LS-29-The Divine Guest

The Divine Guest

Behold I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear My voice and open the door, I will come into him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.--Revelation 3:20.

We have all heard this text used as a gospel message. Christ Is represented as standing at the door of the sinner’s heart, knocking for admission, and telling of the joys of communion that may be the blessing of the life that will admit Him. So used, the message is happily true-He does seek to enter into the life of every unsaved man, and to bring with Him the blessings of His presence and sustaining grace. But these words of our Lord were not addressed, in the first instance, to the alien from Christ. They were spoken to men in the Church. But it was a Church which had excluded her Lord. She was rich in this world’s goods, had become satisfied and complacent in the possession of material things. With regard to the things of the spirit, she had become indifferent and lukewarm, and was ready to be rejected by the Master whom she professed to serve. Serious words of warning He spoke to her, and words of grave counsel. Then came the tender yearning words of love, expressive of our Divine Lord’s reluctance to rebuke and chasten, and of longing to enter in and bless.

"O Jesus, Thou art standing
Outside the fast-closed door,
In lowly patience waiting
To pass the threshold o’er.

"Oh love that passeth knowledge
So patiently to wait!
Oh sin that hath no equal
So fast to bar the gate!" Could it be that any of us, immersed in the things of the world, would unconsciously harden our hearts to such an extent that the Lord of love could find no entrance? We have gathered together today, to examine ourselves before Him. We want our lives to be a fairway for the triumph of His spirit; we want to have our hearts prepared for His continued occupation.

"If any man hear My voice and open the door!" That is our responsibility.

"I will come in to him!" That is His promise.

"And will sup with him, and he with Me!" That is the communion we enjoy when we admit the Divine Guest.