Keion Henderson - Close The Door

Today, I want to talk about this subject: «Close the Door.» That 's what I want to discuss. Just recently, a few days ago-maybe a week — I was walking through what we’re calling the Dream Center. The Dream Center for us is a 40,000- plus square foot building that we are constructing, and I’m really not bragging about the building; I’m truly bragging about what the building will achieve. It’s designed to teach technology and to provide a safe haven for those who have a passion for sports, sciences, technology, and math. We 're going to feed people there, and it’s really a place for us to keep our promise to the community. It’ll hopefully be finished by late spring or this summer here at our north campus in Houston.

The other day, as I walked through it, the general contractor, Ed, was sharing with us all of the different features of the building. I can’t express how excited I was to see where the hallways will be, where the classrooms will be, where the gymnasium is going to be, and where the spaces are that can transform lives. I began to give God glory because during the pandemic, struggling week to week like many of you, somehow God was able to provide for us. We had the audacity to have a vision, even when it hasn’t been easy. The project has been on hold and has faced more bumps in the road, starts, and stops than I can tell you. It ought to be finished by now, yet it’s just beginning because, like many of you, the struggle due to COVID is real.

However, somehow — and I wish you could type it so I could feel it-God is faithful. He is just to perform, and if God said it, He will do it. As I walked through that building, I looked in amazement at how God is making this happen. Even when people are still being laid off, it should show you that you really never needed a job; all you ever needed was God. God can do anything, as my pastor would say, except fail. He showed me everything you could imagine-where the lights will be hung. There will be nine lights in this room, and there will be folding doors that can turn one classroom into two. During the basketball tournament, they can lower the curtain, and one team can be playing on court A while another team plays on court B. By the way, Pastor, you’re almost 40-can you still dunk? I answered him absolutely. Don 't get it twisted; I can’t do it like I used to, but I can do it like I can.

As I was looking at this place, my thoughts turned to Pastor Torrance, Jackie, and those who were with us. They were getting ready to walk out when Ed showed us something that I hadn 't asked about. When you enter the part of the building we are constructing, it connects to the existing building via a brick wall. When I looked at it, I wondered what the purpose of this cinder block wall was-what was the purpose of this wall and the big hole through it? He said, «Oh Pastor, this is called a firewall, and that opening you see is actually where we’re going to put the frame for a fire door.» He explained that this wall and this door create a barrier between, listen to me, that which will be and that which exists. So if there is ever a fire in that which exists, it won’t spread into that which will be, and if there’s ever a fire in what will be, it won’t spread to that which exists. He said it’s an expensive wall and door, but it’s worth it because it stops the spread.

I have to tell you, it captured my attention so much that the expense no longer mattered. What it cost no longer mattered, and even though it drove the budget up, at that moment, I stopped complaining because I recognized that sometimes it’s expensive to stop a spread. Sometimes, in order to keep something out of what is coming, and to keep something out of that which has been, you have to put a barrier in place to prevent spreads. This is what really struck me: he stated that this door will be connected to the alarm system. He said, «You won’t have to worry about this door; it will be magnetized .» Then he said these words: «Whenever the detector smells smoke or detects heat, this door will close automatically. This door is connected to the alarm; it doesn’t need your assistance. It will be activated by an emergency.»

Why am I discussing fire doors, cinder block walls, smoke, and heat? Because Matthew said, «When you pray, go into your closet.» Yet, it’s not enough just to go into your closet; he says, «When you do go into your closet, close the door.» He says, «Close the door.» When you pray in your closet and when you close the door, pray to the Father, which is in secret. I thought to myself, let’s look up the word 'closet' for the people of God. I searched for the word 'closet, ' which is derived from the Greek word 'tamion, ' a word with an interesting historical progression. Initially, ' tamion' in Greek was used to describe a secret place-a secret place where a person would.