Can you imagine your worst day of your life? You know, that day that everything went wrong. You came out to leave for work and you had flat tire, you were late for work, your appointments didn't go well, and you had an accident on your way home. I would not call that day "good."
So, from a human perspective, the day we call "Good Friday" wasn't so good for Jesus. He was betrayed by one of His disciples, He was denied by other disciples, and He was traded for a notorious criminal to His death. He was put on a cruel cross as a sinner, but in actuality, He was pure and innocent. The only sin present on that cross were ours. During the six hour ordeal Jesus suffered on the cross, He proclaimed, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?" (Matt. 27:46) Now, from our vantage point, it doesn't seem too good at all.
Yet, as consider Good Friday, what we see on the surface is not what makes it good. It is good in that the Son of God was completely obedient to the point of the cross. Though He prayed that His Father would change His mind as to the progress towards the cross, He was willing to do His Father's will. It is good that He demonstrated this obedient attitude.
And, as we consider Good Friday it is good for all that it provides for lost sinners. Justification, redemption, salvation and reconciliation are just a few of the things we receive because of the work of Christ on the cross. Without Good Friday we would never have any good days! We can praise His Name for all He provided for us on that Good Friday.
Of course, as we move toward Easter Sunday, we also know that Good Friday would not have been good if it hadn't been for Easter Sunday. The resurrection of Jesus is the seal of our salvation. By it the Father showed He had approved of the work of His Son. So, praise the Lord for Good Friday.
Do you hear the bells? If you do you're living quite close to a church. Though most of our Baptist churches don't have bells, many churches still have them. When we lived in Baker, Montana a church existed out in the prairie between Baker and Ekalaka. Its name is Medicine Rocks Wesleyan Church. I don't know what they do today, but we lived in Baker they would ring their bells to call the ranchers to come to church. As long as you lived close enough to the church you could hear them ringing.
For some believers they desire only to be within the range of the bells. They love coming to church to sing and worship. They love the preaching and the fellowship. They love to hear the choir and to sit in their comfortable pew. For these believers it's all about the safety of the church. But, is that all we are to do?
To the Church of Philadelphia in Revelation 3:7-13 Jesus pointed them to an open door of opportunity. Jesus told them that when He opens a door it can not be closed and when He closes a door it can not be opened. The apostle Paul gives references to open doors in passages like 1 Corinthians 16:9 and 2 Corinthians 2:12. Open doors in these contexts point to open doors of evangelism for the gospel. And, what we know is that many doors for evangelism exist today.
Do you know who Henry Nott, George Grenfell or Jonathan Goforth are? These three names are just a few of the missionary heroes from the past. More familiar names may be William Carey, Adoniram Judson or David LIvingstone. Maybe you know these names; John Newton, George Whitefield, or George Muller? Is it possible you know the names of Dr. Raphael Thomas or Dr. Harold Commons or William Haas? What about Ruth Hege or Irene Farrell? These are all folks who saw an open door and walked through it. It wasn't an easy door to pass through, but it was opened by Jesus and neither they nor anyone else could close it.
A great missionary statesmen once said, "Some want to live within the sound of a church bell. I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell." (C. T. Studd) Believe me, all the above names served "within a yard of hell."
Sunday night we will look a little more at the open doors standing before us today. And, we will review a bit of the past giants who came before us to light the way of dedicated and sacrificial service. Join us, won't you?
