I Corinthians 16:5-14

"A great door for effective work has opened to me."  I Corinthians 16:9

In our passage today the Apostle Paul sent word to the Corinthian church that he would be remaining in Ephesus for awhile.  Paul said in I Corinthians 16:8-9. "But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me."  In spite of obstacles and enemies in Ephesus Paul believed God had opened up a door of ministry for him there, and he did not wish to miss that opportunity for ministry and service for his Lord.  Paul knew that if God opened up a door of service, He would also give victory.

God opens ups doors of opportunity for us also.  We must daily pray for the Lord's guidance in our lives.  We must not run ahead of the Lord, and we must not seek to open doors of opportunity by force or our own efforts.  Our own self-efforts will always fail.  We must seek God's leading and timing.  When it becomes clear, however, that the Lord is leading us in a particular direction we must follow the Lord and pursue that open door of service.  We must follow the Lord's guidance with trust and confidence.  We must also trust that the Lord will make our service for Him victorious and productive in spite of unavoidable obstacles along the way.

In our service for the Lord Paul says to us in I Corinthians 16:13-14, "Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong.  Do everything in love."  We must be very careful to be on guard against apathy.  We must maintain our passion and excitement for the work of the Lord. We must also be on guard against the devil's philosophies and lifestyles which are all around us in the secular world.  Sometimes the world's philosophies can sound so logical and inviting, if we are not on guard in our spiritual lives.  As children of God we must filter and evaluate everything according to God's Holy Word.  In our service for the Lord we must "stand firm in the faith."  We need to do all that we can to grow in our love relationship with the Lord.  The Lord must become number One in our lives, and He must dominate every area of our lives.

In our service for the Lord we must also be men and women of courage and strength.  It is often difficult to live as children of God in this world.  True courage and strength comes only from a deep personal relationship with our Lord.  True courage and strength develops from relying on the Lord's strength and not on our own devices.  Only when we are finding our strength in the Lord can we become effective servants in His kingdom.

Finally, I Corinthians 16:14 instructs us that in our service to the God we must "do everything in love."  Service for God without love for God and others is worthless.  I Corinthians 13:2b-3 says, "if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.  If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing."

May we not shrink from God's open doors of opportunity for service.  May we serve the Lord and others in love, and may our ministries and lives be squarely based on the Word of God.  May it be our passion to use every "door for effective work" for the Lord's glory!