and those of us who are believers and who understand a right approach to life also know that we must have the patience to wait on Yahweh for answers which may not always be as forthcoming as we would like them to be. I believe the winter season, in whatever hemisphere you may be living in, can be profitably used by keenly listening to Yahweh. Not that one shouldn't listen the whole year round, of course, but to use the season for maximum profit. It's never easy to find a quiet moment when you are very busy.

    Competing Voices

    The trouble with intense listening is that before long you encounter all kinds of background 'noise'. Voices in your head from the fleshy, Adamic, carnal and unsavable nature (which we leave in the grave when we die) that would have you pursue a selfish and ultimately destructive agenda, from the devil and his demons whispering lies to get you completely off track and hopefully (from his point-of-view) take you into avenues leading by small increments or giant leaps (depending on how defiled your conscience is) into guaranteed ruination, voices from well-meaning but uninspired, hot-headed or ignorant friends, mocking voices from enemies, libertine counsel from movies and the enemy-controlled media in general, or voices beamed in from microwaves [1] operated by the government or enemy vehicles - whatever they may be, there are an awful lot of them which if you have not trained yourself not to listen to can lead you into total confusion and into making dangerous choices with far reaching consequences for yourself and your loved ones. All of these voices have to be stilled if we are susceptible to hearing them because of unresolved sin issues, emotional instability, or whatever your problem may be. The wisdom of today's passage then becomes apparent:

      "Be still before Yahweh and wait patiently for Him" (Ps.37:7, NIV).

    It is a lesson that everyone has to learn, no less Yahweh's mighty men of valour or His prophets. Elijah had to learn it at Sinai when in blind panic he fled from murderous Queen Jezebel. We all have to learn to patiently wait for Yahweh's Davar (Word) to us and to be still because if we're not still we are guaranteed to hear one or more of the other voices.

    Not All Open Doors are of Yahweh

    I mentioned that a possible door opened for my son a few weeks ago. You have to be careful about open doors too because the enemy can engineer his open doors too, or they may be Yahweh's open door for others. However, having some plain choices in front of you does simplify the equation provided Yahweh's door is there amongst them, which it may not be, in which case He will say 'no' or 'wait' to your enquiry about them. We must also be careful not to deliberately block Yahweh's open door by resolving in advance to not go through such a door should it appear because we don't particularly fancy it. If that's our attitude, we need to move out the way so that we can see the doors He opens as well as those which He closes! Yes, Yahweh will close doors you are not supposed to go through and hold open doors that He wants you to even if others try to close it. Your only responsibility is to seek, surrender and listen:

      "These are the words of Him who is qodesh (holy, set-apart) and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut" (Rev.3:7-8, NIV).

    The Door of Your Own Heart Must Open First

    This is an important promise. Yahweh works in mysterious ways, as we know, and always provides. But it is up to us to collect the gift by going through the door He has purposefully opened. We may not know where we are going, and it may indeed feel as though we have been swept away and have little or no control. That, however, does not happen until we have opened our door - the door of our life - to Him:

      "Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with Me" (Rev.3:19-20, NIV).

    Doors Open to the Surrendered

    Once He's in - and that means accepting Him as your Master (Lord) and Deliverer (Saviour) - then He will direct your paths provided you will yield to His plan for your life and not your own. Once we are committed to His will, then we may safely seek for open doors. Yah'shua (Jesus) said:

      "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened" (Matt.7:7-8, NIV).

    Free Will vs. Force

    It's important that we actually want to go through a door He plans to open for us so that means agreeing to His will even before we know what it is. That makes it a lot easier to yield once we finally discover what that will is. The more practiced we become at yielding, the faster doors will sometimes open and the faster we will pass through them, though please don't tale that as a general rule because sometimes, like Abraham, we must wait a long time, for reasons that only become clear later. Forcing your way through a closed door that won't open is not an option - He showed me the consequences of that in a vision years ago and I remember how my hand nearly got crushed because of the incredible POWER of Yahweh behind it. Yahweh has created the universe on a foundation of ahavah (love) and volition (free will/agency) so force is never a part of His equation. Our obedience must be spontaneous. Force is the province of the enemy.

    The Cost of Not Going Through an Open Door

    Refusing to go through a door that Yahweh has opened may not be the end of the world but it will be a lost opportunity to bless and be blessed. I believe there is an example of this in the Scriptures where we read of Paul:

      "Now when I went to Troas [2] to preach the gospel of Messiah and found that Yahweh had opened a door for me, I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said good-by to them and went on to Macedonia" (2 Cor.2:12-13, NIV).

    Did Paul Refuse an Open Door?

    Did Paul make a mistake here? Did Titus fail to go through the same door Yahweh had opened for Paul which led Paul to feel uneasy? Was Paul influenced by a wrong choice by Titus or had other circumstances intervened to prevent their meeting up? Was Titus necessary for this mission? Sometimes we are faced by hard choices like this that require much prayer and fasting for resolution because we rarely operate alone. We operate with other people who are making their choices too.

    We All Make Mistakes

    Like it or not we all do and may come to regret not going through a door Yahweh has opened for us. If you have made that mistake, there is no use crying over spilled milk. Simply move on to the next open door and don't refuse it! What's important is to get back on track even if it does require your taking a long detour to get right with Him again.

    Eagerly Be Linked to Yahweh's Purpose

    Yahweh has a purpose for us but He wants us to be linked to that purpose with the same desire and eagerness as He has. We are commanded to pray for open doors precidely so that we can enjoy that spirit!

      "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that Elohim (God) may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Messiah, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should" (Col.4:2-4, NIV).

    Doors of Opportunity to Evangelise

    For a minister or any witness this is the one kind of door that Yahweh loves us to ask Him to open - the opportunity to share the Besorah (Gospel) and witness of His salvation and Torah.

    Doors To New Beginnings

    Whatever your circumstances may be, whatever wrong choices you may have made, large or small, if you are honest and sincere about wanting to get rright about Him and leave a life of sin and rebellion behind you, Yahweh will open doors in your life that will lead to new beginnings, new blessings and new opportunities. You can once again serve Him and receive the bounty of His spiritual table as you do so for yourself and for your family.

    Conclusion
    < P> Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) waits for us at the front door of Yahweh’s Salvation. He is the Gate through which we walk and find chayim (life). Just as there is only one door to our lev (heart), there is only one door to the lev (heart) of Elohim (God). Let us walk without fear through Yah’s open doors, knowing that His protection, His provision, His shalom (peace) and His power will forever reside within us. Amen.

    Questions for Consideration

    1. Does Yahweh open multiple doors leaving us to choose one or the other, or is there only ever one door or one set of doors through which we must pass?

    2. If we reject a door is our main calling or 'high road', does He provide another door for a 'low road' or inferior calling based on a combination of what we will, or will not, choose to do?

    Endnotes

    [1] Such weapons of harrassment, torture and even murder not only exist but have been around a while now, and Yahweh's people need to learn how to take both spiritual and practical physical steps against these should they become targeted. I have seen a number of visions about this, mostly in connection with the UFO phenomenon (they are not alien craft - there are no extra-terrestrials, only ultra-terrestrials better known as demons and their nefilim progeny), and recently a couple of days ago when I saw a human brain surface divided up into a diamond-shaped grid for the purpose of selectively targeting areas that were to be tampered with.
    [2] Also known as Troy and believed by some scholars to have been inhabited by part of the Israelite diaspora, and specifically, elements of the tribes of Dan and Judah. Much of European royalty, it is claimed by some, can trace their ancestry back to Troy, though the link seems tenuous.

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