Elevation with Steven Furtick - The Blessing Of A Closed Door (Stephen Chandler)

Episode Date: November 29, 2021

Some closed doors are obstacles — some are opportunities. In “The Blessing Of A Closed Door,” Stephen Chandler of Union Church challenges us to trust God‘s timing instead of focusing on our current frustrations.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. All right, we're going to get into the message very soon, but first, an important message for you. This is our 2021 year-end offering. I love this time of year. An amazing time of year, because every year we end with appreciation for what God has done,

expectation for what He's going to do. This has been a tradition. Like right now, they're going to put up a few graphics of all the offerings we've had through the years. I can't even remember them all. Game changer, waymaker. Surround. Beyond life. But this year, you don't even know the word that God gave me. I don't. This is not staged. You always like to reveal it to me in front of people. This is not scripted. And we're doing our own camera work. So I apologize if the angle is off.

But this year, the Lord led me to the word better. Everybody say better. Better. I love it. Put it in the chat. And we don't mean better than another person or we don't necessarily mean that, you know, we're never content. What we mean by that is Haggai 2-9 says that the glory of this present house, what God is doing, will be greater than the glory of the former house. We believe God is always doing something greater. We just have to see it. So I want to thank you in advance for your gifts, those of you who already support this ministry. You're the reason. You're the reason we get to preach the gospel. You're the reason the thousands of testimonies that we here in this ministry are made possible. And for those of you who are beginning to give, either through

a one-time year-end donation to help us with our expansion, or the best way, really, through recurring giving, through putting God first with the tide, or maybe an above and beyond offering to say thank you to him and believe him. For better things in faith, we want to say thank you. And we're standing with you right now as we begin this season of giving called Better Now through the end of the year. Yeah, thank you so much. Every time you give, it helps us. to spread the gospel to the world and beyond. And we are so thankful for your partnership with us in the gospel.

It's gonna be an amazing holiday season, and I can't wait to hear more about better. It's gonna be better, better than you ask or imagine. Ephesians 320, we're believing God for you. Now let's go. I'm not gonna lie to y'all. I am bugging out right now. I am at the elevation turn.

I can't tell you how much. much this church has meant to me over my last 10 years of being a senior pastor in Maryland. I actually, the first year, and you'll sit down in like two seconds, but we're standing because we're about to scream for your pastor so you can stay on your feet. But the first year, I had a $500 vacation budget. That's all I have for vacation. After your ministry, I was so ready to quit. I said, I'm going to be one and done. Get me out of this. And I spent my $500 on a plane ticket to Charlotte, renting me a Camaro, got me a cheap. My priorities were in order. Got a cheap hotel, but a nice car. Drove down to the Blakeney location, and I didn't know how elevation

rolled, so I showed up the church five minutes before it started. Y'all know I didn't make it into that service. I sat in the parking lot in the first service, came in the second one, and bawled my eyes out. The presence of God in this place literally kept me in the ministry. And year after year after the year, we've been to every single inside elevation. We were at Lake Norman when we was over there. Shout out to Lake Norman and all these different places. And God has used your pastor in this house to incite something in so many pastors around this nation and this world to go after all that God has called us to be you. I don't know if you know.

You know elevation is one of God's favorite churches, right? I don't know if you know that. You may have never heard this before. In the Bible, a father would show his favorite by who he gave gifts to. Remember, he gave his favorite son a coat of many colors. Where the Bible says in Ephesians that your pastor is a gift from God. And based on the pastor that God has given this church, you must be God's favorite. Can you honor Pastor Stephen and Pastor Ollie? We are grateful, grateful, grateful, grateful for your yes, for your sacrifice, for all. that you believe in us. And I'm going to say us because I is elevation today. But I'm great. Hey, go ahead. Grab your seat.

Grab your seat. We are going to jump into God's word today. I have a, could you do with a word from God? I got a word from God for you today. Before I preach, I do have to highlight why I am blessed and highly favored. And it is this beautiful African woman on the front row. Can y'all honor my wife? Zai Chandler, I call her my African queen.

She hails from Sierra Leone, West Africa. And I actually started the church. I pastor. I was single for two years. And it was a rough two years because I had no favor. I had no anointing because the Bible says when you find a wife, you find favor from the Lord. It's rough pastoring without favor.

But I found it eventually. And I am grateful, grateful, grateful for your love, for your support. And we love each other. So we got children. If you could throw up a picture and I can share everybody why I am more blessed than they are because my family's just better looking than your family. I know that's mean and ignorant, but it's the truth. In front of me is my princess. Her name is Zoe.

She's five years old. We're a little hood, so we got rapper names for all our kids. So her rapper name is Zozo. And then standing next to my wife is my second boy. His name is Roman. His rapper name is Roro. You can tell we are not very creative people. and then our newest edition.

We actually took this picture last week because we didn't have any family pictures with Jade Mariah. She is four months old. She looks like an angel. She acts like a fallen angel right around 3 a.m. She up and she's screaming in tongues

and yelling and all this other good stuff. And we are happy, happy, happy because we left them back in Baltimore. So we had the best sleep we've ever had. last night, so forgive me if I preach for the next four hours. But your brother is a right. Two people just ran for the door and said, oh, you're not. All right. Turn your Bible. Turn your Bible to John chapter 20. John chapter 20, verse 19. I got some of my union church fam in the building and watching online. Grateful, grateful, grateful for you. John chapter 20, verse 19. If you're ready,

somebody see you? Oh, y'all, ready, ready. this place. Here it goes. It says this. Then the same day, at evening, being the first day of the week, which meant it was Sunday, when the doors were shut, somebody said the doors were shut. The doors were shut. The disciples were assembled. Why? For fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood in the midst and said to them, read that with me, peace be with you. Some of y'all, that's the only message you need today. Wherever you find yourself shut in, Jesus is about to step into that place of your life

and breathe his supernatural peace in your life. He said, peace be with you. And when he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them again, it was so nice. He said it twice. He said, peace to you. As the Father has sent me, I also send you.

you. And when he said this, he breathed on them. Now, y'all going to find out, I'm a little ignorant and I'm not too culture. And I just wonder, what did Jesus' breath smell like? I mean, just think about it. You can't be the king of kings and the Lord of the Lords that have holotosis. I mean, it just had to be the mintiest breath. Says he, somebody just breathed it. So he breathed on them and said, receive the Holy Spirit. Let's pray. Father God, we're grateful. we're thankful. God, for this divine moment, this collision between heaven and earth, God, you are here. God, you're not just here to have church. You're here to heal and to transform and to speak and to take us one step closer to the plan, the purpose, the destiny that you have for us. So, God, preemptively, you make a decision in this moment that when you speak, we will obey.

Have your way in our hearts. Thank you for bringing Cam back to Charlotte. In Jesus' name we pray. and amen and amen. And amen. Hey, before I jump into the meat of this message, I just want to prophesy over you for a second. Is that okay? Now, if I do, you can't sit there with your anti-profit skepticism. You got to lean in. You got to say, I receive it. I want that. I believe it. If you're with me, somebody say amen. I believe that the global church, the American church, elevation,

church and you somebody say we are the church are getting ready to walk into a season of open doors in our lives that we have never seen before i believe you're getting ready to walk into a season of favor of creative miracles i believe you're getting ready to walk in a season come on online where god begins to answer prayers that you didn't even know to pray for prayers that are above and beyond on all that you could ever ask, think or imagine. There are relationships in your life that were broken that you've given up on, and God is supernaturally mending them back together. God is getting ready to expand businesses in ways that you didn't even know possible.

Someone's just going to give you a book of their business. And you're like, how did this happen? It's because God is opening doors in your life. Oh, I like preach it here. I got about 17% of the room like, oh, you better preach that Chris Rock. I love it. I love it. It's about 30% in this room that's just like, uh-uh.

I mean, I ain't impressed. I mean, I'm going to say, God's opening doors. What's so impressive about that? How do you know God's going to open the door? Well, I'm a little ignorant, so can I just help you out how I know that God is getting ready open doors for church? Because I read the Bible. And here's what I find in scripture that there's this pattern where the enemy will attack.

And what God will do is say, hey, you take your first shot. And when you're done what you're doing, watch me work. If you remember, in the book of Job, Satan came to God and he said, the only reason why Job is worshipping you is because Job is blessed. If you took away his blessings, he wouldn't worship you the same way. Anybody in here you know you don't worship God just because of what he can do for you, not just because of his blessings, but because of who he is. So God said, hey, you think that's right, go ahead.

Take everything that he has and see what happens. You read the book, you see. He lost his children and his business and his wealth and in his notoriety. And he said, hey, though he slay me, I will not curse the Lord. I know that my Redeemer lives. So like 38 chapters, Job is just going through hell. Pardon my French. And when he finally passed that test, God says, Satan.

Are you done? Okay, watch this. And he gives Job back double. for his trouble. Everything he lost, he gives him double everything that was stolen by the enemy. And here's what I know. Over these last 18 to 24 months, depending on where you live and all that, we have been through this global panoramic where the enemy has taken his best shot to divide racially, politically, and in every other way. And I feel like God was just stepping back. Let me know when you're done. And when you're done, watch me see.

step in and move in people's lives. And if we went through 18 to 24 months of the world being shut down, I think we're getting ready to go through 48 months of open doors and miracles, signs and wonders in the church, in your life, and in everything God desires to do for us. If you believe it, somebody shout, amen. Somebody say open doors. That's why I want to preach a message today called the blessing of a closed door. Because here's what I've discovered. Until you've run into a closed door, you won't really appreciate an open door. If all you've experienced this favor and open doors and promotion and all that other, you'll begin to take it for granted. And you'll begin to look at it as if it's happenstance and not the favor of God on your life.

There's nothing like a closed door that makes you grateful for an open door. There's nothing like sickness that makes you grateful that God is a healer. There's nothing like not having that makes you grateful that he is Jehovah Jira, our provider. There's nothing like being overlooked that makes you appreciative that the eyes of God is not just on the sparrow, but he is on you. and he sees every tear that drops from your eye, hear me. It's closed doors that make us grateful for the open doors of God. Growing up, my dad was a pastor longer than I've been alive. I actually pastor the church that he founded back in 1997,

but he also owned his own business on the side. He had a medical courier company. He had drivers all over the state of Maryland, and they would pick up medical specimens from doctor's offices and drop them off at labs. These were blood samples and bone marrow samples and actually some pretty painful test to take. So it was a pretty sensitive job. I remember when I turned 16, I got my driver's license and my dad hired me because I was a boss's kid.

I was the youngest person on staff by like 20 years. People didn't think I deserved the job. And actually, I didn't, but my dad was the boss. I was just like, y'all can't do nothing with me. You can't say nothing to me. And by the way, my dad writes your paycheck. And I would spend about five hours of my day every day. single day from about 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. driving around Maryland, picking up medical specimens and dropping

them off at the lab at the end of the day. Early on when I was 16, and actually I did it for seven years, and it happened almost every single year, I'd drive, and I'd get to a doctor's office. When I'd walk in, the nurse or the administrator, the doctor said, hey, we're not quite ready for you. Come back in about 15 minutes. Somebody say 15 minutes. It wasn't 17, it wasn't 14. They were very specific. come back in 15 minutes and we'll be ready for you to pick up the specimen. Well, I was 16 and, you know, not that bright. So I said, 15 minutes, that's great. Sounds like enough time to go down to the mall, get a cheese steak.

Eat the cheese steak, run over to GameStop, play about three games of Madden. I've got time. So I'd go to the mall and I get a cheese steak. I go to GameStop, I'm playing Madden. I'm like in the fourth game. And next thing I know my phone would ring and my dad would be calling. He said, hey, Stephen, I'm here at the drop. Are you ready to drop off the specimen?

Oh, I got one more pickup. I'll be right there. I would hang up the phone, run through the mall, jump in my car, speed across town. And I'd get back to that doctor's apple. We're SpongeBob Adams. I'm like, two hours later. And I would get there sometimes.

And the office would be locked up. Now, I'm not saying like locked, like the door's locked and they're cleaning up inside. I'm talking about locked, lights off, building shut down. can't get in no matter what. Remember the first time this happened, I called my dad's said, hey, the doctor's office closed. I didn't tell them. I was there earlier. It closed and they're locked up. I'll come back tomorrow. We say, Stephen, what do you mean tomorrow? The specimen that you're picking up has a three-hour shelf life. If you wait until tomorrow, it will spoil and

hear me. If it spoils, we will lose that doctor as a client. And he said, what you got to understand is that that's not just one doctor, but that doctor is connected to seven other doctors. There is an entire practice. If we lose that one doctor, we're losing all seven of them. Stephen, get in the door, and then he'd hang up. I figure it out. I'm just saying, I just told you it locked. Now, I remember looking at this lock closed door, and I'm not going to lie to you, I talked to a couple of police officers in Baltimore before I told this story just to make sure that the statute of limitation had passed. But when I tell you that your boy has, broken into more doctor's offices that you can imagine in your life. I have sweet talk,

more nurses, I've given more donuts to security guards, I've climbed in your window, snack your people up. I have a season of my life that I learned that a closed door is not the end of the story, but the beginning of a decision. Every time I run into a closed door, I have a decision to make. Am I going to surrender to the situation? Am I going to figure it out and figure out a way in? Or I'm going to say there's no way I can get around this and hear me. God did not die on the cross for his people to surrender.

One of the things that breaks my heart are there are too many believers that are surrendering to sickness. They're surrendering to anxiety and worry and fear and set back and lack. and hear me just because it's a setback, just because it's a closed door in your life right now does not mean that it's a life sentence. It doesn't mean that it's over. It's just the beginning of your story. So I don't do. I have about four hours to preach. I just want to give you just three quick. I want to give you just three quick thoughts, three quick thoughts of what do I do when I run into a closed door when I'm in that season of life where it looks like things just aren't moving forward. Like, I just can't catch a break. The first thought is this. Not all closed doors

are the same. When you run into a season where life is not moving forward, where it doesn't appear that your prayers are being answered, that you're not making the progress that you want to make, you've got to understand, just because the door is closed doesn't mean it's the same scenario. Here's what we do. We blame every closed door on God. Every time something doesn't work out, we don't get the job, the promotion, the relationship doesn't work out or whatever it be. We get super spiritual. When we say things like, it must not have been God's will for my life. That's my super spiritual voice.

I don't know why. I prayed and it didn't happen. So it must not have been what God had for me. Hear me. Just because a door is closed doesn't mean that God is the one that closed in our passage here in John. on chapter 20 we find the disciples locked behind a closed door the bible says that they were paralyzed in fear that they were so overcome with the idea that they had just killed jesus and everybody knew that they were followers of jesus so they just had in their mind if they killed jesus

they must be coming for us next one of my beef with christians i got a lot of beef of christians but but one of my for Christians is, and I'll throw myself under the bus with you, we read the Bible like Christians. How am I supposed to read the Bible? Like a human. Here's what I mean by it. As Christians, we read the Bible knowing how the story goes. So we see them locked in the room like, oh, you punks, come on out. He rose from the third day. He's about to walk through the wall and show you the nail prints in his hand. Don't you know? We read it knowing the end of the story, but you have to put yourself in their shoes. They didn't have the Bible to read. They was the Bible.

And as far as they knew, everything that they had given their life to had just been murdered in front of them like a criminal. You see, these men and women, they left family businesses. They looked parents in the eye and said, I don't want the inheritance that you worked your entire life to build. I'm going to follow this carpenter's son because I was just, told that he has the keys of life in his hand. They left everything and followed him for three years.

He said that he was the king of kings and the Lord of Lords. And then he hung on a cross. He dropped his head. And he died. And a whole city celebrated. And here are the disciples locked in a room after the greatest tragedy of their life. Thinking if they just killed Jesus, they're coming for us. This was the lowest moment of faith that they ever had.

Side note, anybody grateful that all your mistakes and blunders are not recorded in scripture for billions of people to read? Anybody grateful the day you messed up royally? Only you and your three roommates know about it. Nobody else. This was the worst moment in their lives. And here's what they decided to do based on that tragedy and trauma. They went into a room.

They opened the door, and they locked it behind them. The door wasn't closed because God closed it. The door was closed because fear closed. One of the things that I've discovered is there are so many people that are locked behind a closed door, not because God did it, but because it was the response to that abuse from their childhood. It was their response from that divorce 10 years ago. The response from losing that home. that they had borrowed from four different family members to be able to purchase.

The response to the closing of that business that they'd given 10 years of their life to. Without even... We don't do it consciously. It's like a subconscious defense mechanism. Where we still come out of our house, but our hearts are closed. And based on the worst day of our lives, we've made an individual. internal vow, I'll never trust people again. I'll never let somebody that close enough to me again to break my heart. I'm never going to take a risk like that again. And one of the things about

we're good in church about putting our church clothes on and our church face on. So you'll walk in the church and you'll look why. You'll sing the song, Y-O parent. Was that my note? But the truth is we're wide close we walk into church with our church phase hey how you doing oh girl I am too blessed to be stressed you lying

them shopping bags under your eyelids say you pretty stressed right now hey how are you doing oh God is good all the time and all the time God is good I know how God is how are you and we have up this facade

that life is going great But if we were to be honest, our life stopped at that tragedy eight years ago. And we've shut our hearts off. But here's the thing. God said in his word, third John, chapter one, verse two. It said, beloved, I pray that you may prosper. Somebody say prosper. So I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health just as your soul.

What was your soul? Your soul is your mind, your will, and your emotions. your heart. The word prosper means this. It doesn't mean what you think, prosperity. Oh, I love me a prosperity. We're about to get a bitley up in here. Prosperity does not mean Beamer, Benz, and bitlies. Not that that's a bad thing, but that's not. Here's what the word prosper means. In the original language, it simply means to move forward. That's all that means. God says, my prayer is that you would move forward in every area of your life. What does that mean? That means, that means, that your marriage is better this year than it was last year. That means your finances are better

this year than it was last. That means your faith is stronger this year than it was last year. And here's, we're looking for God to move us forward. God says, you don't move forward according to my will for you. You move forward according to health of your heart. Here we are blaming God, God, I can't get a break. There's closed doors all around. And God says there's closed doors outside of you. Because there's a closed door on the inside of you. And until you make a decision that I'm not going to be locked up on the inside, hear me. I know it's hard.

We're going to laugh at the end. It's going to be great. It's going to be a little tight right now, though. He said, until you make a decision to unlock what's on the inside, everything on the outside is going to be locked up. Here we are complaining. Why can't I find any real friends? Any people are going to be loyal to me.

and not just use me. Holy Spirit is saying, maybe it's because you won't let anybody close to you. Because you've put a padlock on your heart. You've made a decision. I'm not going to let anybody... If you don't let anybody close enough to hurt you, no one will be close enough to bless you.

So here it is, the disciples. They're locked up in this room. And I just wonder sometimes, what were y'all thinking? Like, here's what I've discovered. My response to fear, pain, and trauma is not a long-term thought process, it's immediate reaction. What were the disciples planning on doing tomorrow?

Y'all just going to stay locked up in this room for the next 30 years? Like, what's the plan? Here they are locked up in this room. And the Bible says that Jesus steps through the wall. And he says, peace be unto you. Which tells me it doesn't matter what I've been through. It doesn't matter where I've locked myself off from. It doesn't matter how much I've given up.

on life. There's people right now that you have no vision and you have no dream for your future. Hear me, there is a God that loves you. And he doesn't even need you to open the door for him. He'll walk through the walls of your heart and breathe on you and say peace. Now, I'm reading this passage, and I'm just like, Jesus, why you got to be so extra? Like, I mean, there's a door. Why are you going to walk through the wall all Messiah-like? just, oh. Why can't you walk through the door like normal people? As I'm reading this passage, I feel like the Holy Spirit says, Stephen, how do you know I didn't try? It says that I walked through the wall. It doesn't say that that was my first option. Could it be that I tried the door?

And because the door was locked, I had to come in a different way. How many people, you love your Bible? Like, you love your Bible. I'm like working this out next thing I know the Holy Spirit brings this, Revelation chapter 3, verse 20. He says, look, I have been standing at the door. He said, and I am constantly, hear me, Jesus knocking on your door like that annoying door-dash delivery person that did not read the note, leave my meal at the door, I ain't coming to the door. He said, I am constantly knocking. He said, if anyone hears my calling him and opens the door, He said, I don't even need you to come out. I'm going to come in and fellowship with him and he with me.

I think before Jesus walked through those doors, that wall, he knocked on the door. And as he was knocking on the door, I don't think that the disciples fear decreased. I think it increased because they mistook the knock of peace for the knock of judgment. There's some of you in this room watching online, different locations. You're not here because you want to be here. You're not here because, like, elevation. You're like, elevation. The only reason you're here is because your wife said, if you don't come to church with me, I'm going to make your week miserable. Some of your old teenagers, your mama say, you can come to church or you cannot eat all week.

You said, an hour and a half. She said, okay, I'm going, I'm going, I'm going. And you're sitting in church, you're watching online, but if you'd be honest, your heart is locked off to Jesus. and it's because you misunderstood who he is. You thought he was knocking at the door of your heart to tell you how messed up you are. You thought he wanted to knock on your door to judge you and say, ooh, you ratchet, how could you do that? How could you think that? How can you look at that? No, no, no, no.

He's not knocking on your door to judge you or to condemn you or to look down at you. He's knocking on the door to breathe peace into your life. Some of you have been pushing through the last years in your own strength, and your own willpower. And outside, everybody thinks you're okay, but on the inside, you're exhausted. I'm telling you, there is a peace that surpasses all understanding that will guard your heart and guard your mind, but you've got to let Jesus in. Second thought is just write this down.

Some closed doors are a setup. Now, hear me, there are some closed doors in our lives that we have closed as our response to trauma. But there are closed doors in our life that God himself has closed. Like, you can't move. You've been in a position where nobody you call will pick up their phone. Like, you just try to find somebody find an angle. Who can get me forward? And it does not matter what you do, how many applications you put out.

Because sometimes God will close a door in our life. Here in John 20, Jesus walks into a room where the doors closed because they closed it. after Jesus gets them out of that room, he puts them in an upper room, and he closes that door on them in Acts. Chapter 1, verse 4, says this, and being assembled together with them, Jesus commanded them. Don't you leave this room? That's not like your mama. Don't you come out of here. He said, do not depart from Jerusalem, but wait.

Somebody say, wait. For the promise of the Father, which he said, you have heard from me. Here's what God told the disciples. He said, now I'm risen. I'm all powerful. All power has been given. given to you. Go change the whole world. And Peter's your boss, by the way. But before you do that, go in this room, close the door and wait because you're not ready yet. I've discovered God will

always call you to something that is beyond your ability. The destiny that God has for you, you know, some people that are insecure. I have these big dreams, but I just don't think I can accomplish. but I don't think that I'm smart enough or gifted enough or educated. I came to encourage you. You're not. You feel the courage? You're not smart enough. You're not gifted enough.

You're actually not educated enough. That's why it's a God dream, because if you could do it without God, it wouldn't be. He will always put you in a position where you're in over your head. And he said, hey, before you go out and do it, stay here so that I can prepare. you. There are seasons in our life where it's God who has closed the door and hear me. If God has closed the door in your life, it's either because you are not ready for your breakthrough or your breakthrough is not ready for you. I've grown and matured, but I'm the same old Stephen. I was breaking into the doctor's offices when I was 16, and I still have the person out. When I see a

closed door, I just want to kick it in. And anybody like that, you get on the phone with customers, service. Somebody say, I can't help you. You're like, okay, let me talk to your boss, because clearly you ain't the person I need to talk to, but somebody can help me. I just, I'm just one, I don't know how to take no. It's just like, not right now. I need to pray for me. I need help. I've just discovered that there's sometimes where it's not a moment to kick in the door, but it's a moment to wait on God's timing. Because if I go through a door premature, surely, I will not be ready for all that God has for me. Now, this isn't a message, but I just want to take a little detour.

Can we have a little praise break? Is there anybody watching online in this room watching at our campuses that you are mature enough in your faith to thank God for the nose? Hear me? Anybody can thank God for his yeses. But is there anybody mature enough to thank God that he has closed some doors? in your life. Anybody was dating somebody that you wanted to marry and it didn't work out, but now you look at him back and you say, thank God it didn't work out because they broke,

they ugly, they disgusted. Anybody applied for a job that you did not get, and now you're thanking God that you didn't get it because it actually sets you up for something. There are doors that God closes in our life and the only reason he would close a door is, because he has something better for you. I'm not talking about you. I'm just talking about me. If I don't get my way, I just have a session with God where I just complain. I call it prayer. I don't know what he calls. I'm like, I'm not fair. Why ain't we get that landing? Why can we get that building?

And he's like, hey, he don't call me dummy. I call me dummy. He's like, dummy. It's because I got something better for you. Stop crying. and use this closed door season to prepare for what I have for you. Because what I have for you is above and beyond anything that you can ever ask, think, or imagine and hear me. Just because the door is closed doesn't mean it's not going to open. And you've got to be ready for when that door opens because when it's open, it's game time.

There's something called chronos, which is our physical time, one hour, two hour, one day, three days. And then there's a biblical world called Cairo. It's not physical time. It's divine time. It's when heaven and earth collides. It's a moment that God has prepared. It's like when that widow was coming in to beg the king for her land back. And she didn't know before she got in the room,

somebody else was talking about her and about how much of a blessing she was. And she walked into a God moment. Here's why God has closed the door in your life because he's waiting for the God timing, then when you walk through that door, it's the moment that he has for you. And there's nothing worse than getting the right thing at the wrong time. I don't know how many Caribbean folks we have in a room, but my parents are from Barbados, and I grew up in the Caribbean. Thanksgiving was a little crazy. We didn't just do mac and cheese and turkey. If we do it turkey, it's going to be a jerk turkey, y'all.

We don't fry turkey. We do ox tail and curry chicken. I mean, we throw down. But in the Caribbean, there's a fruit called a mango. If you've never seen it, I can't help you. It's like a peach. I don't know what to tell you. But it's better.

Best fruit in the world. I think it's actually what Eve ate in the garden. It wasn't an apple. It was a mango. The best fruit in the world is disgusting at the wrong time. If it's not ripe, it's hard, and it's bitter. if it's overripe, it's just disgusting. The right thing at the wrong time is not a blessing. And here I am complaining, God, why you open the door? God, why can't I move forward? It's like, don't you understand? The timing is not right. I'm preparing you, Stephen, but I'm also preparing destiny for you.

Here's what you have to understand. You are God's answer to a problem here on earth. The Bible says that God's giving you gifts that will bring you. you for people of influence. Somebody on earth with influence has a problem. Watch this. And you are God's answer to it. The only problem is that person of influence, they ain't ready for you. Because so often, when we have a problem, we look everywhere but God. So right now, they're trying to use money to get out of their problem. They're trying to use their connections to get out of their problem. They're trying to use their resume to get out. And God's just like, just wait, just wait, because in a moment, they're going to run out of options. And when they run out of options, they're going to turn to me.

And when they turn to me, I'm going to send you. And you're going to walk in and watch this. When you walk in, when the moment is ready for you, you get jobs you didn't apply for. You get favor. You didn't work for. You walk into things that are above your resume. Because you stepped into a Cairo's moment. I've discovered when the door is closed in my life.

It's not my time to sit there and twiddle my thumb. and come, God, how come I don't get any opportunities, you know? No, no, it's my time to prepare for when that door opens up. So many of us over the last 18 to 24 months, we spent more time in our houses with our family than we could ever imagine. And here's my problem, where we complaining that we couldn't travel or we were preparing for when the world opens back up. God, I'm not going to be where I was when the door closed. I'm going to be so much further. ready for all that you have to make. Matthew chapter 6, verse 6 says this. It says, but when you pray, I love how God just assumes we pray. It was like, if you pray, it's like, well, I mean, you love me and you talk to people that you love, so I'm assuming that we're going to talk. He said,

when you pray, go into your room and when somebody say, shut the door. When you have shut your door, pray to your father, who's in the secret. place. And your father who sees in secret will reward you. Here's what God has said. He said, what happens behind closed doors, the world will see in one moment. Here's the mistake I made. I would go and, you know, opportunities aren't coming, doors aren't opening. I'm in my prayer closet. I'm crying out to God, but I would never close the door behind me. Come on, some of you all pray like me. Lord, I'm praying for breakthrough. Breakthrough. Breakthrough. Break through.

And that didn't work. I bring out a Pentecostal prayer. Lord, I pray for it. Bring through it. I'm going to start bucking and rocking. What do he say? He said, close the door. Here's why.

Because if I'm praying and I'm looking, I'm not praying with faith because faith is not. God said, you've got to learn how to close a door where you can't see the opportunities, but yet you're still crying out to God, saying, God, I know you will do it. So many people, we're in a position. We're like, I don't see how it's going to happen. I'm single and I don't see any options. I have this business dream, but I don't see a market. If you could see it, you wouldn't need faith.

And if you didn't need faith, it wouldn't be God. The fact that you can't see it makes it more likely God than not. It's in those closed-door seasons that are faith. faith builds, that we learn to trust God based on the promises of His Word and not based on the circumstances of our reality. Oh, I'm going to get in trouble. Some of us spend more time watching the news than we spend watching his promises. And we're listening to people who do not have the same hope that we have as they prophylie over our future. I don't care what happens to the economy of this country. I do, but not that much because I'm not from a

around here. I'm just an ambassador. I'm a king's kid. And what happens here does not apply to me. Because when he opens a door, no man can shut it. We need to spend more time behind closed doors, looking to the hill from whence cometh our help. Our help comes from the Lord and the maker of heaven and earth. Last thing is this, write this down. We're going to land this plane. Whatever you do, do not get used to closed doors. There are some closed doors that we're the ones who closed them because of our response to fear or disappointment or trauma and we need to let Jesus sit.

There's some closed doors that are in our lives because Jesus closed the door, because the timing is not right, and don't knock the door in. Use the time to prepare for what God has for you. But whatever you do, don't get used to close doors. What does that mean? Don't get used to losing.

Come on, this is a word for somebody. You went through a season where you may have lost a loved one. You may have lost a job. You may have gotten knocked back. Here, it was a season, not a life sentence. Don't build an entire personality around losing. Don't make life decisions around losing. It was a season, not a sentence, because some closed doors are the enemy.

And those are the doors that are. God is going to kick it. I don't have time to read it. Read on your own time, but in Acts chapter 12, the disciples found themselves behind another closed door. Jesus had gone on to sit next to the Father in heaven and the church was growing. And then the government at that time, they arrested James, the brother of Jesus. And when they found out that the community was excited about persecuting the church, no figure, they cut James head off. And when they found out that everybody loved it, they arrested Peter and they had the same plan for Peter as they had for Jake. Nothing to do with the message.

Just right of rabbit trail. My children, they're in Christian school. I didn't know I appreciate Christian school until they started coming home and telling us all these Bible stories. I realized, wow, they're learning God's word. I love this. But for some reason, my three-year-old Roman only remembers the decapitations of the Bible. He don't know nothing about Moses. He don't remember Jonah.

All he knows is, Daddy, did cut John the Baptist's head off. That is. And Pharaoh had pride in his heart. It's all he's learned. Anyway, so they cut James head off. They throw Peter in prison, getting ready to execute him the next day, and watch this. When they arrest Peter, the church goes in a room, closes a door, and begins to pray. Now, this is not Bible.

This is just Stephen, so you can take it or leave it, and we can figure it out in heaven. I think James lost his head because the church wasn't praying. I think if the church was praying the way it was supposed to be when James got arrested, And could you imagine how ticked off James is in heaven right now? Just holding his head. Just like, really, y'all? Y'all couldn't pray until Peter gets arrested. I mean, who likes Peter?

So here's Peter in prison. The church is crying out to God. And because the church is praying, God says, whenever two of you agree on anything, it will be done here on earth. And God got the angel and said, hey, the church has agreed. Go down and rescue Peter.

So it says, the angel, he goes into the prison. And if I had time to preach this, the Bible says the angel had to wake Peter up. What type of faith do you have where it's the night before your execution and you're asleep? I'm sorry, I don't got faith like that. If they're about to kill me, I'm trying to bribe the judge. I'm trying to pick a lock. Peter, sleep because he knows to live his Christ and the die is gain.

It doesn't matter what happens to me. I'm blessed. So it says they wake Peter up and it says his shackles fall off. Peter thought he was in a dream. The angel guides Peter out of prison to the very door where the prayer meeting was happened. He says Peter comes to the door. He knocks on the other side of this door.

They're praying for a miracle. The miracle is at the door. The miracle knocks. on the door. One of the attendants there, her name was Rhoda. She opens the door. Don't miss this. They're praying for Peter.

Peter's at the door. She opens the door. Oh my gosh, it's Peter. It slams the door in his face. Then she goes back and says, it's Peter at the door. You know what they said? You're a lying.

It's not Peter. It's a ghost. They were praying for Peter, but they were praying with no expectation. They were praying out of religion, not out of faith, because they had got used to losing. Hear me, don't you dare get used to losing. Don't you dare get used to close doors. Don't you dare get used to a moment when his favor is not on you. It may be a season where doors are closed.

It may be a season of sickness. It may be a season of setback. It may be a season where people aren't coming. But it's a season, not a life sentence. The Bible says don't cast away your confidence. I know it's been a rough season, but don't you dare stop believing God's best for you. I'm a close. My five-year-old Zoe, she had a little turn.

actually all our kids are they get it from their mama and um so we we we make them take naps now some of you are like five-year-old taking naps yes it's not for them it's for us someone says he's always oh and she's like i don't care what you do you just go in your room for an hour and a half and don't come out and what she'll do is she'll go in a room she'll take her pillow and her blanket off of the bed and she'll put it right next to the door and she'll crack the door And I have found her at three in the morning sometimes passed out next to her door. And in her five-year-old mind, I don't know when they're going to open this door and let me out. But whenever this door opens, I don't want to waste the seven steps from my bed to the door.

I think God is looking for some believers that you're not going to force the issue, but you've set your faith up right at the edge of that door. And you're like, God, I'm not going to force. But the second this door opens up, I'm stepping through, and I'm ready for that moment. I'm ready for that favor. I'm ready for all that open door is coming to you. And when it is, don't get caught slipping. Don't get caught doubting.

Don't get caught thinking that your best days were behind you. But live from a position of God. I'm still breathing. Which means there's more for me that you have in front of you. and let you have behind. Hey, can I pray for you? Father God, we are grateful. God, that if your eyes are on the sparrow,

how much more do you not know? God, the desires of our heart, God, the dreams of our heart, you put them there. Just because they were delayed in our timing doesn't mean it's off-scheduled for you. God, I pray that you'd stir our faith again. God, I pray that you should stir our faith again.

God, I pray that you put us in a position of expectation, knowing that you're getting ready to open doors in our lives. Just where you are with your eyes closed and your head bow. If you could pray this, pray with me, say, Holy Spirit, what are you saying to me? And just give God a moment to make this time to make this message personal to you. There's so many of us without even realizing it. There's parts of our heart that we've closed off because of some fear,

because of something that someone spoke over us, because of some setback or some failure. God is saying, I'm not coming in to curse you or to judge you or to look. I'm coming to bring peace in that area of your life. There's some of you under the sound of my voice that if you'd be honest, you've never opened your life to Jesus before.

Maybe you're like me, you grew up in church. You just never surrendered to the God of the church. Maybe this is your first time in an atmosphere, like this, but if you'd be honest, you say, Pastor, I can't say that I've opened up to Jesus the way that you're talking about, but I'm exhausted, I'm tired, and I need that piece that you're talking about. If that's you, this moment right now is for you. All you have to do is take one step towards me, and we do that in this prayer. So here's what I'm asking, you would pray this prayer. The matter of fact, every single person in every single room that we're in, can we pray this out loud out of

encouragement of those that are making the greatest decision ever? Say, Lord Jesus, thank you. Thank you. for seeing me, for wanting me, for dying on the cross, so that all my sins, all my mistakes can be erased. Today, I open my heart to you. I surrender. Be my Lord, be my Savior, and use me for your glory. In Jesus' name, amen and amen. Come on. Can you celebrate for every single person that just made the greatest decision ever. God bless you. Well, if you enjoyed today's podcast, there are a couple things I'd love for you to do.

Make sure to subscribe, rate, and review this podcast. You can also help us reach others by investing today at elevationchurch.org slash give. And thanks again for joining us on the Elevation Podcast. This is an IHeart podcast, guaranteed human.