Now, I announced this morning that I would be preaching to you from Isaiah chapter 54, but I feel very strongly inclined to bring the message to you tonight that I preached at Louisville last night. And Lord willing, the message I have prepared earlier for tonight, I'll bring to you on another occasion.

Turn with me, if you will, to Revelation chapter 3 and verse 7. Revelation chapter 3 and verse 7. To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write. Now the angel of the church, as you know, is the pastor, the man who in God's providence and grace He had appointed to be his messenger to this particular congregation.

I stand before you, unless I am deceived, and you are, as God's messenger. That's an awesome task. Awesome task. I can't begin to describe to you the weight of the burden of responsibility I sense in attempting to speak to you in God's stead. And that's what I've got to do. I've got to bring to you a message from God.

Preaching isn't difficult at all. That's not difficult. Anyone with average intelligence can put together a sermon and stand up and talk to folks about religion or doctrine or morality or whatever for an hour and make good sense with it if they give it an effort. That's not difficult.

But finding a message from God that you need, that's something else. It requires study, prayer, preparation, but it requires more than that. Above everything else, it requires the direction. And if I can use the word, the inspiration of God, the Holy Spirit, not infallible inspiration as you have in the scriptures. Otherwise, every word that is spoken by a faithful preacher would be another revelation from God. But God has given us his infallible revelation to his entire body in the word. Yet at the same time, If I've come to you tonight with a message from God Almighty, I've come to you with a word that God's given me for you.

And that means you better perk up and pay attention. Listen carefully. God might speak to you. Brother Scott Richardson described preaching like this one time. He said, it's getting a message from God's heart to my heart to your heart. And that's what it is, getting a message from God's heart to my heart, to your heart. And I want this evening to give you a message that God's put on my heart, and I hope it'll benefit your heart. Read on.

To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, these things saith he, that is the Lord Jesus Christ, he's the one who's speaking. these things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth and no man shutteth, and shutteth and no man openeth. Now in this verse of scripture, the Lord Jesus describes his own character and his own work in all his mediatorial offices. He describes himself as our priest, our prophet, and our king. He declares his glorious sovereignty as priest, prophet, and king for the comfort, encouragement, and inspiration of his church, even in the midst of apostate false religion. even in the midst of a day such as you read about in Amos chapter 8.

You remember, as you read this passage, you can go back and read it at home at your leisure. The church at Philadelphia was a faithful congregation, a small, in the eyes of men, floundering congregation, but a faithful congregation who sought to worship and serve the Lord God in that place where there was the synagogue of Satan, where there were a multitude who called themselves Jews, but were not in reality Jews. That is, they called themselves the people of God, but they were not the people of God. Rather, it was a synagogue of Satan.

And our Lord speaks very plainly in that regard. So this word comes from the Son of God to a congregation in the midst of apostate religion to encourage and comfort them with regard to their labors in the cause of Christ and their labors for the glory of God.

So the word I believe, if God the Holy Spirit will speak by me, is a word that you and I need to hear this hour. Now everything in the text is about Christ. Christ is the one speaking, and Christ is the one spoken of. You keep your Bibles open here at Revelation 3 in verse 7, and you can follow me along as we go through the message. First point is this. Our Lord describes himself as he that is holy. Do you see that? These things saith he that is holy. Now with those words, our Lord Jesus is describing his mediatorial office as our great high priest.

Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. Holiness. Holiness. We use that word holy and holiness so lightly with such flippant triviality that we fail to grasp anything of God's holiness. When the Lord Jesus says, I am he that is holy, he is telling us that he is himself the holy God. Now, we are Trinitarians. We recognize that God is three persons in one glorious Godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

And Jesus Christ who assumed our nature, Jesus Christ who came into this world as we are in human flesh yet without sin, all the while is himself yet God. God over all, blessed forever. He never ceased to be God. He never in any way divested himself of his Godhead, of his divinity, or of his glorious holiness. And now that he's ascended back into heaven, There he sits upon the throne of glory in human flesh, but he's still God, he that is holy.

Holy and reverend is his name. Folks sometimes ask me why I don't use the word reverend with regard to myself or another man. And the reason I don't use the word reverend is the same reason I don't call another man father. Because my name is not reverend, And nobody else's name is reverend but God. Nobody is my father but God in a spiritual sense.

And we refer to the Lord God alone as holy and reverend. When the Lord Jesus says, I am he that is holy, he's saying I am he who is God almighty, glorious in holiness. He is the one whom Isaiah saw sitting on the throne In the year that King Uzziah died, he said, I saw the Lord high and lifted up. He said, I saw the seraphim around his throne crying, holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth, holy is his name. God's holy, unapproachably, gloriously, everlastingly, immutably, infinitely holy, so that no man can approach him. You remember when Moses heard the Lord speak out of the burning bush, that fire representing the consuming brilliance of God's glorious holiness. The Lord said to Moses, put off your shoes.

The place where you're standing is holy ground. God's here. God's here. Oh, I wish I could make folks understand. When we come into this house of worship, While there is nothing holy here. The building is not a holy place. This pulpit is not a holy desk. These pews are not holy. This is just material stuff. And material stuff's not holy. It is holy only in the sense that it is dedicated to holy purposes.

But we've come together for the holy worship of the holy God. I know sometimes folks think I'm a little persnickety and a little to demanding that folks reverence the worship of God. But I haven't begun to be near as demanding as ought to be, near as persnickety as ought to be. Men and women come in here and I'm endeavoring to lead you in the worship of God. And I want to see to it that nothing interferes, nothing interrupts that. And that's the reason I insist on us coming here with some manner of respect for the Word. I'm preaching to you tonight, Merle read to you, we're considering the Holy Scriptures. God's Holy Word that demands reverence, that demands some sense of Him whose presence we're coming into.

We've come to worship God, not to play games, not to go through religious exercises, to worship God. And you can't very well worship God when you're thinking about kids playing, and you're thinking about folks running in and out, and you're thinking about folks sitting around yakking and passing notes and all that. Well, that's silly. You wouldn't do that with the President of the United States, and he's not worthy of worship.

God Almighty is worthy of worship and praise and honor and reverence. His name is holy and reverend. Secondly, our Lord Jesus, when he says that he is holy, He is telling us that he is the only truly holy man who ever lived. He's holy. He's holy. I read some of the old writers and some modern fellas as well, and I hear them talking about holy men. One fella's talking about another fella. He said he's the most holy man I ever met in my life. Let me tell you something. I have yet to meet a holy man. I have yet to meet one. Now, I'm thankful I know some men.

You here who seek to follow Christ, you men and women who seek to worship Him, you follow a path of holiness. God's people pursue holiness. God's people want to live in holiness. God's people long for that day when we shall be perfectly holy. That's right, isn't it?

We want to be perfectly holy, but God's people know we're not holy. Well, we've never thought a holy thought. We've never imagined holiness. We don't even know what holiness is, much less practice it. But Jesus Christ is a man who is holy. That means he's perfect. Perfect. Holiness is not something that comes by degrees. Either you're holy or you're not. Either you're pure or you're not. Either you're righteous or you're not. It's not something that you work up to. It's something that is in you or it's not in you.

And it's not in any of us to be holy. We're sinners. And though we're saved sinners, we're still sinners. Though God puts in us a new nature, that's a holy nature. That old nature of sin is still in us and defiles everything we are and everything we do.

Christ Jesus is that one who is holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners. Now, because he is the holy Lord God, because he is the only holy man who ever lived, Jesus Christ is the holy mediator. He's a holy representative. He's a holy substitute. He's a holy high priest. That is to say, He is our holiness. He is the one who makes us holy before God.

In order to be our sacrifice, in order to be our substitute, it was absolutely essential that Jesus Christ be perfect with regard to all the laws of the sacrifices in the Old Testament. This is what God says in Leviticus 22, 21. If you bring any sacrifice to God, doesn't matter whether it's a lamb or whether it's a turtle dove or whether it's a wave offering, you bring any sacrifice to God, he says it shall be perfect to be accepted. Perfect. He won't accept anything else. He won't accept the best we can do. He won't accept our good intentions. He won't accept our noblest deeds. He demands perfection.

Now, in order for Christ to be a perfect mediator, He's got to be the holy God who is infinite in merit. And he's got to be the holy man who is able to suffer the wrath of God. And Jesus Christ, being the holy God and the holy man, has satisfied infinite justice for us by his holy sacrifice and makes us accepted to God. And that's the reason the prophet said, this is the name wherewith he shall be called. Jehovah said to him, the Lord our righteousness.

How is it that sinners are made righteous? Two ways. Two ways. Be sure you get this. By imputed righteousness and imparted righteousness. When the Lord Jesus Christ died at Calvary, the scripture says He was made to be seen. That means sin was imputed to his charge. It was charged upon him so that it became his, and he became legally responsible for it, and being made to be sin, he suffered and died under the wrath of God for sin. It also means that we are made the righteousness of God in exactly the same way.

How can Bob Ponce be made righteous? How can you be made righteous? Only by divine imputation. You can't do anything righteous. I mean, it's impossible. You're sin. You are sin. That's your nature and mine. And we cannot, from sin, produce righteousness. A polluted fountain can't bring forth sweet and pure water. It can't happen.

Well, how can we be made righteous then? Only by Jesus Christ's righteousness being freely imputed to us. So that now, by virtue of Christ living, dying, and rising again as our representative and our mediator, the Lord God has taken his righteousness and imputed it to us for free justification. So that now we stand before God in the sight of God's holy law, perfectly righteous.

But still there's something else. We're still corrupt. We're still depraved. We're still fallen. there must also be an imparted righteous nature. And that's what happens in the new birth. In justification, righteousness is imputed to us. In regeneration, in the new birth, righteousness is imparted to us so that the believer is now a man or a woman with two distinct natures. That holy thing that is in you is born of God and it cannot sin. It's holy. That's the nature of Jesus Christ. We're made partakers of the divine nature.

But old man Adam's still here. He's still here. That's the reason there's a constant warfare in the heart of every believer. There's a constant warfare. The flesh on the one hand lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh. And these two are contrary, the one to the other, so that you cannot do the things you would. I mean, no, Paul means, the spirit can't do the things he would, the spirit that's in you. that new nature, and the flesh can't do the things that he would, that old man. The two are constantly warring against one another.

The flesh still hates God. The flesh is still enmity against God. The flesh loves iniquity, but the spirit loves righteousness and seeks righteousness. The flesh would live and give vent to its lusts in all areas of life. But the spirit won't allow that. The spirit would live in perfection before God. The spirit would live in absolute righteousness. The spirit would walk before God in perfect communion and fellowship and conformity to Jesus Christ in all things and at all times.

But the flesh won't allow it. Now someone may ask, Richard, why on earth would God leave his people in this world with two distinct opposing natures that constantly war against one another? I'll give you one good reason. So that while we live in this world, as long as we live in this world, we are made to understand that our only righteousness is Jesus Christ. so that we continually trust Him and never ourselves, so that we continually look away from ourselves and look to Christ the Lord and say, He is my righteousness. He's the Lord my righteousness.

Now we're sanctified in Christ. That's the word holy. That's what sanctification is. It's holiness. We get our sanctification from him and we're sanctified by him. All who are in Christ by faith are made holy and love holiness. This is he that is holy. The holy priest, our savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at the next line. Our Savior is He that is true. As our priest, the Lord Jesus is holy. As our prophet, the Lord Jesus Christ is true. He is the faithful and true witness. He declares, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. Christ Jesus is true because he is truth.

The Lord Jesus Christ is true to the Lord God, our Father, in covenant mercy. He's true to his people. He's true to his word. He's true to all his promises. In all things, Jesus Christ is true. Let me see if I can show you how that he is the truth. Being true and being the truth. Jesus Christ is the truth of all the types of the Old Testament, all of them.

When you read the Old Testament scriptures, we're reading through the Old Testament now, we're over in Ezra. And as you read through the Old Testament scriptures, you read and see so many, many, many supernatural, miraculous things that happened. And I recall when I was a kid, Whenever I went to church, I'd hear the stories like Noah and the Ark, those things.

And I thought, man, that's a fantastic tale. That's a fantastic tale. Noah built a big boat, and somehow he managed to get all the animals, two of every animal and seven of every clean animal, into that ark. and enough food to take care of them all the time they were in there and they floated across the water and escaped the flood. What a miraculous thing.

And then God saved me and I was made to understand that the Old Testament wasn't designed to impress me with miraculous things. That's not it. This whole religious age is taken up with miracles. You read our advertisements in the paper. Come get a miracle. Come expecting a miracle. Watch miracles happen. Now understand, there were miracles performed, but the miracles had a lesson. And the purpose of the miracle was to teach us the gospel of grace.

That ark that Noah built was Christ. In that ark, Noah and his family suffered all the vengeance of the wrath of God without the wrath of God ever touching them. They passed through the flood of God's wrath and the flood of God's wrath never touched them. More than that, God gave them a promise that it never will touch you. Because the ark's Christ Jesus. And you and I, in Christ the ark, have suffered all the wrath of God. And the wrath of God now never touch us. And God promises it never will. when the children of Israel went across the Red Sea. Here they are, crossing over the Red Sea.

They've been thrown out of Israel now because God performed all those mighty acts in Israel. And Pharaoh finally threw them all out of Egypt. He said, now, you fellows, get out of here. And Moses and children of Israel came to the Red Sea. And the Red Sea is roaring in front of them. And the Lord said to Moses, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. And he parted the Red Sea. And four million Jews walked across the Red Sea and didn't get any mud in their sandals. And when the last Jew was standing on the other side of the Red Sea, Pharaoh and his army said, let's go get him. and God broke down the wall and drowned an experienced Egyptian army in the Red Sea.

Boy, that's great. That's a picture of God's salvation. That's what it's all about. The Paschal Lamb was Christ's sacrifice for us, the payment for our sins, the dividing of the Red Sea is Christ coming to us in divine power, giving us life, delivering us from bondage and iniquity. That's the power of God.

All the types of the Old Testament were pictures of Christ. Christ is the truth of all the promises, of all the prophecies. He is that one of whom the scriptures speak, so that this book of truth is a book about Him who is the truth. He's the sum and substance of truth. He's the Word of God. All truth is in Christ. All truth is Christ. Apart from Him, there is no truth.

The Apostle Paul said to the Corinthians, we preach Christ crucified. He said, I'm determined to know nothing among you save Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I make that same avowal and that same declaration to you. Christ is the subject of this pulpit. And at the same time, Paul declared, I declare unto you all the counsel of God. Because Jesus Christ is all the counsel of God. Everything in this book speaks of Him. It's all about Him.

Now thirdly, read what our Savior says. He that is holy is Christ our priest. He that is true is Christ our prophet. And then our Lord Jesus, the holy and true, says, I am he that hath the key of David. This is Christ our king. The Lord Jesus Christ, according to the flesh, came from David's royal line.

David was a type of Christ, and Christ now sits, in a spiritual sense, upon the throne of David. We do not anticipate a day when the Lord Jesus is going to sit on a physical throne over in Palestine. That's not Christ the King. The King is the King of glory, and the throne of David on which He sits is that throne of which David's throne was just a type. It's the throne of God in heaven. And Christ now sits King upon His glorious throne. He has the key of David. That's an expression of power and authority.

I recall several years ago, I was in a meeting with Brother Mahan in a tiny little congregation up West Virginia. And Henry made the statement while he's preaching. He said, he said, the man who carries the keys is one in charge. And he showed the keys. And he said, this means I'm the one in charge. And the pastor of that little church sitting there, his typical church, he leaned over and said to me, he said, he's either the one in charge, he's the janitor. Well, the Lord Jesus is not the janitor.

He's the one in charge. He has the keys of death and of hell. He has the keys of David. That is, he has the keys of all dominion and all power. He's Christ the King. And let me once more declare in your hearing this grand and glorious truth. Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, is the King of kings and Lord of lords. He has dominion over all the universe. He's king of the universe and he's king of his church. Turn to Ephesians chapter 1. Ephesians chapter 1. This is not an occasionally declared thing, but a constantly repeated theme of Holy Scripture. Ephesians chapter 1 verse 21. Verse 20, I'm sorry.

Paul is talking about the power which God brought in Christ when he raised him from the dead and set him down at his own right hand in the heavenly places. Far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. and hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church. Not gave him to be head over all things in the church, but the head over all things to or for his church. Jesus Christ sits head of all principality and power, having dominion absolutely over everything for the good of his church. for the increase of his kingdom. That means simply that our Lord Jesus Christ has absolute dominion and exercises it constantly.

You remember what he said in Proverbs 8, by me kings reign, by me princes decree justice. That is, I'm the one who sets men in power, and I'm the one who directs the thoughts of men's hearts in all things for the good of my people. I have power over all flesh, good flesh and bad flesh. I have power over all flesh to give eternal life to as many as the Father has given me.

Christ Jesus is Lord by virtue of his eternal divinity, certainly so. He's the creator of all things. That means he's the Lord of all things. Because He is God, He has an underrived power over everything. But our Lord Jesus Christ is also Lord as a man, as our mediator. He is the King, our mediator, by virtue of His obedience to the Father and the accomplishment of redemption on our behalf.

The father decreed from eternity, when the son had finished his work of redemption, he said, Sit thou on my right hand till I make thy foes thy footstool. Ask of me, I'll give you the heathen for your inheritance. And then our Lord Jesus, having accomplished redemption, took his seat in the heavens at the right hand of the majesty on high.

Let's look at some scripture. Turn to Matthew 28. Matthew 28 and verse 18. Matthew 28 verse 18. When I was in college, I heard lots of sermons from Matthew 28 to 18 through 20 on the Great Commission. And I heard lots of rousing calls to evangelism and missionary work, but somehow they always managed to skip over verse 18. They always manage to just kind of ignore what verse 18 says, and the very crux, foundation, inspiration, and hope of evangelism is right here.

It's in the sovereignty of Christ. The Lord Jesus came and spoke unto them, saying, All power. What a word. All power, all authority, all dominion is given unto me. given to me as a man, given to me as a mediator, given to me as the resurrected king of glory, given to me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore. Go on now, represent me, speak of me, for all power is mine.

Turn over to the book of Acts chapter 2, Acts chapter 2 and verse 36. In verse 34, Peter is speaking and he says, David is not ascended into the heavens, but he saith himself, the Lord said unto my Lord, set thou on my right hand until I make thy foes thy footstool. And this is the conclusion Peter makes of David's words. Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ. He's seated on the throne of David.

Look at Romans chapter 14 in verse 9. Romans 14 in verse 9. The apostle Paul declares to us the object of Christ in his death and resurrection. For to this end Christ both died and rose and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and the living.

Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him. and given him a name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of things in heaven, and of things in the earth, and of things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Jesus Christ is Lord by virtue of his actual dominion. Now, when the Word of God declares Jesus is Lord, his lordship is not a mere title of respect. But in actual fact, he really is Lord. Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet, the scripture says. He must reign, and reign he does. He that hath the key of David is Christ, our king. He that is holy is Christ, our priest. He that is true is Christ, our prophet. And he that is sovereign is our king indeed. Now look back at our text again.

When we say that Jesus is Lord, every church in town, I reckon, says that. I reckon they do. I don't know. Most all folks who call themselves Christians say Jesus is Lord. But when they say Jesus is Lord, they don't mean he has any power. They mean he tries to exercise power and he will if you let him. They mean he tries to do things and he will if you'll be nice enough to let him do them. But when the Lord Jesus declares that he has the key of David, he is declaring that he has and exercises at all times total dominion everywhere. And here he gives us an example of it.

This great sovereign king, our savior, says, I am he that openeth and no man shutteth. What a word. I'm he that openeth and no man shutteth. Oh, how I love to hear the Son of God, whose glory I seek, whose interest I serve, declare I am he that openeth and no man shutteth. If Christ opens a door, no man can shut that door. And Merle, I'm here to tell you, there's no door he can't open. There's no door he can't open. And if he opens it, nobody can shut it.

Christ has opened the way for sinners to come to God, and he is that way. He says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. He says, I am the door. By me, if any man shall enter in, he shall go in and out and find pasture. Come on in. He is the way. We have a new and living way. It is a legal and just way, for it is a way based upon righteousness by which we can come unto God. We have a merciful and gracious way. Christ Jesus, the Lord, who is the gift of the Father, by whom we have access to God. And He is the open and free way.

Come in and bring nothing with you. Freely, freely come to God. But He's the straight and narrow way. That means if you come to God this way, you can't bring anything with you at all. You come to Christ Jesus and walk only in Him by faith in His blood, faith in His righteousness, faith in His grace, claiming nothing for yourself. I heard Brother Maurice preaching one time, I think he was preaching here.

He said, he said, the gate is so straight that you can't carry any baggage in with you. And the way is so narrow, you can't pick any up along the way. You come in empty handed beggars and you walk with Christ throughout this pilgrimage here into glory. Empty handed beggars claiming nothing but his blood and his righteousness. Come then to Christ by faith. The way is open and no man can shut it. Christ opens the door of opportunity for the preaching of the gospel too.

Turn to several places we could look, but turn to Colossians chapter four. When Paul wrote to the Corinthians, he said a great door and effectual is opened unto me." Though he had many adversaries, the Lord opened the door. And here in Colossians chapter 4, he calls upon the Colossians to pray for him. And I'll take his words as an appeal from me to you.

Will you listen? With all, praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance. to speak the mystery of Christ. Look in 2 Thessalonians chapter 3. Often when I leave here to go somewhere and preach the gospel, I leave a note for you and call your attention to this text of scripture because I want you to obey it. I want you to do what it says.

Finally, brethren, pray for us. that the word of the Lord may have free course and be glorified even as it is with you. Pray that God will open doors of ministry, not for me only, but for us as a congregation, that he would give us greater opportunities for the preaching of the gospel and God help us to seize every opportunity he gives us to seize the opportunity because we want to serve his interest.

If Christ opens the door, no man can shut it. And we've seen him open some doors, haven't we? We watched him open doors. I mean, doors we couldn't possibly think about opening. Doors of ministry around the world that have affected the lives of hundreds of people. And God did it, not us. Christ, who made the heart and rules the thoughts of the heart, opens the hearts of sinners to receive the gospel. I can't do it, and you can't do it, but he does.

When Paul was in Philippi, he went to search out some folks who worshiped God, and as he sought to find a place to worship God while he was there, somebody told him, said, well, there's a bunch of old Jewish women who meet down by a clearing at the riverside, and they might be the folks you're wanting to talk to. And so Paul went down there. And sure enough, there were a few Jewish women, just Jewish women, sitting by the riverside, talking about the Scriptures. And Paul came and sat down in their midst and opened the Scriptures and began to talk to them out of the Scriptures.

And as he persuaded them from the Scriptures, the Scripture says, The Lord opened Lydia's heart. to understand the things that Paul spoke. He opened her heart. And that's what God does in conversion. He opens your heart to understand and see what the scriptures teach. That's what he does in every experience of revival we have individually.

I preach to you And I plead with you and I call on you to follow Christ and break off the cares of this world and to forsake the things of this world. And sometimes it seems like I, as I speak, my voice is just bouncing off the wall. And folks, it seems like you will not hear. But then the Lord Jesus speaks. And when he speaks, that Baba, he put his finger right into your heart and calls you to run after him. And when he does, he does. You remember the song of Solomon?

I sleep, but my heart waketh. It's it's the voice of my beloved who says open to me, my love, my dove, my undefiled, my spouse. And she says, I put off my coat. Don't bother me now. How shall I put it on again? I put him off, but he wouldn't be put off.

And he put his hand in by the hole of the door. It's his door. He put his hand in. And when he did, my bowels burned for him. My bowels were moved for him. My heart went out to him. And I arose open to him. But my beloved had withdrawn himself, but not altogether. He left the sweet myrrh of his grace to draw out my heart to seek him.

And that's what he does when he opens the heart. He opens the heart in conversion and he comes to his people who so often shut our hearts against him. And he opens the door and brings himself in. As he opens the heart, so it is Christ who opens the scriptures to men. and opens the understanding of men to the scriptures. I read this this afternoon. Turn over to Luke chapter 24. Luke chapter 24. You're familiar with this passage.

Our Lord was talking to the disciples on the road to Emmaus, and he hid himself from them so they wouldn't know who he was after the resurrection. But as he spoke to them, he talked to them about all that Christ should suffer according to what was written in the scriptures. And in verse 32, when their eyes were opened and they knew him, they said one to another, did not our heart burn within us while he talked with us by the way, while he opened to us the scriptures? And then down in verse 45, verse 45, he opened to us the scriptures, then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures.

He does both. He opens the Word to us, and He opens us to the Word. You see, the Bible is a sealed book until Christ opens it. No man can grasp it. No one can understand it. No one can get the message of the Word until Christ gives understanding. But once He opens the Word, no one can shut it. Christ is the message of Holy Scripture.

The law is not teaching us the necessity of morality, though certainly that's so. The law teaches us the necessity of redemption. The deliverances of the Old Testament and the miracles of the new were given not to demonstrate supernatural power from God, but to demonstrate the supernatural power of God's saving grace.

The prophets. I wish I could get this generation to understand this. The prophets. spoke not of future world events, but of the certain salvation of God's elect in Christ. Can you get that? The prophets were not written to tell us what was going to happen in Palestine, or what's going to happen with Russia, or what's going to happen in the United States. The prophets were written to tell us of the certain accomplishment of salvation by Jesus Christ our Lord for chosen sinners. The message of this book is Christ, but he's the only one who can open it to you. The only one.

I've often referred to this incident, but it stands true nonetheless. One day I was sitting in here at the desk, and the phone rang. And I answered the phone, and we talked for a little bit, whoever it was. And I turned around, propped my feet up on my desk, and looked outside, and there's a bird sitting on the telephone line right out there. The wind was blowing, that bird just gripping that line, just sitting there. And I'm talking on it.

He's holding that line tenaciously. And I thought to myself, he doesn't understand one thing going through that line. He's holding on to it. With all his might, he's holding on to it. But he doesn't understand one thing going on with it. And we're living in an age when men and women hold to the book, the blood and the blessed hope. They just hold on to it. tenaciously fight to defend the scriptures, but don't understand the message of scripture. Don't understand that the message of scripture is Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

The business of a preacher is to do like Mary did when she brought that alabaster box in and she broke it open and the sweet aroma of that spikenard filled the room. where the Lord Jesus sat. This book is an alabaster box containing the precious ointment and spikenard, Jesus Christ the Lord, and it's my business to open the word and show you Christ. Get a smell? The sweet aroma of Christ crucified, but the only one who can show you who he is and what he's done.

The only one who can open the scriptures to your heart and your heart to the scriptures so that you rejoice in it and believe it and walk in it is Christ himself. Well might we pray with David, open thou mine eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of thy word.

Paul said that the Lord Jesus opened the door of faith to the Gentiles in Acts 14. He opens heaven to his people. He opens the windows of heaven and pours us out blessing upon blessing by his mighty grace. And in the last day, he opens the gates of heaven and receives us into everlasting glory. But look at the last line of this text as well. This great king is he that openeth and no man shutteth. That's encouraging. Oh, but here is a warning. and shutteth, and no man openeth." What do those words mean?

I'm going to give you a principle of hermeneutics, a principle of interpretation that most theologians go to school all their lives and never learn. But I'm going to give it to you now. It won't take you long to learn it. As a general rule, As a general rule, you can bank on this, it means exactly what you think it means. Exactly what you think it means.

Just as he opens the scriptures, he shuts them. Just as he opened the gates of mercy, he shuts them. Just as he opens the door of ministry, he shuts it. What a warning. Christ shuts the scriptures. and blinds the minds and eyes of impenitent sinners so that they cannot see and cannot believe. Listen to John chapter 12, verse 37. The Lord Jesus is speaking.

Though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not. I'm sorry, John's speaking about the Lord Jesus. that the saying of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled which he spoke, Lord, who hath believed our report and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed. Therefore, they could not believe because Isaiah said again, he hath blinded their eyes and hardened their heart. That they should not see with their eyes nor understand with their heart and be converted.

And I should heal them. One of the most solemn, serious realizations in this world is the fact that when men and women have heard the gospel and will not believe, when men and women have heard the word of grace and will not trust the Son of God, when the Lord says, I've called and you refused, I've stretched out my hands and you would none of my reproof.

There comes a time when the Lord God says, all right, have it your way. And he fixes it so that you can't believe. He free him, he said, he's joined to his idols. Leave them alone. Preachers, does God still do that today? I'm sure he does. And I warn you, I warn you, if God speaks, you hear what God says. Don't you trifle with God's truth. Walk in the light while you have the light, lest He come and bring darkness upon you. When He shuts, no man can open.

Christ shuts the door of utterance for the gospel. I referred to this this morning in Acts 16. Paul wanted to go to Achaia, and the Lord said no. He said, well, we'll go over here to Bithynia, and the Lord said no. He said, well, can we go to Troas? The Lord said, go to Troas. He shuts the door of the gospel from one place to another. These seven churches here in Asia Minor, All seven of them once. Faithful churches. Local churches just like this. Where God spoke to men. And men worship God. But something happened. Something happened to every one of them. And I know what happened. I know exactly what happened.

Folks in those churches quit hearing what God spoke. And God quit speaking. It's that simple. Just that serious. Oh, what a curse when God shuts the door. He shuts the doors of heaven. And it says the gates of heaven are always open. Oh, no. Oh, no. When the master of the house arises and shuts the door, there's still folks standing on the outside saying, let us in. For now they see judgment's coming. They're not in love with the master. They're scared to death of judgment. When God shut the door to Noah's ark, not a drop of rain had fallen. But the door was shut because folks would not enter in. Will you enter in before he shuts the door against you? Come to Jesus Christ the Lord. Come to God by faith in Christ. lest he shuts the door and no man can open.

Now look at our text one more time. Let me show you one more thing. In verse 8, behold, he says, I set before thee an open door and no man can shut it. Set before you an open door. Here is an open door of opportunity for his church, even in Philadelphia, right here where the synagogue of Satan is. Here's an open door of opportunity for you. You men and women here today, Grace Church, Danville, Kentucky, here's an open door he set before you.

No man can shut it. An open door of access. for every one of his people in time of need to the throne of grace. He says, come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy laden. He says, let us come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. And here's an open door by the hand of Jesus Christ for sinners in need of mercy.

The spirit and the bride say, come. And he that is a thirst, let him come. And whosoever will, let him come. and take of the water of life freely. What are we going to do with the open door set before us? Well, the open door of ministry He's given us, but by His grace I want to walk through it.

I want you to walk with me. I want you to seize it with me. Come along if you want to. We're going through the door. We're going to follow his lead and his command. We're going to proclaim the gospel. The open door of access to the throne of grace. We must enter in. Got to have his grace and mercy. The open door to heaven's grace and glory. I have entered in, and I'm entering in, and I bid you enter in. Come. Come to God now by faith in Jesus Christ. So preacher, how do I come? Right where you sit. Right where you sit.

You don't come down here. You don't come to the baptismal pool. You don't come to a confessional booth. You don't come to a soul winner or a preacher. How do you come to God then? Right where you sit. Right where you are. Don't move a muscle. Don't say a word. Don't you need to pray? Don't need to do a thing.

Just come to Christ. Just come to Christ. I mean, in your heart, come to Him. That simply means trust Him. Cast yourself on Him. Cast yourself on His blood and His righteousness. And Him that cometh unto God by Jesus Christ, He will in no wise cast out. Come to me. Amen.