September
3, 2003
STANDING
AT THE DOOR KNOCKING
"Behold,
I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and
opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and
he with Me" (Revelation 3:20, NKJV).
Every
warning, reproof, and entreaty in the word of God is a knock
at the door of the human heart. It is the voice of Jesus asking
for entrance. Every condemnation in the judgment will not
result from the fact that men and women have been in error,
but from the fact that they have neglected heaven-sent opportunities
for learning what is truth. He waits for us to open the door
of the heart to Him, and say, "Abide with me." He
says, "Behold, I stand at the door
and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I
will come in to him and dine with him, and he with me."
"From
eternal ages it was God's purpose that every created being,
from the bright and holy seraph to man, should be a temple
for the indwelling of the Creator. Because of sin, humanity
ceased to be a temple for God. Darkened and defiled by evil,
the heart of man no longer revealed the glory of the Divine
One. But by the incarnation of the Son of God, the purpose
of Heaven is fulfilled. God dwells in humanity, and through
saving grace the heart of man becomes again His temple"
(Desire of Ages, p. 161).
"Do
you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit
of God dwells in you? --For the temple of God is holy, which
temple you are" (1 Corinthians 3:16, 17). No man can
of himself cast out the evil that has taken possession of
the heart. Only Christ can cleanse the soul temple. But He
will not force an entrance. He does not force entrance into
the heart; but He says, "If anyone hears My voice and
opens the door, I will come in to him" (Revelation 3:20).
He will come not for one day, for He says, "I will dwell
in them and walk among them, I will be their God, and they
shall be My people" (2 Corinthians 6:16). "He will
again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities,
You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea"
(Micah 7:19).. His presence will cleanse and purify the soul.
God has
never employed force to bring men to Jesus. The message of
the scriptures is "Everyone who thirsts, come to the
waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat."
(Isaiah 55:1). "And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come!
.. And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him
take the water of life freely" (Revelation 22:17). The
compelling power of God's love draws men and women to Him
and they say, "Your gentleness has made me great. You
enlarged my path under me, so my feet did not slip" (Psalm
18:35, 36).
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