TOPIC:“The Guest Outside the Door”
by Rev. Dr. Reg Dunlap
TEXT:Revelation 3:20-22
“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the
door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me”
(Revelation 3:20)
As we study the New Testament we realize that on two different occasions we behold two shut doors and a knocker is standing in front of each one. In the parable of the ten virgins as recorded by Matthew in chapter 25 we have man represented by the foolish virgins as standing at the door of Christ. In the passage before us here in Revelation chapter 3 we have Christ pictured as standing at man's door. Notice again Christ's words: “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock.” And it is to these words that I now want us to direct our attention.
Let me just inject here something we should look at as we consider these words of the risen Christ. Some Bible scholars believe that Christ concludes His message to the church at Laodicea with verse 19. I disagree with that view and believe that these words are part of the total message Christ has for the Laodiceans and us as well. We see in the words of verse 20 some beautiful insights into the character of our blessed Lord. In this invitation of Christ to His church it is He who is standing knocking, speaking, entering and eating. Let us now look a little closer at the words of Christ as found in our text.
I.
Consider, first of all, we find in this invitation of Christ a REJECTION. Notice His words: “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock.” Here is a picture of the closed door and the knocking Christ. It is also a portrait of modern man who has excluded out of his life the God who created him and the Christ who died for him. And there Christ stands knocking to gain admission to come into your life. It reminds me of the words found in the Gospel of John: “He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him” (John 1:12, NAS).
What amazes me is that Jesus Christ is not only the PROVIDER of forgiveness and salvation for lost mankind, but He is the PURSUER as well. As the pursuer He takes the initiative as He actually comes and takes up His vigil at the door of our hearts. So not only has Christ provided salvation for all men in His sacrificial death on the cross, but He even goes farther than that by standing outside the door of our hearts seeking entrance. The Savior now becomes the SEEKER. As Jesus Himself declared: “For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).
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