Revelation chapter three. You may recall us. Going through
these letters to the churches. Some time ago. I got the idea. Or the incentive
from both Todd Niber who did the same. Their church there
did the same. Before we did, and I began reading
them and blessed by them, needed them. And we went through them
together, and I believe they were very profitable. And I told him not long ago,
I said, we would do well to go through those letters quite often. These are letters to the churches,
and after each one, he says, he's at half an ear. Let him
hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." Now, that sure
is relevant to what we heard this morning, wasn't it? We have
ears. We have ears. Well, the scriptures
are full of promises. My pastor has always said this.
Scriptures are full of promises, thank God, lest we despair. Promises of full, free, final
salvation for all those who come to Christ. Promises, lest we
despair of ourselves, that we're too sinful, that we're not going
to make it. Promises. Bless God for His promises. Bless the Lord, O my soul, for
His promises, lest we despair. Full of them. Just full from
cover to cover with promises. And they're also full. God's
Word is also full of warnings, lest we presume. And do you remember that in the
psalm that we read and studied not long ago? Keep back thy servant
from presumptuous sin. Do you remember that? Are you
with me? Not totally. I'm looking at your paper. I know it's your eyes with eyes
sad right now. That's what he said there. He that hath ears
to hear, hear. This is an important message.
All right. It's full of warnings, lest we
presume. Blessings. Scriptures are full
of blessings. Full of blessings. Deuteronomy
over there, we studied that not long ago, didn't we? Deuteronomy
8, blessings, blessings, blessings. But at the end of that chapter,
it's full of curses. You know, full of curses to those who don't
hear and do what he said. Curse. Full of comfort. This book is
full of comfort. I get so much comfort from it,
but we don't need to be too comfortable. And he says woe is pronounced
on those that are at ease in Zion. It's full of encouragement. I need encouragement. It's full
of encouragement. But it's full of review. Peter
said, I will stir up your mind, stir you up, straighten us up. The fly right. I was browsing
through one of the Gospels, you can do this yourself. Just browsing
through, I had one of these red letter Bibles, you know, and
I just was browsing through just just looking at the red writing.
See what our Lord said. That's all his word. That's the
reason I don't like those red-letter Bibles. Nevertheless, I was looking
to see what he was saying. Just his words. And you know, our Lord may have
said more words of warning and rebuke and correction than comfort. That seemed to be the case when
I was reading. Try it for yourself. I think because of this, I think
maybe because of this, I think because of the dangers that are
all around us. There's so many dangers around
us that he warns us and warns us and warns us. A good watchman,
that's what a good watchman does, doesn't it? And within us, the dangers within
us, knowing our frame. He knows our frame. He knows
us. And therefore, he is continually
like you with your children. Don't you ever feel like sometimes
that you're just you're hounding them? You're you're you're constantly
correcting. You do more of that than anything,
don't you? Don't you feel like I'm. You don't want to discourage
them, but they need it. And in that are we little children? Knowing our wandering natures,
it's the nature of a sheep. We're called the sheep of his
pasture. And one of the most prevalent characteristics of
a sheep is they're prone to wander. You know that? Sheep. They're
not like horses and some other animals that like to hang around
the barn. Sheep are prone to wander. How
about you? Prone to wander. Lord, I feel
it. Prone to leave the God I love.
Here's my heart. Take and seal it. He knows that. He knows our wandering nature. And so he's constantly admonishing,
correcting, bringing us back. Isn't it? Huh? Like I said one
time, we're all black sheep. And the sin which doth so easily
beset us. He said that in Hebrews 12. What
is the sin which doth so easily beset us? The sin. That's unbelief. Apostasy. Apostasy. Didn't it easily beset
the disciples? John, didn't it? Huh? I quit.
I'm going fishing. It's the slightest little thing.
People, you know, they heard him. They heard him say, we're
quit. Will you also go away? Christ said in the end they all
did. But he said no. Not if I have anything to do
with it. And he did. He had everything
to do with it. And he saves the sheep. He keeps
them from wandering. And how does he do that? He does
it by reproof and corrections and rebukes and warnings and
so forth. The things of Christ Brother
John prayed in his study, Lord take the things of Christ and
show them unto us. What are the things of Christ?
His reproof, his rebuke, his corrections, whatever he said.
It's the doctrine of Christ, isn't it? Whatever he said. I
need it. Boy, if he said it, I need it. And these letters here, John,
when you were reading that, when you were talking about Luke Warm,
did you need that? Was that talking to you? Talking
to me, and the Lord God said it. He said, now you anoint your
eyes, because it's speaking to you. Who's he talking to? Church
of Laodicea? No, the church at Central Baptist.
He said, he that hath ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit
saith to the church as. Plural. Not that one. All of
them. Because we're all in the same
boat. Or ark, if you will. All right,
all right, but he's a kind, compassionate, understanding father. You know,
our fathers, Paul said, was it Paul or Peter, I forget which,
said, you know, our fathers chastened us according to their wisdom,
and so does the heavenly fathers, and they did with finite understanding,
and so do we. He knows all, and he chastens
us. We're children, his children,
in constant need of correction. All right, look at verse 19.
He says, As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. As many as I love,
I rebuke and chasten. Look back at Proverbs 3. All
right, turn back there. Be a noble boy and search the
Scriptures. I often worry about having you
turn too many Scriptures. I do, I worry about that, I think.
You're going to weary them. We need to be workmen that needeth
not be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth. We need to
search the Scripture. We need it. This is a good time to do
it. If we don't have time at home, or at least don't make
time, this is a good time to do it. Let's search them. And as I said before, many times
I have literally looked up literally hundreds of scriptures in preparation
for the message, to pick the best one. So go with me over
there. Proverbs 3, look at verse 11
and 12. He says, My son, despise not
the chastening of the Lord, neither be weary of his correction. For
whom the Lord loveth, he correcteth. Even as a father, the son in
whom he delighted. Hannah, your daddy and your mama,
they love you. I can't. Parents, you can't. It's words. We love you. Oh, we love you. That's all we
can say. Isn't it, Rebecca? Son, I love you. Do you love
Brenda? He doesn't know how much. He
never will. Maybe. We love you. We're all the time getting on
you, aren't we? She did that quickly, didn't
she? All the time it seemed like,
won't they ever just leave me alone? No. Because we love you. We left you alone. You'd be out
in the street, you'd wander into this and that, and you'd kill
yourself. And what if we left you alone? It means we don't
love you. And that's the heavenly thought.
That's the heavenly thought. I love. Those whom I love, he
says, I rebuke. Look at Proverbs 9. And believe
me, people, I don't, well, I had a good time preaching this morning.
I just love, I just love to declare our sovereign God and the sovereign
Christ, His person, His work, and that nothing gives me more
joy. And I have, at times when He helps me, I have fun doing
it. Yes, fun. But he told young Titus, a young
preacher, Paul did, he said, you approve and rebuke with all
authority, let no man despise you. This is all the counsel. That's what you pray, John. Show
us your counsel. Paul said, I'm not shunned to
declare all the counsel. and messages that have a little
bit of a rebuke to them and a sting to them aren't as pleasant to
bring, but they sure are every bit as necessary. Look at Proverbs
9, verse 8 and 10. Proverbs 9, verse 8, Prove not
a scorner, lest he hate you. Rebuke a wise man, he'll love
you. Rebuke a wise man, he'll love
you. You remember that psalm that
says, Let the righteous smite me, it'll be a kindness to me.
Thanks, I needed that. Verse 9, Give instruction to
a wise man, he'll be yet wiser. Teach a just man, he'll increase
in learning. The fear of the Lord is the beginning
of wisdom. And these things, Joe, these
reproofs and rebukes and corrections teach us the fear of the Lord.
They do. They teach, they tell us, you're not like you ought to
be. I mean, you're not where you're going to be yet. You're
not doing what I told you. Straighten up like you said for
me to tell Don. Straighten up. This is exactly
what the Lord said. Straighten up. He says it in
that language even, doesn't he? He says, put that away. Put away
now. Put away wrath and anger and
malice and evil envy and evil speaking. He says, put it away.
Put off the old man. Put that. Quit that. Stop that.
Grow up. Act like a man. Quit acting like
a baby. Act like Christ. Quit acting
like the world. He speaks to us like that. We need it. Thank
you, Lord. I needed that. I needed that.
So he says, as many as I love, I rebuke. I rebuke. Back to the text. Look at this
now. Look at this. This hit me. Verse 19, as many as I love,
I rebuke and chasten. Be without chastening, you're
a bastard. Be zealous, therefore, and repent. Be zealous, therefore, and repent." You know, one of the things we
need to be, need to repent over, is that we're not zealous. That's
one of the things we need to repent of. Our Lord God was well pleased. with his son, who wasn't well
pleased. He said, This is my son, whom
I'm well pleased. Christ said, The zeal of thine
house hath eaten thee up. When was the last time the zeal
of God's house has eaten you up? You know, it really, really,
it ought to, every time we enter the house of God, or prepare
to enter, it ought to eat us up. I was glad when they said
that. Let's go to the house of God. It ought to eat us up. You know,
it should. This is the highest privilege,
the highest honor bestowed upon a human being. Christ said, blessed
are your eyes. They say, blessed are your ears.
Blessed are your persons. You have been brought to the
place that God has chosen to put his name there. It's not
everywhere. It's just not everywhere. I don't
know, really, I don't know, and I'm not saying this proudly or
presumptuously, but I don't know of another one in Franklin County. And here we are. Why me? We ought to say, who am I? Like
old Mephibosheth, shouldn't we? When they brought Mephibosheth
in and sat him down at King David's table to sup with kings, princes,
sit beside David, he looked around and said, who am I? What am I? A dead dog. that you should show such kindness.
Or like David. David started it. He said, Who
am I and what is my house? I thought about that the other
day concerning our house, men. Who am I? Who is Paul, mate? Who am I and what is my little
house? That he hath brought us to this
place. That he hath brought us. Scripture
says he brings a poor, vile sinner into his house of wine. A beggar
off the downhill. Go out and find some beggar,
some homeless beggar on the street. We saw a bunch of them in Washington.
Go get one. Bring him home with you. Put
your clothes on him. Feed him your best food. Sit
him down at your table and love him. That's what God's done with
us. That's what we're doing here.
We're in God's house, sitting at God's table, partaking of
God's dainties, the best food, wearing the best robe. Us prodigal,
worthless sons who wasted our living in riotous living, our
substance, wasted our substance for 30, 40, 50 years, and yet
God brings us here. How on earth in this much more
than a church service? The zeal of God's house ought
to eat us up. We ought to say with David, just
make men. It's our highest honor to gather
with the saints at the river, gathering with the saints, angels
in the upper room. That's where Christ is. He says,
Be zealous, therefore. A hint. Be zealous. Let me tell you something. Here's some things to be taken
note of. Here's a few things to be zealous of. All right? And I already basically said
this, but be zealous toward worship. Be zealous about this thing.
Let's say with David. Young David came out about your
age. are younger than you, Sam. You're not young. You're getting
older. Young man. Where is a young man
somewhere? Young, young. Well, older than,
and there's old Jacob back there. How old are you, Jacob? Eleven? Well, David was a little older
than that. Fifteen, sixteen year old boy, and he came out where
the armies of God were being defied by the big giant. You
remember what he said? He said, let me at him. Young
boy, young whippersnapper. And the rest of them, his zeal,
you know, they were zealous, and the rest of them called him
down. I said, now, son, he said, is there not a cause? Haven't we got a cause here to
get excited about something? Huh, John? Is there not a cause
why we should be zealous toward worshiping God? The Pentecostals,
they haven't got anything to be excited about, really. We're
the ones, huh? We're the one. They ain't got
anything to shout about. Oh, we do. Be zealous toward
worship. Is there not a cause? Is there
not a cause to be zealous toward worship? How good has God been
to you, Vicki Patton? Is there not a cause to be here
tonight? Be zealous toward worship. Secondly,
be zealous toward meeting with Christ. Do you love him? Peter, do you love him? Peter Davis? Peter Park? Peter Shively? Male or female? Peter Rolfe? Lovest thou me more
than these? Huh? Christ said, I tell you what,
I'm going before you in Jerusalem. I'm going before you and I'll
meet with you. I'll meet with you. Charlie, what if Christ
actually said to you, Charlie Ross, what if Christ actually
said to you, Charles Ross, be at the corner of Franklin Street
and whatever. at nine o'clock tomorrow
morning, I will be there. Will you be there? Christ says every time two or
three are gathered, I will be there. Hot diggity doggity. Oh, I will. All right, Lord.
Here I come. Be zealous toward meeting with
Christ. Be zealous. You know, isn't it honorable?
Isn't it a real honor when somebody seems genuinely glad to see you? Even excited to see you? Doesn't
happen very often. Notice it. I called Don Bell
up. Kind of invited myself. I didn't
invite myself to preach. I didn't want that at all. Matter
of fact, there's times when I know I'm coming someplace and I call
at the last minute so they won't ask me to preach. But I called
him. I wanted to kind of break up
the trip to Alabama. It's a 10-hour drive, and I'm
supposed to preach on Thursday night. And I didn't want to drive
all the way down there on Thursday, 10 hours, and then have to preach
that night. I just can't. That's tough. And so I thought
about going somewhere, leaving on Wednesday, and let's break
the trip up. Donnie's only three and a half,
four hours from Sylacauga. Well, I called Don up. I said,
Brother Don, would you like to have a visitor? this week, say
Wednesday night, I'd like to come through and just stay with
you for the night." He said, oh man. He said, oh man. He said, I can't think of anything
better that happened to me. You know, I've had mixed emotions,
Stan. I felt low. I felt, how could anybody have
that much esteem for me? I thought, how could somebody
want to have me over? I felt loads of worms. But then he made me feel high
as a king. Made me feel like royalty. Somebody! That man actually
thinks I'm somebody! Now, I think he is, too. But we're
not. Just a couple of nobodies that
like each other's company. Well, he was excited to hear
it. He didn't even preach for it.
No, no, I want to hear you please. All right. But isn't that honorable? Isn't
that honorable when someone seems genuinely glad, even excited
to see you? Listen to Malachi 1.6. Listen
to this. A son honoreth his father. If
I be a father, where is mine honor? If you love me, why aren't you glad to see me? Be zealous, therefore, and repent,
or forgive me. I've gone after other gods. Hmm? Guilty? I've gone after other gods. I've
forsaken the fountain and hewed out cisterns and found no refreshment
there. And I'm returned unto the fountain. Wash me. Be zealous, therefore. Be zealous toward meeting with
the brethren. Here's another thing. Here's what Peter said. Did your daddy ever used to say
this to you? Now, see now. Now, see that you do it. They
give you something to do, and he said, see that you do it.
Did your daddy ever say that to you, Henry? Anybody? Mine did. He'd give you something
to do, and he'd say that you do it. That meant that he meant
it. Listen to Peter. Our Lord, through
Peter, he says, see that you love one another with a pure
heart, fervently. What's fervent? It means show
it. It means prove it. It means act
it out. It means passionately. What if I was never passionate
with you men? What if I never actively did
anything for you? What if I never enthusiastic? That's what fervently means. Enthusiastically. And I can say
this from the heart. I really do. Most of the time. Nearly all
the time. And I am real enthusiastic to
see y'all. Anytime. I like to hug people.
Some people aren't huggers. I won't name any names. But I
am. I'm a hugger. Goodness. Old Steve, there's a hugger.
Sometimes I wish he wasn't. But he is, like his dad. He got
it from his dad. He's another one of them. Give
a bear hug, you know. Jealous toward meeting one another.
See that you love one another with a pure heart first. John,
if I love you, buddy, I'm glad to see you, and I don't want
to be away from you too long. Right? You come over to see me
at times, Saturday morning when you come to Sweet, I'm glad to
see you. I really am. And you apologize.
I don't mean to bother me. You made my day. Really. Be zealous toward meeting with
a brother. Here's another thing. Be zealous
for others to know him. And the best way to do that is
to pray for them. Pray for them. Pray for your
children. If you really want your children
to know Him, take them to the One who opens eyes and ears. Beseech Him. Lord, heal my son. Lord, heal my daughter. And don't
let Him go until He blesses you. Huh? You want Andrew saved, Deborah? Don't let Him go. Be like that
importunate widow until He saves you. Don't wait until you get
an answer. He'll honor that. Oh, yes, he will. Oh, yes, he
will. Hear thou not what the unjust
judge said? Shall not God answer his elect? Well, be zealous, therefore,
and repent. Look at verse 20. And this is my text. I'm sorry.
Please forgive me. I'm not going to be here Wednesday.
I can't continue then. All right. Verse 20. Behold,
he says, I stand at the door. Behold. When Christ says behold,
that means sit up and pay attention. Behold. I love the beholds of
the Bible. Isaiah 40. Behold thy God. Isaiah 42 says, Behold, Christ
said, Behold. It means we sit up and pay close
attention to something really worth considering. Behold, he
says, I stand at the door and knock. Behold, I stand at the
door and knock. Now, this is talking to the Church.
These blasphemers, They use this, they say this is Christ standing
at the sinner's heart door begging them. That's blasphemy. That's
utter blasphemy. He didn't say that to any old
body, did he? Do you see that anywhere? Do
you read that anywhere where it says, I stand at the sinner's
heart door praying that he'll let me in and there ain't no
knob on the outside? That's blasphemy. That's utter blasphemy. I detest,
I despise that, don't you? That's not, he's talking to the
church, Stan, isn't he? Isn't this clear to you? Talking
to the church here. Behold, I stand at the door and
knock. I stand at the door and knock.
Who's speaking here? The I Am is standing at the door,
knocking. And like that silly statement,
you know, he's standing in the center of his heart. Like one
old preacher said, do you know what God's hand would do to your
heart's door if he was knocking on it? Huh? Exactly what he does. He breaks it. He breaks the door
down. He breaks the door down. When
a sinner's dead, he's got to open the door, doesn't he? Like
Lazarus, he's got to roll the stone. Or he won't be rolled. He's got to open the door. He
won't be opened, doesn't he? In salvation. But he's talking
to the church here, and he's talking about communion and fellowship.
I stand at the door, the I Am. Behold, this visitor is none
other than the King of glory. And he said over in John 14,
listen to this, just listen to it, John 14. He said this, If
a man love me, he'll keep my words, and my Father will love
him. What's his words? Wait, he said. Watch. Repent. He's zealous. That's all, everything
he said. He said, and my Father will love
him. We'll come unto him and make our abode with him. We'll
come. Stay with us. And they were so thrilled by
what they were hearing, they said, Don't leave. Stay with
us. Abide with us. Fast falls the
evening time. The darkness deepens. Abide with
us. And he did. And you know what
happened? Their eyes were open. And he was known of them in breaking
bread. And they got heartburn. I told
John, I said, they ate so much. And the bread, the word, they
got heartburn. But it was a good kind. It's
the kind you want. Don't you want your heart to
burn? This is zeal. He's talking about zeal. I stand
at the door and knock. This vision. You know, you may
take your time when you hear somebody, any old body at the
door. You might not even open the door. You ever done that? Come on now. Have you ever seen
somebody come to your door, and you didn't particularly want
to see them? And they knocked, and you were home, but you didn't
answer the door? Huh? It better not have been
me. But have you ever done it? Maybe
it should have been me. I'm nobody. What if it was? Maybe
you did. That's fine. I just don't deserve
you to open up to me. Right? I don't deserve it. I come to your door, Joe, it's
pure grace that you open up. I don't deserve it, but this
ain't no anybody here. This ain't no any old Joe. I stand at the door, he says,
and no. Better hurry. Better hurry. Who's at the door? Bill Smith. Don't answer, maybe he'll go
away. Who's at the door? The Lord of Glory. Quick. Open it quick. You remember the
Shulamite Maiden, don't you, in the Song of Solomon? I'm busy. I'm tired. I've taken my shoes
off. I want to get my feet wet. I
stand at the door. Well, she was miserable for a
long time afterwards, wasn't she? Miserable. Has anybody seen
him? I haven't seen him. I'm sick
with love. Remember that? I'm sick with
love. Can somebody tell me where he's
at? Wasn't it your house? Yeah, but
I didn't answer the door. Well, this is what he says, exactly
what he's saying here. He says, I stand at the door.
What's this door? Let me, very quickly, what is
this door? Psalm 84. Psalm 84. I about gave it away while ago.
If I'd have said that, it'd have ruined my whole message. Psalm
84. What is this door? What is this door, he says he's
standing at? Well, Christ is a door, isn't it? Yeah, but he
said here, he said here, I'm standing at the door. Didn't
he? Didn't he, John? So it must be
something else. Isn't it? Yes, Christ is the
door. And no man's going to enter in.
See, you see why this is a different circumstance here. This is a
different subject here. We're not talking about salvation
here. We're not talking about salvation here. Because Christ
is the door. He doesn't stand at it. He is
it. Right? This is talking about communion.
Where's the door? Where's the door of communion?
You know, Mr. Sherry. I can tell. Psalm 84, look at
this. David said it, verse 1 and 2,
How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts. I love this
place, is what he was saying in our letter. I love this place. Did you used to like that commercial?
I love this place. That's what I feel like saying
about this place. Oh, Lord of hosts, my soul longeth,
yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my
flesh cryeth out for the living God. Read on now, verse 10. A
day in thy courts. This is God's courthouse. A day
in thy courts is better than a thousand. I'd rather be a doorkeeper. in the house of my
God." What's the door he's standing at knocking? The church. Didn't Peter do that? Remember when they were, yes,
Peter, they let him out of jail? Or the Lord let him out of jail?
I stand corrected. Remember when Peter came? knocked
at the door, and one of them, Mary, somebody answered, and
said, Who is it? And he said, Peter. And she slammed the door in his face
and went running. You remember that? Said, Who
is it? Pete. Well, let him in. Let him in. Well, the door. Christ. One time
he didn't knock at it at all. He just walked right through. Now he says, I stand and I knock.
Stand at the door. Christ is in the midst of his
people always. Knock him. What does he do when
he knocks? What does he do when he knocks? What I'm doing right
now. What we're doing right now. Reading
the scripture. Preaching the word. Listen to
this. I'll just read it for you. He says, Let your lawns be girded
about and your lights burning. You yourselves like unto men
that wait for their Lord." Oh, boy! Remember when I went to
England? Do you remember when I went to
England? It was a long time ago. Hannah
was, how old was she? Three? Three years old? I'd been gone about two weeks
or longer. And they drove. We lived in Asheville,
Kentucky. The plane came in Cincinnati,
Ohio, three and a half hours. They drove all the way down there.
just to greet me coming off that plane. And it was the most happy,
most joyous reunion. Hannah grabbed me and just choked
on my towel. Somebody takes you like a little
leech. It was like she was saying, I'm not going to let you, you're
not going anywhere again, Daddy. He says, you'd be like men waiting
for their Lord. when he will return from the
wedding. Deborah Adams said it again,
I believe the Lord's coming. You see, in the same manner that
you've seen him go, he said, who saw him go? Everybody didn't
see him go. Who saw him? The disciples, what
were they doing? They were gathered together,
and he was preaching to them. In the same manner, this same
Jesus shall so come in like manner as you've seen him go." And I
believe that if he comes when we're here, he's going to come
when we're meeting together. So you be like those, he said,
who are waiting for their Lord when he will return from the
way, that when he come and knock it, you may open unto him immediately. Blessed are those servants whom
the Lord, when he cometh, shall find watching. Verily I say unto
you, He shall gird himself, make them sit down to meet, and come
forth and serve them." It's not very often guests come in and
do all the serving. Well, he says, I stand at the
door. Knock. Any hungry, he said? Thirsty? Open your mouths, I'll fill it.
Fill it. Read on in our text here quickly.
I stand at the door. If any man hear my voice," what
is his voice? It's a word. It's the gospel.
"...and open the door, I will come in through him, and will
sup with him." Sup with the Savior. And he with me. He'll sup with
me. We'll sup together. Come in and sup. We ate dinner
at the Parks' the other night. Appreciate them asking us. Oh,
I always look forward to going and get some of Nancy's cooking. Yeah, just like all you ladies,
like the sherry and the rest of it. Oh, it ain't much. Man,
it's just a feast. I mean, it's king's food. It ain't much. Solomon never
ate like that. I enjoy it. This, as the old country
fella might say, Nancy, it's a heapsite It's a heapsight. Whatever that
means, it's a heapsight. Better. This means, huh, it lasts
a lot longer. That goes out in the draft. But
this liveth and abideth for me. It does. He said, open your mouth,
I'll fill it. That's what I go to Nancy's. That's how I go to
her house. I go to the sheriff, chocolate,
chocolate. Oh, forgive me. Getting in the
flesh now. Donnie would have enjoyed that,
wouldn't he? But he says it, open your mouth. Didn't he say that? We like that
verse, don't we, Nancy? The reason I said that about
you, you like that verse. I know you, open your mouth.
I'll fill it. I'll fill it. I'll fill you.
Fill you with my majesty. Fill you with my presence. Fill
you with my love. Fill you with peace that passes
understanding. Fill you with joy that you might
be filled with all the fullness of God. Fill you with thanksgiving.
Fill you with praise. Did any man hear my voice and
open the door? Well, I thought the Lord had to open the door.
He does in salvation. He sure does. He's not talking
about a natural man, anyway. He's not talking about salvation.
He's talking to the church, and he gives the will, he gives the
means to open their hearts and mouths to receive him. And what
is it? You know, what is it that makes
you open your mouth to eat? What is it? It makes you open
your mouth to eat. Huh? Hunger. That's all. He says, desire the sincere milk
of the world. Desire it, I'll fill you full
of it. We love milk, don't we, Hannah?
Matter of fact, we can't wait to get out of here and go home
and have our Breyer's chocolate milkshake. every Wednesday night,
every Sunday night. We love it. We love milk. He
says, desire this sincere milk of the word, that you might grow thereby be
filled with it, filled with it. Oh, Lord, fill me with it. Fill
me with it. Open the door. I'll come in.
That's what we want. Verse 21, and twenty-two, and I'll quit.
Him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne."
What is it to overcome? Well, he said in 1 John 5, this
is that which overcometh the world, even your faith. Great faith? Our Lord said if you had the
faith of a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this sycamine
tree, be ye pulled up and cast into the ocean, and it would
do. mustard seed, or what have we
got to overcome? There's a lot of hindrances when
we come in this place, isn't there? What have we got to overcome? How? How do you overcome? You'll be strong in the Lord
and the power of His might. He said, I'm of very present
health and time of trouble. This is the reason I say preparation
for this time is, I can't I just can't emphasize it enough. If you desire the sincere miracle
of the Word, that you may grow thereby in faith, if you want
the Lord to meet with you, the Lord to speak with you, you're
going to have to ask Him. All there is to it. I know this
from the Word. I know it from experience. He's
never failed yet, for He's given me a little desire. And I ask
him, please, would you speak to me, please, that he hadn't
spoken to me. It's never fair, George. To him that overcometh, Lord
God, I'm going to go in your house today, and your word's
going to be preached, and somebody's going to be blessed, and my mind's
going to wander. Please corral my thoughts. Please bless the preacher. Please
speak to me, please, just a, please. When my daughter says,
please to me, I can't resist that. Can you? Oh, daddy, please,
she says. Okay, honey, I melt. It's yours. Please, Lord, speak to me. He
delights to show mercy. He delights in it. How much more shall your Heavenly
Father give good things to them that ask Him, Please speak to
me, or I'll speak to you and nobody else? Just ask. Enforces. A way of escape. Prayer, God's
Word, read it a little bit. Lord, I don't understand it.
Speak to me. fellowship, exhort one another.
Today was called to that. And so much more as you see the
day approaching. Exhort one another. Exhort one
another. Be zealous, therefore, in repentance. Behold, I stand at the door of
knowledge. If any man hear my voice and
open the door, I'll come in unto him and sup with him, and he
with me. Sup with Christ I'm looking forward
to dinner with Christ. Aren't you? Joe and Nancy, y'all
are good company. And I believe you're going to
be even better company up there. But you know who's going to be
there. You know who we're going to sit down and eat with. Yes,
just like we did the other night. You know who's going to be there. Three twenty three. Let's try the three twenty three. Three twenty three. Let's sing
a couple of verses. I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know what I'm talking about. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. Okay, I'm going to go ahead and
do that. All right. All right. I don't know.