Revelation 3:20 - An Invitation For Relationship With Divinity.
Revelation 3:20 (NKJV) 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.
INTRODUCTION
This Supreme Gift is a phenomenal, priceless
treasure beyond all measure! It's a relationship with
Deity that leads to eternity.
COMMENTARY PEARL
Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room
At Christmas we talk a lot about the
manger and what happened there, and so we should.
But lets not forget the why. Why did Jesus
come from Heaven to earth?
It was so that you could have a
relationship with Him and He could take residence in your
heart. In Revelation 3:20 Jesus said, I stand at
the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and
opens the door, I will come in (Revelation 3:20
NKJV).
If someone knocks at the door of your
house and they cant see in, then you might peek
through a side window and think, I wont answer
it. I dont want to talk to them. And
eventually theyll go away.
But if its a glass door and you make
eye contact with each other, its kind of
awkward. If you dont answer the door, theyll
know that its a deliberate decision on your
part.
That is the picture of Jesus knocking at
the door of your heart and life. He sees you,
and you see Him. So by not opening the door and
asking Him in, youre basically leaving it closed
in His face.
Youre saying, Go away. I dont
want what youre selling. Im not interested
in what you have to say. Dont bother me.
And to not say yes is to say no.
Jesus said, He who is not with Me is
against Me (Matthew 12:30). Is Christ living
inside of you? If you dont know it, if youre
not certain of it, then maybe He isnt there.
As the Christmas hymn Joy to the World
says, Let every heart prepare Him room.
Will you prepare room for Jesus right
now? Will you ask Him to come into your life?
Hell forgive you of your sin and take residence
in your heart. Hell give you the meaning and
purpose in life that youve been looking for. [By
Greg Laurie from Harvest Ministries;
https://www.harvestdaily.com] Real Christmas Actually Happens Every Day Of
The Year.
COMMENTARY
C. S. Lewis wrote, If I find in myself
a desire which no experience in this world can
satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was
made for another world.
Are you content? Are you a happy person?
Or, are you thinking, If I just had this, I
would be happy? You wont find happiness in
the things this world offers. It wont be
found in possessions. It wont be found in
accomplishments. It wont be found in fame. It wont be
found in any external thing. Happiness does not
come from seeking it but from seeking God.
Happiness will be found in a relationship with God.
Happiness is not about what I have;
its about who has me. Its the relationship I
have with God that brings the ultimate
contentment. As David wrote in Psalm 23, The Lord is
my shepherd; I shall not want (verse 1
NKJV). When the Lord is your shepherd, you can find
perfect contentment.
Tell me what you think you need, and I
will tell you what you really want. What youre
looking for in life is a relationship with God.
Jesus said, 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).
Have you asked Jesus Christ to come into
your life to be your Savior and your Lord? Jesus
is ready to forgive you, but you must ask Him
to come into your life. The day you do that,
your questions will be answered. The day you do
that, you will find the contentment youve been
seeking in life. The day you do that is the day you
literally will change your eternal address from Hell
to Heaven. [By Greg Laurie from Harvest
Ministries; https://www.harvestdaily.com]
CLOSING THOUGHT
Matthew 8:28-34 tells the story of Jesus
healing two demon-possessed men who were so violent
that the villagers had to avoid them. Jesus
granted the demons' plea to send them into a herd of
pigs, and then the pigs plunged off a cliff into
the lake. Someone ran to spread the news, and a
crowd came to see Jesus. Luke's account adds that
they saw one of the men dressed and sitting
peacefully at Jesus's feet. A threat to their
neighborhood had been removed and two men had been given
a new chance at life, and how did the
onlookers react? They begged Jesus to leave their
area.
Maybe these people had a superstitious
fear of Jesus's power. Perhaps they were
concerned about further loss of livestock. In any
case, its sad to think about how much they
missed by asking Jesus to leave them alone. It's
also sad when we call ourselves His followers but
don't welcome His presence and power into our
daily lives. How much do we miss by focusing on
our personal agenda while avoiding the One we
call our Master?
In Revelation, Jesus pictured Himself
knocking on the door of our heart, waiting for us to
invite Him in for fellowship. Each day we make the
choice either to shut Him out of our personal life
or to keep the door always open by praying,
reading the Word, and keeping our mind fixed on Him.
When we choose the latter, He infuses our life
with joy, peace, and power. Dianne Neal Matthews
Faith Step: Have you been welcoming Jesus
into your daily life or avoiding Him? Think about
how you can throw the door wide open today.
[Mornings With Jesus 2021 Devotional by Guideposts and
Zondervan]
PRACTICAL APPLICATION
Pray in your closet and as you go about your
daily labor let your heart be often uplifted to
God. It was thus that Enoch walked with God.
These silent prayers rise like precious incense
before the throne of grace. Satan cannot overcome
him whose heart is thus stayed upon God. There
is no time or place in which it is
inappropriate to offer up a petition to God. There is
nothing that can prevent us from lifting up our
hearts in the spirit of earnest prayer. In the
crowds of the street, in the midst of a business
engagement, we may send up a petition to God and plead
for divine guidance. A closet of communion may
be found wherever we are. We should have the
door of the heart open continually and our
invitation going up that Jesus may come and abide as a
heavenly guest in the soul. live in the pure air
of heaven. Those whose hearts are open to
receive the support and blessing of God will walk in
a holier atmosphere than that of earth and
will have constant communion with heaven. Let
the soul be drawn out and upward, that God may
grant us a breath of the heavenly atmosphere. We
may keep so near to God that in every unexpected
trial our thoughts will turn to Him as naturally
as the flower turns to the sun. SC98-100
LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2016/20161130-0909.html
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2021/20210531-1044.html
YOUR COMMENTS
If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in
hearing from you. Thanks in advance and let's keep
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred
Gibbs
