DAILY ENCOURAGEMENT - WEDNESDAY - WHO’S COMING TO DINNER? #2

THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD - Holman Hunt.

"It is better to have God’s approval, than the world’s applause: there is a time shortly coming when a smile from God's face will be infinitely better than all the applause of men: how sweet will that word be, ‘Well done, thou good and faithful servant." - Thomas Watson.

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I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. - Rev 3:18-20. ESV

Yesterday we posed the question of who we would invite to dinner, and we looked at the circumstances surrounding ‘Dining in Laodicea,’ we discovered from this that it was a wealthy City full of influential dignitaries, that were ‘Self-Satisfied from being Lukewarm’ and ‘Self-Sufficient from being Rich.’ From this we deduced that, if we are without Christ, we are destitute in body, mind and soul.

"We are not built for ourselves, but for God. Not for service for God, but for God." - Oswald Chambers.

The conclusion of this study brings us to…

Dining Out of Laodicea
Though they were lukewarm in self-satisfaction and rich in self-sufficiency, Christ calls out to them to let Him in, as He does to you and I... There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. - Rom 8:1.

The Satisfying Sufficiency of Christ
Jesus comes to each of us to show Himself as being sufficient our every need that we might find satisfaction through Him.He advises us all, to buy from Him . . .

• Gold to be rich ... Refined faith in God.
• White garments to be clothed ... Righteousness of Christ.
• Eye salve to be able to see ... Restored vision of Christ as the True One.
  
  

We need to see that without having daily fellowship with Christ we are “…are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.” Christ and Christ alone is our sufficiency now and forever!

The Standing Call of Christ
Christ says He stands and knocks upon the door heart of all who have shut Him out. He desires entrance into our house. But you and I must make the decision to open the door to let Christ in by repenting and leaving our self-satisfied and sufficient lives. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. - Revelation 3:20.

Christ comes to each of us, not to be a snack but to be the full meal for our lives, as He is the bread of life. This reminds us that . . .

• Christ is the solution to our sin.
• Christ offers forgiveness, salvation and life.
• Christ desires fellowship with us.
  
  

In it’s self –sufficient prosperity and worldliness, the Church in Laodicea had excluded the Lord Jesus Christ from it’s congregation. Jesus’ invitation spoken from outside their doors is a request for fellowship with any individual, who will repent of and overcome the spiritual lukewarmness of their lives.

John Fawcett was preparing to move. At age 32, he was leaving the small Baptist church in Wainsgate, England, for the prestigious Carter's Lane church in London. Fawcett had worked hard. Orphaned at 12, he was forced to work fourteen hours a day in a sweat shop. He taught himself to read by candlelight and studied continuously. When he was ordained at age 25, he moved to Wainsgate. For seven years he served the tiny church of 100 members before receiving the invitation in London.

However, Fawcett never moved to London. He couldn't break "the tie that binds." The last possessions were loaded on the moving cart as Fawcett began his good-byes. Tearfully he bade farewell to those he had loved for the past seven years. They returned his tears... and his love. It was too much for the young preacher. London would have to wait. Unloading the cart, he decided to stay in Wainsgate a little longer. Fawcett never moved to London; he never even left Wainsgate. He died there 54 years later.

Fawcett was destined to become one of England's greatest preachers. He wrote hymns, published books and opened a training school for young ministers. His "Essay on Anger" so impressed King George III that he offered Fawcett "any benefit a king could confer." His love for the people and their love for him not only kept him in Wainsgate, but it also prompted the writing of a hymn containing these words:

Blest be the tie that binds
Our hearts in Christian love;
The fellowship of kindred minds
Is like to that above.

Everyday we hunger and thirst, for what? We need to revive our hunger and thirst for Christ and His righteousness. We need to open the door and invite Him to dine with us and us with Him! He is knocking! He is calling! Who will let Him in?

Who will accept His invitation to dinner?

Loving Father, help me by the power of the Holy Spirit to hunger and thirst after my Lord and Saviour , Jesus! Help me Lord, not to become complacent, but to open the door of my heart and let Jesus come in and dine with me, I ask this in His mighty name! Amen!

GBYAY