and he was excited because he was asked to be one of the speakers!
The week before I had witnessed him quietly
studying
reading
typing
notes for his exhortation
His theme:
"Standing at the door"
His text:
Rev 3:20 (NIV)- Here I am! 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.
His message:
He started by explaining that God wanting to "eat with us" is not literal
(He's not standing there with a box of chicken)
It simply means that God wants to
fellowship
talk
have a relationship
with each of us
but He cannot do that unless we let Him into our hearts
so he asked them...
"Can you open a locked door without a key?"
and before allowing anyone to answer the question,
he conducted an experiment to find the answer...
His experiment:
Two volunteers were chosen from the audience
The first child went into the bathroom and locked the door while
The second child stood outside the door and tried to open it
Of course it didn't open...
so he instructed the child inside to "unlock the door"
allowing the other child to turn the knob and open the door
which led him to his main point...
Each of us has a lock on the door to our hearts
and it is only us who can unlock it to let God in!
The lock is on the inside
and in order to have a relationship with God
we must first unlock our hearts because He will NOT force His way in
But our responsibility doesn't end there...
His example:
"During the summer I go outside to play, but sometimes I don't have my key to get back
into the house. I knock for my sister to let me in, but if she is has on her headphones,
she can't hear me so our Grammie has to come downstairs and ask...
'Can you hear your brother knocking?
Take off your headphones. He's at the door'
That's how it is sometimes in the world"
His final thought:
There are so many distractions in this world that sometimes others
do not realize that God is knocking at their door, so we must tell them!
It is our responsibility to...
1. First unlock the door to our own heart
2. Then help someone else unlock the door to their heart
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Meditation Monday
Take off your headphones and ask...
What is the condition of my heart? Locked or unlocked?
Is God knocking at the door?
Will I /have I let Him in?
If not, what is distracting me?
Great word and great illustration for the kids :)
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