Greetings brothers and sisters… Pastor Rob here,
In the book of Revelation we see the King of Glory, Jesus Christ giving His message to seven churches in Asia. The exalted Lord gives praise to each church for its strengths, and rebukes each church for its weaknesses. The last church He addresses is the church in a city called Laodicea. Sadly, Jesus has no words of praise for this church, for it is the “lukewarm” church. They had put their trust in their earthly riches, instead of trusting in the riches of God’s grace. And hey thought that because they wore fine clothing, that they had no need of the white garments of Christ’s righteousness. So the Mighty Lord commands this church to repent! He says to them, “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.” (Rev. 3:20) I’m sure you are familiar with this verse. We have often heard it used as an invitation to salvation… opening the door of our hearts and asking Jesus to come in. But what it really pictures is Jesus Christ on the outside of His church seeking entrance. It is a sad picture of the state of the church; a church in which Jesus is not welcome, but is excluded and left outside the door.
At our Church, we are working really hard to make our guests feel welcome. But let us work equally hard to make the Lord Jesus feel welcome! He should be our Honored Guest every Sunday! We must be careful not to grieve the Holy Spirit by harboring sin in our hearts. We should be regularly confessing our sins to the Lord. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Then, when we come to church, we can be filled with the Spirit instead of grieving the Spirit! A church that is filled, with people who are filled, is a church where Jesus feels right at home! And when guests visit our church, they will know that they have been fellowshipping not only with believers, but with the Lord Himself.
It is heartbreaking to think that many churches in America have left Jesus outside their doors, knocking. May our church never be one of them! I pray that the Spirit of Christ will have free access into our church. This coming Sunday, open your heart afresh to the Spirit of God. For, if He feels welcome in your heart, He will certainly feel welcome in your church! Let us invite the King of Glory into our fellowship!….
“Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up you everlasting doors! And the King of Glory shall come in. Who is this King of Glory? the Lord of hosts, He is the King of Glory!” (Psalms 24: 9-10)
—Pastor Rob
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