Hello Everyone,

Ephesus was not exactly a place where most Christians would have wanted to settle.

Yes, it was a big city, one of the major cities in the eastern Mediterranean area. It was a financial & commercial center & a very rich city.

It boasted one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The Temple of Diana was there with all its immorality & legalized prostitution.

It was a city where people were superstitious & believed in magic. They were constantly looking for soothsayers & fortune tellers to guide their lives.

It was not a place where Christians would normally want to live.

But when Paul looked at Ephesus & saw the thousands of people going about their daily activities, he said, "There is an open door here & I guess I’ll stay on a while longer." He saw the opportunity that was there.

Someone has said that the difference between a pessimist & an optimist is that a pessimist sees a problem in every opportunity. But an optimist sees an opportunity in every problem.

Paul saw the opportunities. There were so many people who needed to hear about Jesus, & Paul was determined to share the Gospel with them.

Paul was a master missionary. He said, "I have become all things to all people." "If you need a preacher, I’ll be a preacher. If you need a teacher I’ll be a teacher. If you need a tentmaker, I’ll make tents with you. I will become all things so that some of you might come to know Christ Jesus."

We must also realize that there is more than one way to get the job done.

Remember that in the 8th chapter of the Book of Acts persecution came to the church in Jerusalem. And many Christians had to flee from Jerusalem to escape the persecution.

Vs. 4 tells us that "Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went."

Wherever they went, they shared their faith. And they turned the world upside down with the gospel. The whole world started changing because wherever they went they told others about Jesus.

People from all over the world are coming to our cities. God can use this to give us opportunities to share the Gospel with the world.

Today doors are opening all over. I believe God is getting ready for a great surge before He comes again.

As never before, we have opportunities to go through doors & preach the Gospel to people who or ready to hear.

⁹because a great door for effective work has opened to “us”.

What an Opportunity!

Oh How HE Loves Us!

Pastor Phil