Revelation chapter 3 and I'd
like to say a few things about this church at Philadelphia as
it's brought out in the scripture. But before we do I would like
to go to the first verse of the Bible. Now when we were here
on Sunday morning it once again struck me that this is much like
John 6 6. And he himself knew what he would
do. Genesis 1-1, in the beginning
God created the heavens and the earth. And that is a sound way
of looking at the rest of the Bible. God is the first reason
for all things and he's the creator and he creates life and he's
the one that creates life in us before anything else can happen.
We can't breathe spiritually until he creates life in us.
And the same is true as we look at this church here at Philadelphia.
If there is a saint in Philadelphia, or Sardis, or Thyatira, or Smyrna,
or Laodicea, if there's a saint, Genesis 1-1 had to be in effect
in the beginning of their life, spiritual life, God created. gave them life, and then we have
the results here. So just another verse that kind
of sets the tone for all the rest of the verses in the Bible.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth in
John 6, 6, and he himself knew what he would do. That's been
a blessing to me, is just reflecting on that verse as you go to all
the other places. When things look bad, he himself
knew what he would do. And even when we're going through
the kings, And some of that we haven't read, and we're leaving
that to you to read. But just remember, he himself
knew what he would do, even though it looked bleak and sad and sorry
and things were looking as good as we'd hoped, but that's just
the way it is in the human race. If it wasn't for God, there would
be all like that. Now, Book of Revelation chapter
three, verses seven through 13, I want to read that. We're not
gonna get through this passage of scripture. I went home after
being out in my study a while and I told Nancy, I said, it
is just so big. It is hard to grasp. Over there
on the coast, and I don't know if it's still standing, but it
was the largest cedar tree in North America. And we drove out
there with the kids, and then Nancy and I have driven out there
a couple other times. And I don't know how many people
it would take to reach around it. Now, you can do your best
to reach around it by yourself, but you're not going to do it.
It's like 30 feet around circumference. I mean, it's huge. Nancy and
I and three kids that could reach couldn't reach around it. It's
just huge. And that's kind of like this passage of scripture.
You can get your hands on it, but you can't reach around it.
It's just huge. There's so much here. The verse
7, to the angel or to the pastor of the church in Philadelphia
write, these things saith he, And I think it's just so important
every time we look at one of these churches that we see how
Christ revealed himself to that church. Now, in a composite view,
it's valuable, but as he revealed himself to each one of these,
and particularly in the church that we're looking at tonight,
Philadelphia, we see how he introduced himself to this church, how he
revealed himself to this church. And I was thinking, what a word
here, what credentials. I've been places where they're
going to introduce someone and people have a card, they're reading
the credentials. wrote this book, had this education,
been here, done that, said this, you know, long list. Well, there's
no greater credentials that we could ever mention about anybody
than what we read here in the book of Revelation about the
Lord Jesus Christ on how he revealed himself to these churches. Now,
notice these credentials that are brought out. These things
saith he. Now, if we had the opportunity
of introducing the Lord Jesus Christ And we do every time we
open the gospel. But here's what we have. He that
is holy. Now you get yourself around that
tree. That's a giant tree. He that
is holy. And the next credential, he that
is true. That's a good credential. That's
a good credential. And it's all about the Lord Jesus
Christ. This is how he revealed himself. And if we had the opportunity
of introducing this great King of Kings and Lord of Lords, if
we were in a position to say something about him, we never
are given the responsibility of ever saying anything little
about our God. I was down at the library today.
And I went into the library and I picked up a tape for a quarter,
one of these little cassette tapes, and I thought there might
be a song or two on there that would be enjoyable. And it's
out in the car, but I'm going to throw it in the trash. I don't
want anybody else to get it. It's a trio singing, and all
the songs have a little G-O-D. He's trying, he's hoping, he
might get something done sometime if we let him, type songs. Now
they're popular and they're catchy and the tunes are catchy, but
the words are rotten. They just do not depict the God
of the Bible. Here's his credentials. He said,
he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David,
Now notice this credential as we read. He that openeth and
no man shutteth. Now when you're introducing the
Lord of glory and you use those terms, we're talking about a
great God. He opens and no man can shut. Now this opening that we're reading
about there, and we're gonna spend a little time on it in
a moment, but that is an irresistible opening If you've got your foot
against the door, you're up on a ledge because it's just going
to come open. It's not on the floor. You've got your foot on
the back side of the door and it's just going to swing open.
It doesn't matter how much weight you have on it. The door is going
to swing open. And then it goes on. Here's another
credential. He that openeth and no man shutteth, and shutteth
and no man openeth. Now these credentials. When we
introduce the Lord and he steps up to the microphone and declares
again who he is, we could say no greater than is what is written
about the Lord Jesus Christ about himself. As he introduces, as
he reveals to these churches, these seven churches, he's revealing
a composite view of himself, and we took the time to put them
all together. We'd have a long list of credentials
about our Lord and our Savior, and that again is what we do
when we declare the gospel. We're just declaring the credentials
of God, Savior, Lord God Almighty, Great High Priest, Good Shepherd. We've got a long list. The Bible
is filled with the credentials of the Lord Jesus Christ that
we are reading about. Savior, Almighty Savior, Lord
God's Savior, Lord Jesus Christ. Every one of those, we're declaring
their credentials and that is what will stir the hearts of
God's people because we're going to get to listen about someone
great. Now, one time the school district allowed me to go down
and hear Mr. Ford, Gerald Ford, President of the United States
for a short period of time, never won an election for it. Never
won the second term, but you know, he was the president of
the United States in some very perilous times in American history.
And I went down there to the Coliseum and he was speaking
and that's the far away. I'm glad they have great big
TV monitors. I wouldn't have been able to
see him. It was an honor. And they introduced him with
all of the credentials, house of representatives or senator
or whatever things he'd done in his state. And finally said,
and president of the United States. Wanted to stand in salute. I
Wanted a flag to go up and then it played hate to hail to the
chief how stirring that is and yet we have the opportunity every
time we open the Word of God to hear the credentials of the
Lord Jesus Christ and Then here hail to a sovereign God It's
glory it's the Word of God and as we go on to read here now
it says I know thy works there are some more credentials He
is all knowledgeable about everything. And one of the interesting things
for us to come to grips with is not only does he know, but
he has purposed everything. It's more than just knowing.
Now we're going to know some things. I know some things about
today already that are history now. I know the purpose of God
for me today. But you know what? I didn't purpose
everything that I did today. But he did. He purposed everything
he did today. All right, goes on and says,
I know that works. Behold, I've set before thee an open door
and no man can shut it. For thou hast a little strength
and has kept my word and has not denied my name. Behold, I
will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are
Jews. Now, when he made that statement
to this church, he's talking about people who say they are
Christians and are not. We just go right back to the
Book of Romans and the Apostle Paul bringing out who truly is
a Jew. One inwardly, not one outwardly. That's the true Jew. That's the
true Israel of God. That's the Israel of God from
beginning to end, which is made up of every kindred, nation,
people, and tongue. That is the elect of God. That
is God's everlasting choice. It's the same term we would use
for church. It's the assembly of God, and
they assemble at the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ. So there's
a bunch in there, there's a bunch who make the synagogue of Satan,
which say they are Jews and are not, but do lie. Behold, I will
make them to come and to worship before thy feet and to know that
I have loved thee because thou has kept the word of my patience. I also will keep thee from the
hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world to try
them that dwell upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly. Now I like what the Lord had
to say. A day with the Lord is as a thousand
years and a thousand years as a day. Time means nothing to
God. We are, we're caught in time. Time was created for us. God
didn't need it, but he created it for us. And there's the raising
of the sun and the setting of the sun. And that will happen
all the days of our life. And that will happen until the
Lord returns. That's just the way it's going
to be. I don't care about all these naysayers. It's going to
happen just that way. And then he says here, finally,
behold, I come quickly. Hold that fast, which thou hast,
that no man take Thy crown. Him that overcometh will I make
a pillar in the temple of my God. Now, we're going to have
to spend just a wee bit of time back over in the Old Testament
about building the temple there to get a feel for this because
that temple in the Old Testament is a picture of the church. That's
what it is. Now, God used it for sacrifices,
but it is just a picture of the church, the temple in the Old
Testament. And he shall go no more out, and I will write. upon
him the name of my God, and name of the city of my God, which
is New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God,
and I'll write upon him my new name. He that hath an ear, let
him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. Now the city
of God, and New Jerusalem, and the church, and the elect, and
the children of God, all are views of the same entity, same
body. Now let's go back here and we're
going to spend a little bit of time on this verse 7. These credentials
that the Lord left us in this passage of scripture, how he
revealed himself, what they saw when they saw Christ, what view
did he give to them when they saw him, and that's what we have
in verse 7. This is what the church, those
who truly were believers, those who God had worked a work of
grace, those who truly knew Christ, this is what they saw. Now, he
didn't have to come down there in a physical form. When the
word is brought and the Holy Spirit bears witness to the word,
he comforts our heart and we see spiritually what we could
never see physically. Ladies like Fannie J. Crosby,
who wrote some very wonderful hymns, blind physically, very
astute spiritually. Able to see things that natural
man is not able to see. They saw it, but they couldn't
see it physically. So there's so much that we have
in the Bible that is not ever intended, never was intended
to be looked at from a physical standpoint. It's intended for
God to open eyes to see The light comes on, revelation is made
known, the curtain is pulled back, however we want to view
it, that's what we see here. And so it is, this church at
Philadelphia, the pastor of the church at Philadelphia was given
this revelation, and he's to pass these things on, and as
he reads the credentials of the Lord Jesus Christ, reads the
credentials of the Savior, reads the credentials of the great
high priest, reads the credentials of the creator of heaven and
earth, God, this is what he had to say. God said this about himself. These things says he that is
holy. Now, turn with me and you could
probably quote this, but turn with me if you would back to
the book of Isaiah chapter 6. In the book of Isaiah chapter
6, the prophet Isaiah wrote this about his own observation. There
was a king by the name of Uzziah, and in the year that King Uzziah
died, That's what we read here in Isaiah chapter six. In the
year that King Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting upon a
throne. Now, what a great event took place in Isaiah's life. He saw the revelation of Jesus
Christ. He is going to hear some of his
credentials. And every time Isaiah preached
the gospel, every time he opened up the book of revelation, which
was the Old Testament as it was being put together in the prophecy
of Isaiah. Every time he did that, his job,
and I hate to look at it as a job, but it's a pleasure. His pleasure
job was to read the credentials of God. That's all we have to do. We're
not pleading for anybody to bow down. We're just telling people
about one you must bow before. God's going to have to plead
them. He's going to have to bring them. He's going to have to draw
them. But we're just reading the credentials of the Lord God
Almighty. We're reading the great account
His salvation we're reading a great account of his creation and when
he created the heavens and the earth and he follows there in
Genesis chapter 1 and chapter 2 he is just Demonstrating in
a physical sense what he does spiritually Everything was as
a result of God speaking and Nothing came out of the ground
except God spoke first. And you won't have any spiritual
life until God creates it. And we'll not have any spiritual
works until God moves in us, both to will and to do of His
good pleasure. It's not up to us, it's Him working
in us. The flesh profiteth nothing.
From here out, there's nothing that is going to profit. It's
only what God works in us to worship him. Our prayers depend
upon the Holy Spirit making intercession for us. There is nothing we have
to offer to God from a physical standpoint. We are dependent
upon the Spirit to deliver that to God. Now, Isaiah chapter 6,
it says here, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and
lifted up. The credential, he's not low
and down, he's high and lifted up. How often we find this kind
of terminology in the scriptures with regard to the credentials
of God. It is always above us. He is
always above us. His credentials far surpass us. And that's good. We ever see
where we are, And we see where he is. We're so thankful that
he is where he is when we are where we are. All right. It says
here, I lifted up his train filled the temple. There wasn't a place
that wasn't filled with the glory of the Lord. Not a corner nook
when they when they I know there's religions today that try to use
the symbolism, but in the Old Testament, when they lit that
incense and that smoke filled that part of the temple, it was
just a picture and a type and a shadow of the Holy Spirit.
filling to capacity the church, and filling to capacity his people,
and filling to capacity his world, covered every nook and cranny,
and nothing went uncovered by the Holy Spirit, by God. So his
train filled, and above it stood the seraphims. Each one had six
wings. With two he covered his face,
and with two he covered his feet, and with two he did fly. I read
somewhere, and I'm not sure it was Spurgeon, Charles Spurgeon,
or whether it was Arthur W. Pink, but he said when the Lord
Jesus was laying in a manger after his birth of the Virgin
Mary was the first time in all of creation that the angels were
permitted to look upon God. Now that's interesting. Here they covered their face
when they were looking on God. The Lord Jesus is the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. Now, I don't understand all I
know about that. But every capacity of God was
bound up in the person, the Lord Jesus. And those angels here
covered their face. Now, notice what they said. And
one cried unto another and said, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, the
Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his
glory. And the posts of the door moved
at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with
smoke. Now, here's Isaiah's credentials. Woe is me. Woe is me, for I am
undone, because I am a man of unclean lips and dwell in the
midst of a people of unclean lips, for my eyes have seen the
King, the Lord of hosts. Now that's his credentials. That's
why we don't preach about the credentials of man. We want to
speak about the credentials of God. He's the only one that has
the ability of dealing with people that are in this condition, to
lift them out of their own nature. All right, so holy, holy, holy. Over there in the book of Revelation
chapter three and verse seven, it says, he that is holy. He is the holy one of Israel. I don't know how many times in
the scriptures we read that. The Psalms are filled with that
term, holy one of Israel, sacred, set apart, holy. He is sacred beyond description
and set apart, there's none like him. And holy, there is a oneness
about him. He has a capacity in his own
oneness. that he is unlike any other that
has ever been. We're unholy. And we are told
in the scripture that unless we're as holy as he is holy,
we'll not see him. So we must have him. It's an
absolute necessity that we have him. He's the only one that is
holy as holy is. Now, it says here, my credential
is He that is holy. Holy, holy, holy. Turn with me,
if you would, to the book of Revelation chapter 4 and verse
8. Revelation 4 and verse 8. Notice this. Isaiah saw those
seraphims, or Yes, seraphim, six wings, two
they covered their face, two they covered their feet, and
two they did fly. Here in Revelation 4, verse 8,
four beasts. Now, that word beast would have
been much better for our era, for our period of time, if it
had been translated four living creatures. When we think of beasts,
we think of boogie. But it's four living creatures.
They're not going to scare us. They're not mean, they're living
creatures of God. These four beasts, four living
creatures, had each of them six wings about him, and they were
full of eyes within, and they rest not day and night saying,
holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was and which is and is
to come. Look at those credentials. Lord
God Almighty, which was, which is, and is to come. This is what
these four living creatures say. Now when we get to that point,
I want to bring a lesson on, I think those four living creatures
are typical of the four Gospels of the Lord Jesus Christ. They
share with us. The Gospels of the Lord Jesus
are telling us an account of the Holy One of Israel. Holy, holy, holy. We just cannot
comprehend the holiness of God. But without that holiness, we'll
not see him. We are absolutely dependent upon
his holiness imputed to us. It's not ours, but it's his.
We'll never create that kind of holiness. And if we create
holiness, you know what we do with it? We brag about it. Now
if it's God given to us, we boast in his holiness. We delight in
his holiness. We don't have a word to say about
our own. If we know where we come from, we have nothing to
say about ours, but we have everything, and that's just bragging on his
credentials. We're just going down the list as we introduce
him. He's holy, holy, holy. He is sacred. It's no wonder
it says that we should not We should not take the name of the
Lord our God in vain. He's sacred. He's God. And when we talk about little
G-O-D, we're taking his name worse in vain than going out
and using it as a swear word. When we talk to people about
a God that's trying to do something, we're taking his name in vain.
His name here is the Lord God Almighty and he can't, won't
stand for us talking about a little God to people. We need to keep
it up high and lift it up. We're dealing with the Lord God
Almighty. That's what it says right here.
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which is and which was, which
is and which is to come. Now, go back there with me, if
you would, to the third chapter of the book of Revelation. It
tells us the next credential that's listed here, the next
revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ listed here. And every
one of these churches has some characteristic or some attribute
about the Lord, and you just put them in a composite. My. It's going to take two pages
to list them out and just think of the introduction. We're going to be like Isaiah.
Woe is me when I'm introducing this one. Woe is me. when I look at his credentials
compared to mine. You know what the Apostle Paul
said about his credentials? After he saw the credentials
of the Lord, I count them mine as done. They're just worthless. All the little stars I had, and
all the buttons I had, and all the years of on and on, and the
placards, and the receipts, and all the DDs he had. He was a
doctor of the law. He says, I count all of those
credentials as worthless refuse that I might win Christ. I have his credentials to my
account. Now, notice here, it's the next
thing it says here. He that is holy, he that is true. The Lord God Almighty shares
this about himself. He is true to his word. Now that's, to God's people,
that is a delight. We delight in Him being true
to His word. We delight in His covenant mercies. We delight that there was an
agreement made with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
before the world began. We delight that in covenant mercy
together they decreed some things. We delight in eternal life decreed
by Almighty God. We delight that the Son had promised
to give himself on the cross as it was decreed in the covenant
of grace. We delight in all that. We love
the Lord being true to his word. Covenant mercies being carried
out to the last jot or tittle. But you know what? On the other
side of the corn, the same word of God, he will be true to it
to everyone that stands before him without Christ. He'll be
true to his word. Be true to his word. He will
not give in. He will not give up. He will
be stone wall. We love it on this side. I delight
in it. But it will be, his word will
be carried out to all those on the left-hand side. Depart from
me, ye workers of iniquity, for I never knew you." And you know
what? They'll depart. That's it. They will depart. Now turn with me, if you would,
to the book of Matthew, chapter 24. Matthew, he that is true, I'm so weak and I'm so feeble. When I look at these credentials
of my Savior, the revelation of Jesus Christ, I delight in
knowing that he is holy. I delight in knowing he is true,
but it's a big tree and I can't get around it. We'll have time
to study it all the days of our life and throughout eternity,
he's still going to reveal these great truths about himself to
his church. He will be spending this time
when we get together and we share the gospel. The gospel is just
sharing the credentials of Christ. He's the Savior. He saves His
people. He's the Savior that saves. Isn't
that credentials about Christ? Isn't that the revelation of
Jesus Christ? God opens that up to people. They recognize
He is the Savior that saves. I was trusting the Savior. He
just couldn't do much. And He's a Redeemer that redeems.
My goodness, a redeemer that came in and paid a price and
then lost us in the end? That's not a very good redeemer.
I want a redeemer that actually redeems. Well, we're just sharing
his credentials. He's a redeemer that redeems.
He's a savior that saves. And he's a regenerator that actually
regenerates. He actually gives the new birth.
It's a new birth that he gives. It's spiritual quickening that
he gives. And so we're just sharing his
credentials. We're not putting him on the auction block. Paul
said it this way, I declare unto you the gospel of our Savior. I declare it. Now, what they
did with him, some of those we find on the day of Pentecost,
said, men and brethren, what shall we do? God's opened me up to myself.
And those that stood around Stephen, they gnashed on him with their
teeth. And that's just generally what you're going to see. Some
say, oh my goodness, here's a living stream I passed over for so long.
And others, that's just for weaklings. And that's the way it is. The
book of Matthew, chapter Matthew 24, verse 35, we read this about
that he's true. His word is true. He's true to
his word. Matthew 24, 35, heaven and earth
shall pass away, but my words shall never pass away. And the
church just says, oh man, all our hope is based on that. Church
says, all my salvation is based on him, not passing his word
away. He's promised. And what he's promised, he's
going to carry out. That's what we hope in. That's our hope. Our faith is based upon that,
his word. He is true. He's true. Isn't it interesting when we
find sometimes about the Lord, one single word is their credential
about him. He that is true. Well, we don't
have much to mince about on that, do we? We don't have much to
fill in on that, not much between the lines on that. He that is
true. We just can't, well, you know,
he that's true. It's not partly true or sometimes
true. He that is true. Heaven and earth
shall pass away, but my word will never pass away. And he
said, I'm the way and the truth and the life. Just turn with
me over there to John 14. John 14, I that am, he that is
true, he's true to his word, heaven and earth will pass away,
but his word will never pass away. Isaiah chapter, excuse
me, John chapter 14. John 14, verse six. We read these
words with regard to the Lord, and he said this, John 14, 6,
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life.
No man cometh unto the Father, but by me. Now that's the truth.
No man comes unto the Father. No man cometh to the Father,
but by me. He's the way. He's the truth. He's the life. And just over
there, one word. He that is true. He that is holy. No room for misunderstanding. No room for wondering what he
meant. No room for, well, let's define
truth. Let's define holiness. Well,
we don't need a dictionary. He's the holy one of Israel.
He's the sacred one of God. He's the set apart one. And truth,
we spend so much time around ourselves, around other people
that don't know the truth. It is hard sometimes to come
to grips with it, but when we read about the Lord, there's
no trouble. He that is true. Now, going back there to the
book of Revelation chapter three and verse seven, his credential,
he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David. Now in the Old Testament, a number
of times we find that David was a type of Christ. And we find
in fact that the Lord is called David several times in the Old
Testament. And in the book of Acts, we find
reference to the Lord sitting upon his father David's throne.
And thus he spoke. This is really interesting. Some
people stop right there, but if we just finish the sentence,
thus he spoke of his resurrection. That's what he meant by it, was
when he sits on his father David's throne, he means I'm gonna raise
from the dead. He's gonna be the living Christ. He's not gonna be buried in the
earth. He's gonna be resurrected to his glory. And that's what
he is sharing with us there with regard to that. Now, turn with
me, if you would, back to the book of Isaiah chapter 22. And
the prophet Isaiah brings up this subject that we're reading
about right here. Isaiah chapter 22, we read about
this key of David. David is a type of Christ and
is brought out here in this passage of scripture in Isaiah 22 and
verse 20. Isaiah 22 and verse 20, as we
think about this. Now, this again is a tree that
I haven't got around all the way, just like his holiness and
his truthfulness. Here we read, he that hath the
key of David, David his son and his father, David was the one
that was in the line of the Lord Jesus, but he's also his son. Isaiah 22, verse 20, we read
these, and it shall come to pass in that day that I will call
my servant Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, and I'll clothe him
with thy robe. and strengthen him with thy girdle,
and I will commit thy government upon his hand, and he shall be
a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of
Judah. And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his
shoulder. So he shall open, and none shall
shut, and he shall shut, and none shall open. And I will fasten
him as a nail in a sure place, And he shall be for a glorious
throne to his father's house. Now, David had an interest in
building the temple. He wasn't able to build it. His
son Solomon did, but he amassed the material for it. David, before
it was built, amassed the material. He was kind of predestinating
building of that temple in amassing the material now it speaks about
the Lord is having the key of the house of David Now, that
temple was just a picture of the church. And the Lord Jesus
Christ is and has the key to the church. He is the key and
he has the key. He is the one that brings the
birth of the church. And he's the one, as it goes
on and shares here, he's the one that opens and no man closes. I've heard this, people leaving
services and someone telling them, don't you listen to that?
Don't you listen to that? Don't you hear that? And you
know what? When God opens, no man can close. And there are those, God said
he closes and no man opens. We can get down on our knees
and beg and they still have that heart that can't be moved. Now there's a opening and a shutting
as we found mentioned here, he that openeth and no man shutteth.
It's just another statement about his credentials and that opening
the scriptures and opening the doors of the gospel is irresistible. He will open and no man can shut. No man can stifle the gospel
as it goes out. It will accomplish its intended
purpose. It will go out, it will accomplish
its intended purpose, and it doesn't matter who says it's
going to be stopped or stifled. It will accomplish its intended
purpose. Now, there is a veil, it talks about that veil with
regard to the Old Testament, that the Jews at that time, I'll
just turn over here to 2 Corinthians chapter 3, 2 Corinthians chapter
3, and I want you to see this, that he has the key, he has the
key to the removing of the veil, he is the key to the removing
of the veil. He has an ability to open and
no man can shut. He can open the scriptures. He
can open the doors of the gospel. He can open the doors to the
church. I'm not talking about the physical doors. I'm talking
about the spiritual doors. When people are born in, the
Lord added daily, such as should be saved. He has those keys. He is powerful in that context. Now notice here in 2 Corinthians
chapter 3 and verse 13, 2 Corinthians chapter 3 and verse 13, and not
as Moses which put a veil over his face that the children of
Israel could not steadfastly look to the end of that which
is, did you read that word? Abolished.
2 Corinthians chapter 3 verse 13. 13 to the end of that which is abolished
but their minds were blinded For until this day remaineth
the same veil Untaken away in the reading of the Old Testament
now notice the next phrase Which veil is done away in Christ He opens and no man can shut
And he shuts, and no man can open. Which veil is done away
in Christ. Now, isn't that a good reason
to preach Christ? That's how the veil is taken
away, in the preaching of Christ. The old veil that's over natural
man's eyes, the law couldn't take it off, the ordinances couldn't
take it off. The sacrifices couldn't take
it off. All of the lambs and goats and sheep and animal sacrifices couldn't remove
it. All the prayers of all the saints couldn't take it off.
But that veil is taken away in the preaching of Christ. That
veil which is done away in Christ. But even unto this day when Moses
is read, the veil, now this is the worst part to have a veil, Worst part to have a veil. It's
bad enough to have it over your eyes. That's just physical. But the worst part to have this
veil. And you know what? It's over
every one of us by nature. What's he say? The veil is upon
their heart. Blind, double blind. Not only
are they blind spiritually, but they got a veil that hides there. It's just double blindness. Nevertheless,
when it or they, when it shall turn to the Lord, when they shall
turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away. Now the Lord is
the spirit and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
But we all with an open face beholding as in a glass the glory
of the Lord are changed in the same image from glory to glory,
even as by the Spirit of the Lord. How are we changed? By
the Spirit of the Lord. So he said, he hath the key of
David. He that openeth and no man shutteth,
he opens the scriptures, he opens the doors of the gospel, and
that is irresistible. He will open hearts we don't
think he can open. He'll open hearts, and we don't
plan on him opening. But he'll open hearts. And then
he says, he shutteth and no man openeth. When it's shut, it's
shut. No man can pry. We read that
with regard several times in scripture, several times in the
Old Testament, several times in the New Testament. I just
want to read one. Matthew 13. Let's go there. Matthew 13 verse 14. The scripture
says this. This is the quote from the Old
Testament. Right here in one of the living
creatures. Declaring the holiness of God.
He said and in them Matthew 1314 and in them is fulfilled the
prophecy. of Isaiah, which saith, by hearing
ye shall hear and shall not understand, and seeing ye shall see and not
perceive. They just sought for physical,
went to hear, went to hear, but never passed to the spiritual.
For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull
of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest at any time
they shall see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and
should understand with their heart, and shall be converted, and I
should heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see,
and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, that
many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things
which ye see, and have not seen them, and to hear those things
which ye hear, and have not heard them. And then he goes on and
talks about the parable of the sword. He says, there's some
doors shut. No man's going to open them.
Now, there's some doors that were shut. We closed them in
Adam, and we were holding them shut. And I'm thankful that God,
that we read about in scripture, came along and says, I'm going
to open, and no man will close. Have you ever seen those films
where they got the big door and they got a piece of oak that's
about like this, about this thick, and across the iron members there? And you know, they just say,
we're going to keep the enemy out. And God, by his grace, goes
right through it and comes to where he intended to come with
our full consent. So his credentials. He that is true. He that is holy,
he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth
and no man shutteth, and he that shutteth and no man openeth.
And then he says in verse eight, and we're not gonna cover this,
but he says, I know thy works. Now that's a pretty significant
credential of God. I know. We'll stop there.