Mensa Otabil - Jesus Holds the Key (10/28/2025)
Yesterday, we started talking about choices and the fact that God has set life and death before us. Today, we take a step further to talk about the Lord holding the key to the choices we have to make. Revelation 3:7 says, «And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia, write: These things says He who is Holy, He who is true, He who has the Key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens.» Jesus holds the key to the doors that must be shut and the ones that are open. So, if we’re going to make a choice, we have to consider what He’s doing, what He’s opening, and what He’s shutting.
Now, I want you to imagine that you’ve been given access to a huge, vast mansion. This big mansion has so many rooms, and you’re told to explore the rooms and choose which rooms to enter and which rooms not to enter. However, some of the rooms contain treasures, so when you open the door and enter, you’ll find treasures. Some of the rooms have traps, and when you open them, you fall into the trap. You’re supposed to open the door and explore the rooms. Now, how do you determine which one has treasures and which one has traps?
If you don’t know, life becomes a gamble. It’s almost as if you open one door and, there you go-you fall into a trap. But can you imagine if the owner of the mansion says, «Well, I have the keys,» and as you approach each room, you check the doors. The ones I have opened or unlocked, you can enter; the ones I haven’t unlocked are shut-don’t enter. Just by that, you can choose the rooms that will give you treasure and avoid the rooms that will lead to traps.
That’s what Jesus does for us. He says, «I have the keys. I can shut and I can open.» In His message to the Church of Philadelphia, Jesus says, «I am the one who holds the key; I shut and I open.» In our everyday decisions, we have to look out for what God has opened and what God has shut. He determines which doors we must enter and which doors we must not enter.
So, every day of our lives, we wake up to new opportunities. Some of the opportunities are good; they are the ones that God has opened for us, and God goes ahead of us and opens those doors. Now, how do we know that this is a door that the Lord has opened and that the Lord has not opened? It’s very simple. Is it a door — an opportunity-that honors God, or is it in conflict with God? Is it in conflict with His righteous standards, or is it not in conflict with His righteous standards?
So, if you see a door that is open but surrounded by all kinds of activities that displace God, it cannot be the one that God has opened. So watch out for the one who holds the key and see whether He is the one turning the door open or shutting the door. In the same way, every day in our lives, we see doors that look like great opportunities, but around them are thoughts, ideas, and concepts that, in our hearts, we know are not God’s way.
As you read the Bible, you find out this is not God’s way. As you listen to the Holy Spirit, you find out this is not God’s way. When the Bible and the Holy Spirit are telling you this door must not be opened, don’t open it because it’s a trap. But when the Bible and the Holy Spirit are telling you it’s an open door, then go in. Even if there is resistance, even if it comes with challenges, you know that according to God’s word and the Holy Spirit, this is a door of blessing.
So, to make the right decisions in life, we must acknowledge that there is a holder of the key who is determining what is good for us and what is not good for us. We must go to Him in prayer, study His word, and rely on His Holy Spirit. That will indicate to us which door must be opened to us and which door God is shutting from us, even if it looks like a brilliant door. Adam and Eve thought that disobeying God was a great thing, but it got them into trouble. I’m sure Judas thought that 30 shekels of silver was a good deal, but that got him into trouble.
You have to determine from Jesus Christ, His word, and His Spirit which doors are open and which ones are shut. Let us pray. Say with me: «Heavenly Father, you hold the key to what is right for me and what is not right for me. I trust you to open the right doors for me. In Jesus' name, amen and amen.»