Rev 3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be
zealous therefore, and repent.
Rev 3:20 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.
Rev 3:21 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.
Rev 3:22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit saith unto the churches.
The following
excerpt is from Daniel and Revelation by Uriah Smith-
The Token of Love.--
As strange as it may
seem, the token of love is chastisement. "As many as I love, I rebuke, and
chas-
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ten." If we are
without chastisement, we are not sons. (Hebrews 12: 8.)
"A general law
of His gracious economy," says Augustus C. Thompson, "is here set
forth. . . . As all need chastisement in some measure, they in some measure
receive it, and thus have proof of the Saviour's attachment. This is a hard
lesson to learn, and believers are dull scholars; yet here and throughout God's
word and providence it stands, that trials are His benedictions, and that no
child escapes the rod. The incorrigibly misshapen and coarse-grained blocks are
rejected, whilst those chosen for the glorious structure are subjected to the
chisel and the hammer. There is no cluster on the true vine but must pass
through the winepress. 'For myself,' said an old divine under affliction-- 'for
myself, I bless God I have observed and felt so much mercy in this angry
dispensation of God that I am almost transported. I am sure highly pleased with
thinking how infinitely sweet His mercies are, when His judgments are so
gracious.' In view, then, of the origin and design of the chastisements you
receive. 'Be zealous and repent.' Lose no time; lose not a blow of the rod, but
repent at once. Be fervent in spirit. Such is the first appliance of
encouragement."
Be Zealous and
Repent.--
Although, as we have
seen, the condition represented by coldness is preferable to one of
lukewarmness, yet that is not a state in which our Lord ever desires to find
us.
We are never
exhorted to seek that state. There is a far better one which we are counseled
to attain; and that is to be zealous, to be fervent, and to have our hearts all
aglow in the service of our Master.
Christ Knocking at
the Door.--
"Here is the
heart of hearts," says Augustus C. Thompson. "Notwithstanding their
offensive attitude, their unlovely character, such is His love to their souls
that He humbles Himself to solicit the privilege of making them blessed.
'Behold, I stand at the door, and knock.' Why does He? Not because He is
without home elsewhere.
Page 401
. . . Among the
mansions in His Father's house there is not one entrance closed to Him. He is
the life of every heart, the light in every eye, the song on every tongue, in
glory. But He goes round from door to door in Laodicea. He stands at each, and
knocks, because He came to seek and to save that which is lost, because He
cannot give up the purpose of communicating eternal life to as many as the
Father hath given Him, and because He cannot become known to the inmate unless
the door be opened and a welcome given Him. Have you bought a piece of ground,
have you bought five yoke of oxen, is your hat in your hand, and do you pray do
be excused? He knocks and knocks. But you cannot receive company at present;
you are worn out with labor; you have wheeled round the sofa; you are making
yourself comfortable, and you send word you are engaged. He knocks and knocks.
. . . It is the hour for church prayer meeting or for monthly concert; there is
opportunity to pay a Christian visit to an individual or a family; but you move
not. . . . Oh, nauseous lukewarmness! Oh, fatal worldliness! The Lord of glory
comes all the way from His celestial palace--comes in poverty, in sweat, in
blood--comes to the door of a professed friend, who owes all to Him, and cannot
get in!--comes to rescue a man whose house is on fire, and he will not admit
Him! Oh, the height, the depth, or Jesus Christ's forbearance! Even the heathen
Publius received Paul and lodged him three days courteously. Shall nominal
Christians tell the Lord of apostles they have no room for Him?"
"If Any Man
Hear My Voice."--
The Lord entreats,
then, as well as knocks. The word "if" implies that some will not
hear. Though He stands and knocks, yet some will close their ears to His tender
entreaties. But it is not enough simply to hear. We must open the door. Many who
at first hear the voice, and for a time feel inclined to heed, will, alas! fail
in the end to do that which is necessary to secure to themselves the communion
of the heavenly Guest.
Page 402
Reader, are your
ears open to the entreaties which the Saviour directs to you? Is His voice a
welcome sound to you? Will you heed it? Will you open the door and let Him in?
Or is the door of your heart held fast by heaps of this world's rubbish, which
you are unwilling to remove?
Remember that the
Lord of life never forces an entrance. He condescends to come and knock, and
seek admittance; but He takes up His abode in those hearts only where He is
then a welcome and invited guest. Heavenly Guest.
Then the promise!
"I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me." How
forcible and touching is the figure! Friend with friend, partaking of the
cheerful and social meal! Mind with mind, holding free and intimate converse!
What a festal scene must that be where the King of glory is a guest! No common
degree of union, no ordinary blessing, no usual privilege, is denoted by this
language. Who can remain indifferent under such tender entreaty and so gracious
a promise? Nor are we required to furnish the table for this exalted Guest.
This He does Himself, not with the gross nutriment of earth, but with viands
from His own heavenly storehouse. Here He sets before us foretastes of the
glory soon to be revealed. Here He gives us an earnest of our future
inheritance, which is "incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not
away." Verily, when we comply with the conditions and receive this
promise, we shall experience the rising of the daystar in our hearts, and
behold the dawn of a glorious morning for the church of God.
*******
All by the grace of
God we will study this in more depth tomorrow along with the previous days
study! Please God, let the upcoming Sabbath be filled with worship and
communing with You through Your word, studying to show ourselves approved, so
that we may not be ashamed. All by You,
all through the Holy Spirit now and forever!
Amen.
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