11.07.13_ Daily Devotion “The Joy of Achieving Spiritual Maturity” Revelation 4:1 “After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.” By Dr. M.H. Salahshurian, Ph. D Such blessed privilege, and such state of spiritual vision stated by our text above, can only be achieved through spiritual maturity and higher practice of personal character. Here in Revelation 4:1, it seems our Lord is giving the Apostle John a glimpse of heaven before He reveals to him all the upcoming events which will be taking place in the following chapters of the Book of Revelation. As believers, before we experience such eternal, perpetual, communion with Him, round about His Throne for the eternity, we too are given a glimpse of such blessed privilege. The Lords Supper is the great example of such communion with the Lord, as He expressed in: Matthew 26:26-29. “ And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Fathers kingdom.” The Lord Himself, again, He alluded to such truth in: Luke 14:14-24. “And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just. And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.” Those who gave the Lord all those lame excuses-- if only they knew how much they had short-changed themselves of having the blessed communion with the Lord for the eternity! It seems the group listed above, in Luke 14:14-24, are what todays lukewarm Laodicean Churches represent! In Revelation 3:14-19, after a sharp rebuke, in V-20 Jesus reasoned with them by saying, in order to have an eternal communion and fellowship with Him in heaven, they need to start here on earth. Is it possible that, they DID NOT have Him in their hearts, so they did not want Him in their midst! Revelation 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” theswordandshield
Posted on: Thu, 07 Nov 2013 08:03:08 +0000
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