Jump Start # 588

Revelation 3:20-21 “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”

Yesterday, our Jump Start took a look at this passage that was addressed to the church at Laodicea. There awaited two wonderful promises if they changed and repented. God wanted them to have these. The first, was to dine with Christ. We talked about that yesterday.

The second blessing, to sit down with Me on My throne. What an honor that would be. Can you imagine being able to sit in the president’s chair at the Oval Office? That would never happen. But the Laodiceans had the opportunity to sit in Christ’s throne. We are talking about Heaven, here.

Notice first of all, it is described as “My throne.” It belongs to Jesus. He earned it, it was given to Him. All authority lies in Christ. When He ascended to Heaven, He sat down at the right hand of God. This is a position of honor, power and authority. It is His throne.

Also, there is a parallel between what Jesus had done and what He was wanting the Laodiceans to do. The parallel is OVERCOME. Jesus overcame and sat with the Father on His throne, and if the Laodiceans would overcome, they would sit with Jesus on His throne. They were not being asked to do anything that Jesus had not done himself. Overcome. Stay with it. Do not go down. Do not be defeated. Win.

Also, the promise is to sit with Jesus. It’s not that Jesus is getting up and then we sit down, we sit with Him. He is always on His throne. He never leaves it. When my kids were small, they would sit with me in a chair and I’d read to them. It was a special time. Sitting with Jesus includes closeness, fellowship, love and trust.

It’s easy to lose the emphasis of the passage by trying to make this too literal. We could ask, how can all of us sit in a chair with Jesus? Won’t that be crowded? Surely, we all can’t fit? Remember, these are word pictures. There won’t be a literal chair. The passage is driving at closeness, trust, fellowship and love. We will be where Christ is. We will be together.

These scenes are used to encourage the Laodiceans. These are things that God has promised. God is not trying to bribe nor buy their allegiance. We owe our all  to God  simply because He is God. Our God is generous. He loves to bless.

Our passage begins with another picture. Jesus standing at the door knocking. Will we invite Him in? Do we want Him in? Are we going to leave Him on the doorstep? It’s not your house that He wants in, it’s your heart. He wants to come in. He wants to be invited in. Paul would say, “Christ lives in Him.” The Colossians were told to “let the word of Christ richly dwell within you…” This is how all of this begins. This is how one wins. This is the first step in overcoming. Let Jesus in. Let Jesus take charge of your life. Let the beauty of Jesus fill your heart. See things the way Jesus sees them. Let Him in. Don’t keep Jesus out of your life. Don’t keep Him out of your problems. Don’t try to do things on your own. He wants in. He wants to help.

There is a hymn, “Why keep Jesus waiting, waiting at the door…?” Good song. Good question. Why? Isn’t it time? Isn’t it time to invite Jesus into the marriage? Isn’t it time to let Jesus into your plans?

Jesus is patient. He’ll knock and knock. He won’t yell. He won’t pound. He won’t bust the door down. He wants you to want Him to come in. It’s not pressure, guilt or any other reason, but a desire to be with the Lord that causes you to open the door.

The Revelation picture begins with John seeing a door standing open in Heaven. He was allowed to look. The foolish virgins, of Matthew 25, arrived too late for the wedding. The door was shut. They knocked and wanted in, it was too late. Then there’s Noah. Inside the ark with his family and the animals, and God shut the door. Depending which side of the door you were on, determined whether they lived or died. Noah lived. The world died. The door separated them.

Doors separate. On the outside is the world, sometimes scary, sometimes calling for our attention. Inside the door, is peace, safety and calm. There is something special about coming through the door at the end of a day. You come home to family. You come home to your place. You come home to rest. There is no place like home, we say. Jesus stands at the door and knocks. He wants to come in.

It is those who invite Jesus in that are allowed to dine with Jesus and sit with Him on His throne. To enjoy the promises of God, you must let Jesus in.

Roger

Jump Start # 587

Revelation 3:20-21 “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”

This week our Jump Starts have taken a look at what Jesus said to the seven churches of Revelation to get them back on track. It is a profitable study and reminds us that Jesus doesn’t give up on us. He wants us to do well, as individuals and within the church. Success in these terms means walking with the Lord.

Before we leave Revelation, there is another interesting way to look at these seven churches. At the end of each specific message to these churches, Jesus gives a promise and a blessing for those who continue to walk with Him. These blessings are a glimpse of Heaven. There are seven of them—one to each of these seven churches. Look at all seven of these. Write them on a piece of paper and give them some thought. Bible study is like looking for hidden treasures, it takes a little looking and digging, but what wonderful finds you will discover!

Our verse today is what was promised to the lukewarm Laodiceans. If they repented, and Jesus believed that they could, awaiting them in the future was a warm and wonderful relationship with the Lord. Jesus reveals two concepts in these verses. These are concepts of Heaven.

• I will dine with Him. Now understand these words and especially this book, Revelation, is stuffed full of symbolism. Heaven is a spiritual realm. The gold street is not real gold, nor is the pearl gate an actual pearl. Those physical items will not exist. Jesus is giving us word pictures. The book of Revelation is like a picture book. We see and we understand. There will be no eating in Heaven as we think about here on earth. No food. No getting hungry. The image of dining, brings the picture of closeness and intimacy. For our society, eating is a necessity. We do that to be able to do other things. We eat in a hurry. We eat on the run and in our cars and at our desk. We stuff food in our purses, gym bags, golf bags, glove boxes, and in desk drawers. We eat so we can play. We eat so we can keep working. Fast food is fast eating for many of us. It isn’t that way in Europe and certainly not that way in Biblical times. Dining was more than putting food in your mouth, it was sharing, talking, discussing and connecting with one another. Meals took hours. Dining was a major social event. Have you noticed how many times Jesus used this concept in His teachings? What did the father and the prodigal do when he returned? They celebrated by feasting on the fatted calf. In Matthew 22, a king gave a wedding feast for his son. The parable of the wise and foolish virgins ends with the door being shut and a wedding feast taking place. Not only did Jesus talk about dining in His teaching, we find Him in homes actually dining. He went to Matthew’s home, Simon’s home, Zaccheus’s home, Mary and Martha’s home. Then there was the last supper. Dining was an important part of life and relationships.

Our passage touches on that. The blessings awaiting the Laodiceans was dining with Jesus. Imagine that for a moment, just you and Jesus sitting across each other at a table. Not being in a hurry to go somewhere as we usually are, but talking, sharing, learning. Jesus wanting you to be there, not to lecture you, not to condemn you, but because He likes you. He is interested in you. He wants you to talk to Him. I think some would feel very uncomfortable with that idea because they are uncomfortable with Jesus. They don’t have a relationship as they ought to. For others, what a wonderful and rich and rewarding experience that would be. Just me and Jesus. Together with Jesus—that’s what Heaven is. That’s fellowship. That’s forgiveness.

Do you think you’d run out of things to talk about if you dined with Jesus? Do you think it would be a great experience? The thought Jesus is putting before us is something to look forward to, something that is good, something that ought to draw our hearts to Him. Multitudes begged for time with Jesus. They shouted at Him as He passed by. They touched Him when He passed. Always a crowd. Always interruptions. Always bits and pieces. That is not the image of dining with Him. Closeness. Openness. Time. Smiles. Reflection. Reminders. Thank yous. Joy. Appreciation. Questions. Answers. Depth. Insights. Hope. Trust. Faith. Peace. Calm. Just you and Jesus together. You could ask what word He wrote in the dirt when the adulterous woman was brought to Him. But you might think, it doesn’t matter. You might ask why Peter was the only one to walk on water. But, it doesn’t matter. You might ask about the cross. You might ask about Saturday in the grave. You might ask why He never gave up on you. You might look back and ask about something years ago. You and Jesus. Talk would turn to your family members. Before long, you’d see just how much He wants everyone to be saved. You’d see just how much He loves the entire world. Your thoughts, your questions would grow. They would start including the world picture. You would start to see what Jesus was doing and why He did what was done.

Dining with Jesus. The thought isn’t about food, it’s about relationship. It’s about closeness. This blessing wasn’t just for the Laodiceans, it’s for you and me. We must overcome. Awaiting us is a table for two—you and Jesus!

That’s Heaven!

Roger

Jump Start # 189 

Revelation 3:20-21 “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”

  Our passage today comes from the section of Revelation that specifically addresses the seven churches of Asia. The last church addressed, where our passage comes from, was Laodicea—the lukewarm church that sickened the Lord. There were many problems at that church. They didn’t see themselves as God saw them. That’s always dangerous. They didn’t think they needed anything, especially changing. But they did.

  God didn’t give up on them. He didn’t throw them out. Instructions were given to turn them around and right the wrongs found there. And as with the other letters addressed to the churches, it ends with a promise. If you will do these things, this is what it will do for you.

  There are two wonderful promises found in our verses today. First, the promise to dine with Jesus. This of course is figurative and shows the picture of closeness and friendship. We don’t eat with strangers. Most try to avoid the enemy (maybe we shouldn’t, but we do). But dining with family and friends is such a wonderful event. Families catch up on what everyone is doing. Laughter fills the air. People tell stories and go down memory lane. Parents use the opportunity to “parent.” When we grow older and move out on our own and think back to our childhood days, generally it’s not the TV set that we miss, but family time and that often surrounded the kitchen table. Dining with Jesus. Would that make you nervous? Could you be yourself or would you be so afraid of saying something out of turn that you just looked at your food and said nothing? The image is warmth. Jesus wants us at the table. Just as the Father of the prodigal longed for both of his sons to join him around the table, that is what Christ wants. He doesn’t want you to fear Him. He knows you. He knows what you are like. He knows what you have done. And He still longs for you to join Him around the table. That’s awesome!

  The second promise is to sit with Jesus on His throne. Wow! I’ve been to the White House. They didn’t let me go to the Oval Office. Even if they did, they wouldn’t let me sit in “the” chair. Only the President sits there. Here Christ is inviting you to sit with Him. Come join me is what He is saying. Notice, Jesus doesn’t vacate the throne. The throne is always occupied by God. It is never empty. When we sit, it is with Jesus. That image implies trust. I have a wonderful chair in my office. I spent weeks looking and trying out chair before I bought this one. It is the softest office chair I’ve ever sat it. I let people try it out, but just for a moment. That chair is special to me. Don’t you think God feels the same about His throne? It is before the throne that we will stand some day and be judged. To sit with Jesus on His throne shows that He really loves and trusts us.

  The Laodiceans had to light the fire once again and get serious about Jesus. These promises offered to them were not to buy their faithfulness but reminders that this is how God treats His children. We need to walk that way.

  Great promises. Give these some thought today. God has great things in store for you!

Roger