Jesus standing at the door and knocking

This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it. I hope you will as well.

Yesterday we discussed the pain that we experience at times in our lives and the importance of allowing Jesus to bring healing into our lives before we can be effective in ministry. Why is this so important? Let's talk about it.

Revelation 3:20-22 Here I am! (Jesus said) I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. (21) To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.
(22) He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Then, on the sixth day, God created man and woman. He created them to fellowship with Him. Adam and Eve had everything that you could imagine to make them content, and satisfied. There was no sin, no sickness, no death, no growing old...Why would they want anything else?

It is human nature to want what you do not have. God told them the only thing that was off-limits to them was a tree in the middle of the garden called the "Tree of the knowledge of good and evil." The only thing they couldn't have. They had no problems with that for a while, they had too many blessings to worry about that one tree.

However, one day can change eternity. One day… because you see one day when Eve was out in the garden of Eden the Bible tells us that Satan appeared to Eve and tempted her to eat of the one tree that they were to avoid. Satan tempted Eve with what he has been tempting every human being with since that day…

"God doesn't care…if He really cared, why would He keep the blessing of this tree from you? He just doesn't care for you! If He cared, then why would He be withholding this blessing from my life?"

Eve fell for it and took of the fruit because she was convinced to believe that God didn't really care. She then took the fruit to Adam who ate of it as well. When Adam and Eve sinned, they LOCKED GOD out of their lives. Basically, put Him in the closet, removed His influence from their lives.

They destroyed the intimate personal relationship with God that they were created to have. God removed them from the garden.

Now…man struggled in his relationship with God. He turned to religion…ceremonies, rituals…he would now have to sacrifice bulls and goats for the removal of sin. But it just wasn't the same. They had locked God out of their lives. With no hope, seemingly, of that relationship ever being restored.

However, one day can change eternity. One day… because you see one day when man was about to give up hope…Jesus Christ the son of God, came on the scene

He came to seek and to save the lost. He came to renew mans relationship with God the Father. He came to put God back into man's life. He unlocked the door of man's heart and gave man the opportunity to be reunited with God the Father. He was the mediator or bridge back to God the Father. However, Satan is still at work, and he still works in the area of Good and evil. We live in a world where bad things happen to good, godly people. When we can't understand it, we question whether God is good, or even if He exists. The enemy is hard at work, to put God back in the closet, to remove Jesus' influence from our lives. That is His ultimate goal. And it happens so often in peoples lives.

In a ministers meeting this past week I listened to a powerful message from a missionary to El Salvador. The missionary told about how one day he went to visit a lady who had cancer. She didn't come to his church, but she was a relative of someone who did. This particular lady had an idol in her home that she prayed to. The missionary asked how she was doing, and she said "I have been told that I don't have very long to live. I am very discouraged. In fact, I have been praying to my god for me to be healed, and he hasn't healed me yet, so I have placed Him in the closet."

There are some of you today, who have placed Jesus in the closet of your lives because of hurt and not understanding how a Good God could allow some of the things that you have gone through.

Satan is still at work today, to place God in the closet, and that is why in Revelation 3:20 Jesus is standing at the door knocking, trying to gain entrance back into the lives of His people. For many years I believed that the focus was that Jesus was knocking but this verse doesn't say that "when you hear the knock open up", it says "when you hear my voice, open up." Jesus told His disciples on day, "My sheep know my voice." So as He stands there knocking, because you have allowed pain to lock Him out of your life, why don't you listen to His voice today. He really does love you, cares deeply for you, and He is a good God!

Even though Jesus died and then conquered the grave, there are some that still lock Him out of their lives because of pain and things they just don't understand.

How can a loving God allow such pain? These are questions that we may not ever have the answer to on this side of heaven. But my friends, as we celebrated two days ago, Jesus conquered the closet of the tomb, He refused to allow satan to lock him out…The Holy Spirit was sent to that tomb to bring life back into Jesus…It was the Holy Spirit that opened the closet of the tomb for Jesus.

What about you? Jesus conquered death…but it is up to you whether He will help you conquer the pain in your life that has locked Him out of your life. It really is YOUR CHOICE. The same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead and unlocked the closest of the tomb is trying to unlock Jesus from the closet of your wound in your life right now. He is the one you hear and feel tugging at your heart.

I am glad to tell you, that there is healing for you TODAY! One day can change eternity…THIS DAY can change your life forever…

Don't leave Him outside knocking. He wants to fellowship with you again!

Blessings!

Pastor Rusty