Greetings again my Brethren. Let us continue to look at Revelations 3:20-21 to point out some of the divine spiritual principles contained in these verses. Let us look at the verses again. John writes,
“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.21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.” (Revelations 3:20-21) Now last month we looked at “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock” where God is arresting our attention to make known His desires to obtain a response. In all that God does for us, even our salvation, God is looking for a correct response from us. Not any old response, but the response He is looking for from us. God knows our heart and He knows if we have the capability within us to get it. After all God would not ask something of us He knows we cannot do. He asks of us only those things He knows we can do, but the long pole in the tent is are we willing to do what He has asked us to do. Paul encourages us in, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God isfaithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13) I wonder why Paul would tell the folks at Corinth this? Well they were being tempted by all manner of temptations in the bustling sea port city where the world and all of its new religions and philosophies not to mention the many ladies up on the hill from the Temple of Aphrodite. The folks of Corinth were tempted and yes they succumbed, but Paul still called them Brethren. Make no mistake my friends temptations are coming our way, but we are to have enough of God in us to be able to repel them because God always makes a way of escape for us. In these times we need not be looking at the temptation, but we need to be looking for the way of escape God has already provided.
Okay from these two verses let us this month look at “if any man.” Here the LORD through John’s hand is giving us an opportunity. The opportunity of fellowship that leads to communing with God which is given to all. Do you know what the most important word in the Bible is? Many would say love, grace maybe faith. Now these all are some really important words, but for me they are not the most important word in the Bible which is (my humble opinion) the word “if.” The word “if” always sets the condition for receiving from God. I like that so much I am going to say that again. The word “if” always sets the condition for receiving from God. God always sets divine opportunities before our face to where we MUST make a choice. Our walk with the LORD is nothing more than coming to know God and what He wants for our lives and then making correct choices, the ones He is looking for us to make. And “if” all throughout the scriptures (as written here) sets us up for an opportunity to do something or receive something from God. We have a wonderful example of this in the first chapter of Isaiah. Isaiah writes speaking of the rebellion of Judah, “If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: 20 But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.” (Isaiah 1:19-20) Here the LORD gives the people of Judah an opportunity to repent, “be wiling and obedient” to repent then they “shall eat the good of the land.” But if not another opportunity for not repenting, “But IF you refuse and rebel” then they “shall be devoured with the sword.” Both are opportunities from the LORD and which one of the conditions they choose they will receive. Notice God did not set them up or tell them which one to choose it was their choice to either eat the good (or fat) of the land or be devoured by the sword. So too in our lives. I remember my grandmother had a promise box on her dresser and every morning she would go to her promise box (supposedly with all of the promises in the Bible), pluck one of the colored cards, and read the promise. Then put it neatly back in the box. Well that was nice, but the card was only half correct. With each promise from God comes the condition or opportunity. We will never receive the promise unless we meet the condition. Every promise from God has a condition we must meet to receive the promise no matter great or small. Here in Revelations the promise is “if any man” it is extended not to the Jew only, but to the Gentile as well. The promise to come and fellowship, to commune with the LORD was extended to any man or woman: slave, bond, or free to all of mankind. The opportunity was extended no strings attached, no requirements to come and dine with the LORD.
Next month we will continue on with more spiritual principles contained in verses found in the Book of Revelation as we look at our response. Do you hear Him calling? Please know God is calling. Walter Beuttler said if you build God a temple He will inhabit it. Have you built God a temple? If you do He will abide and wait for you. Written by David Stahl
