Watch/Listen
Busted Barriers
Brian Mashburn
March 17, 2019
Audio Player
Door Openers
They are so common, that we do not consider just how amazing they are. I am talking about DOORS.
Think about it: doors literally transport you from one environment to another. As I sit to write this, I just utilized one. I was in one environment, where I was in the elements, being bombarded by 50 mph winds! Then, I'm relieved of all that noise and violence because I'm suddenly and dramatically in an environment that buffers me from those winds. How did this happen? I went through a DOOR. Absolutely amazing!
As we finish our current series on "Barriers to Going Beyond Us and Beyond Here," it strikes me that doors are the opposite of - or perhaps the solution to - barriers.
Today we turn to the letter of 2 Peter. It would have been written well into Simon Peter's old age, and in it we see that finally, all of Peter's barriers that previously excluded outsiders (that is, non-Jews, or Gentiles) from God’s church are totally and irrevocably gone! His message and ministry focus is now where it should be. He has matured in his understanding of scripture to the point that what really matters to God now matters to him, and what does not, does not.
It no longer matters to Peter where you come from, what your story is, whether you are currently "one of us" or you are currently "beyond us." His ministry focus is now aligned with God's heart for the whole world. Peter had become the man who opens doors. He opened the doors of the church to everyone, everywhere, inviting all to the life and life-giving message of Jesus.
Would you do this? Would you become a door opener for people who are beyond us, beyond here? Would you invite all people to be transported from the hostile winds of the world and into the relief of Christ and his church?