The Goodness of Your Creator - The Church That Jesus Detests: Part 4 - Revelation 3: 20

1:31Next, in verses 17 through 19, we looked at his ministry as the faithful and true witness. As such, Jesus speaks the truth. Look at verse 17. Because you say, I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing, and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. Because he is the faithful and true witness, he speaks truth, but also his counsel is reliable, faithful. Verse 18, I advise you, I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourselves, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed, and I salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.

2:23So he speaks truth. His counsel is reliable. And as the faithful and true witness, it's clear that his motive is love. Verse 19, those whom I love, I reprove and discipline. Therefore, be zealous and repent. Now, as we look at verse 20, we're reminded that Jesus is Creator God. He is the Creator. He's already shown us the witness in verse 14 as the amen, the faithful and true witness. But now we're going to. See this ministry as the beginning of the creation of God. He is the one who begins the creation of God, so guess what? He's going to be the one who completes the creation of God. He is the creator God. And this expression, the beginning of the creation of God, is nothing short of his claim to creator deity.

3:28Now, there are some who would look at this expression and say, you know, Jesus is just saying he's the first one created. Well, that's not the case. The word here means source of creation, the beginning, the source of, or the ruler of creation. So it's clear that even this grammar and the meaning of the word does not support this. But also, the rest of Revelation doesn't support the idea that he is a mere creation of God for several reasons. We've already looked in verse 118. There is the idea of eternality, that Christ is eternal, he is the living one. In 2.8, he refers to himself as the first and last.

4:19But even beyond the expressions of eternality, which can only be God, the only one who's eternal is God. Everyone else is created. But more than that, he is worshipped as God. And he is the one who is at the center of God's throne. In 5:13, it says this, and every created being which is in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, To him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever. Notice how every created thing is bowing down to worship him, he cannot be created and at the same time bowing down to worship himself. Clearly, he is the lamb sitting on the throne, getting all the full worship of all of heaven, all of creation. And then in Revelation 7:17, it says this: For the Lamb is in the center of the throne. The Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd. He will guide them to springs of water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. The Lamb at the center of the throne. This is not some gloss to some mere created being. This is God Himself, the Lamb, at the center of the throne, the one whom all heaven, all creation worships. This is God Himself, the Lord. This is Creator God. This is your Creator God. That's what I want you to see this morning.

6:08What difference does it make? What difference does it make if you've got some? Well, okay, I'm just going to sort that. I don't quite know how that. Jesus is certainly a great teacher. He's certainly a profound individual, but Creator God, I don't know if I can really, if my mind really grasps that or believes that. What difference does it make anyway? Well, I can assure you that a low view of Christ always leads to lukewarmness to him. It's the low view of Christ that leads to a lack of loyalty to him. It's the low view of Christ that leads to a low view of God. And this is what happened at Laodicea.

6:54Great danger in making him or reducing him to someone less than he is. As one commentator said it, doctrinal defection and moral laxity go hand in hand. That's an appropriate statement. But the right view of Christ is that he is creator God. And our text today provides really a unique and breathtaking view of our Creator God. You know, One of the things I've shared with you many times, my joy of growing up in the mountains of northern New Mexico, loving the scenery. I loved the beautiful sunrises. I loved the scenes of majestic waterfalls. I love many of the vistas that northern New Mexico provides for you just to go out and stand and just take in just the vast beauty of God's creation. And I am moved. And I know many of you, of you, have taken in something so spectacular that your eyes can't even take it in. And you're moved by just the beauty of the creation around you. And you see the awesomeness and the glory and the goodness of your Creator. I know there are many places up there where I can pull off the road. Even the highway department knows, you know, you need, this is so spectacular that we really need to create a little pull-out so you can pull off because people are going to be stopping here just to take it in.

8:38Well, I wish I could take you to some of those places this morning, just transport us and show you some of the scenes that I've witnessed with my eyes and the beauty of God in creation. I could list off many and give you example after example. But you know, I can do something even better than that this morning. There's something And as much as a beautiful sunrise and a majestic scene raptures the heart, much more when I come to the vistas in Scripture where I can behold my Creator.

9:14And so, what I would like for you to think about this morning is that here we are just pulling off in one of those scriptural vistas where the scripture has just taken us and said, pull over, step out, and behold something beautiful. That's what I want to do this morning. I want to specifically bring to your eyes your Creator, your Creator. I want you to see your Creator's goodness this morning and the glory that it reveals here in this text.

9:48Goodness of your Creator. And the goodness of your Creator is seen in three details in our text that I bring out this morning. Your Creator's goodness is seen, first of all, in where He is and what He is doing. He is, your Creator's goodness is seen in where He stands and what He is doing. Look at that first word back at verse 20: Behold. Behold. That's the pull the car over. Here's a scenic lookout. Behold. Stop. Look.

10:30Behold, there is something wonderful to see. Something here that will captivate your attention, move your heart, something to take in a scenic beauty beyond description. Behold, behold, behold your Creator's goodness. And that's what we're going to do in three details. First, notice where he is and what he is doing. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. I stand at the door and knock. Now, the expression there, I stand, is often translated in the present, I am standing, but it's actually a perfect verb, meaning he is saying, Behold, I have taken my stand.

11:28I am standing. I have taken my position. I am here. This is where I have taken my stand, and we'll go no further. I have taken my stand at the door. I have taken my stand at the door of a closed human heart, of a closed church to him. And what is a church? A bunch of closed hearts. We've seen already in Laodicea. They have a bunch of closed hearts to him. And here he is: Behold, I stand at the door. I have taken my stand at the door.

12:10But notice what he's doing. He is knocking. He is knocking. What is he doing? He is seeking entrance. He is seeking entrance. Have you ever heard of the word to billet or billeting? B-I-L-L-E-T-I-N-G, billeting? It's kind of a word we don't use very much anymore. I guess in military, maybe still use it. But a billet is a living quarters to which a soldier is assigned to sleep. But historically, a billet was typically a private dwelling that was required to accept the soldier. So we, you know, throughout wars, when an army comes in, guess what an army needs? It needs food, a place to sleep.

13:07And so they would bill it. They would take over, well, there's a nice house. You're going to billet these soldiers. You're going to billet the military. This happened in the Civil War, American Civil Wars. This happened in wars all the time. When an occupying army comes in, guess where they stay? They stay in people's houses. That's what it means to bill it. And something happened. In the history of Laodicea, just prior to the time of Christ, they had sided with one of Rome's enemies.

13:44And upon the Romans coming in and pushing the enemies back, the Romans then put a terrible tribute upon, really crippling taxes upon Laodicea. And what they did is they made Laodicians billet the Roman army and Roman statesmen and everybody that would come. It was up to the citizenry of Laodicea to let the Romans stay in their homes. Not something you really wanted to do. They give your house, everything over to a billeting army. But here's Jesus. He's seeking entrance. He's not billeting. Oh, he can knock the door down, but he doesn't. The point is, he has taken his stand, and he's not going to force occupation. And he is knocking on the door. He is seeking entrance.

15:01He wants you to open the door. He wants the people at Laodicea to open the door to him. He respects the boundary of a closed door. It's not the practice of God to force unwilling hearts into a loving relationship with him. In fact, it kind of contradicts the whole nature of a loving relationship. Forcing unwilling hearts would defeat the purpose. If your bride has to come down the aisle to marry you because someone's got a gun to her head or she has to, that's not fun. Nobody wants to enter into a relationship like that. And neither does God.

15:56You know, you cannot make someone your friend that doesn't want to be your friend. Oh, you can guilt trip them into spending time with you. You can guilt trip them. You can overpower them in many ways. You can use them. But you cannot make someone who does not want to be your friend your true friend. It violates the very idea of friendship. No, God does not break down. The door to unwilling hearts. But by his grace, and it is only the work of grace that makes our hearts willing. It is a work of his grace. We'll come in a minute, but first, I want you to see your Creator's goodness is seen in where He stands and in what He is doing. Second, I want you to see His generous invitation to you, His generous invitation to you. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in.

17:12Notice as He's speaking to this church at Laodicea, look back at verse 19. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, therefore be zealous and repent. Notice that the loving reproof and the discipline all have a loving invitation in mind. Those he loves, those he wants a relationship with, he reproves, he disciplines, and he invites, invites. But his look at this generous invitation. Look at its scope. First of all, it's stated to anyone. This is a wide scope. Anyone Now, the question becomes: to whom is this anyone referring? And this is an interpretive issue. I'll have to spend a little time on this one because there's a history with this interpretation, and it really impacts a whole lot how we see Jesus standing here in the message. But you really have three choices: either it's unbelievers, or it's believers, or it's both.

18:38And years ago, the popular interpretation was that it referred to unbelievers. And probably many of you can remember some tracts or something that would use this verse and would say, for evangelistic purposes, here is Christ. He is standing at the door to the unbeliever's heart, and he wants entry. So anyone who opens the door is welcoming him into their lives and are saved. So those who open the door will be saved. The problem with this view is that Jesus is clearly addressing a church.

19:19So many started downplaying this interpretation and even saying, those who use It in an evangelistic context really don't know what they're doing, not very good exegetes. Many of you may know what I'm talking about. More recently, there's been somewhat of a pendulum shift, a swift shift. And the idea here is: since Jesus is addressing the church, he must be referring to believers. If so, Jesus, who was once on the inside, is now on the outside due to apathetic, neglectful, lukewarmness, or backslidden, a backslider position.

20:20And so, opening the door is really speaking about a rekindling of fervent fellowship with him. And this is going to remedy that whole lukewarm situation. The problem with this view is that it assumes the church is filled with believers. And that's very difficult in light of what he has just said. In verse 17, you do not know that you are wretched, the wretched one, really among the seven, that you are the wretched one, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.

21:00This is not how the Bible describes believers. In fact, even Sardis, there was a ray of hope that there is a remnant. There is nothing here that is commended to this church in Laodicea. And even in verse 16, I will spit you out of my mouth. The idea is that Jesus is saying, I do not like the spiritual flavor of this church. I am going to spit you out in judgment. You leave a very bad taste in my mouth. That, too, is not a good description of a believer.

21:43No. If believers, you think about where this could take you. And by the way, this is the more popular view today, many. But if you think about this, if you can be wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked, and still be assured of heaven, it takes you into, well, a kind of an easy beliefism, kind of into even universalism. But question, which one's better? Or both. Both. There's always that middle position. Well, I think. He's speaking about unbelievers. And I know that kind of harkens back to maybe a little bit older interpretation.

22:40But I want to make a couple of clarifications why I think that. I think he's speaking to unbelievers, whether they're inside the church or outside the church. First line, he's talking to people inside the church. It's very clearly, he is, it's clear that he's addressing a church of professing Christians. But in reality, they are unbelievers. What makes a church go cold or what makes a church lukewarm? You don't have real believers. A church is a collection of people. And when Christ is put on the outside, that is not a good depiction for the church. That means he's not on the inside of very many, if any, people at all in the church.

23:27They're unbelievers. They had rejected the Christ revealed in Scripture for one of their own politically correct Christs, or I should say, worldly correct Christ that allowed them to pursue the desires of their heart. So, first and foremost, I believe he is speaking to unbelievers and unbelievers who profess Christ. I think that's where you first is where he's going. And this has application, certainly to us. You know, many of us grow up in church, don't we? Kids, listen to me. Adults, listen to me.

24:17You're here this morning. Some of you may have been professing Christ a long time, but going to church doesn't make you a Christian. Going to church doesn't necessarily mean you've opened your heart to Christ. Maybe you have, you're here because your parents bring you, but you have never really opened your heart to Christ. You have Christ on the outside of your life. And he has taken his stand and he wants to be in your life. Maybe you've been alive and part of the church for many years. In fact, maybe you're an upstanding husband or an upstanding wife or you've been, and yet really, deep down, you are separated from him. You profess Christ, but you have denied his name. This was the church of Laodicea. And they thought, I am rich. I am full. And for some people, it's like if you've walked and lived up and grown up in a church, it's very hard to recognize. Repent, because then you have to then say, I never was a believer, and to the shock of everybody around you.

25:41I'm embarrassed to say that everybody thinks I'm a believer, and yet, deep down, I know I would just say to you, open the door, let him in, and dine with him, and let him take you where he wants to take you. But first and foremost, there are unbelievers who are professing Christians. Second clarification I would make is grammatically, we're not talking about unbelievers, believers, so much as being connected to the word the wretched one. Verse 17, you are wretched. You are the wretched church among the seven.

26:19So he is standing at the door of the wretched one. Think about, behold, take in the goodness of God. Take in the goodness of your God. Here he is standing at the door of the wretched one, seeking entry. He is the wretched one. He is standing at the door of the wretched one, knocking on the door. He is the glorious one. So, as such, you can see there are, what is the wretched condition? Well, the wretched condition is. Anyone who is content with their Creator on the outside, whether it be a church or whether it be an individual, that's the wretched condition, contentment.

27:12So Jesus is saying these things to anyone. Notice that. Notice the scope. Notice the third clarification, I would say. He's talking to unbelievers. He's talking to unbelievers in the church first and foremost. He's speaking to them as the wretched one, that he stands as a wretch. But third, notice he broadens the scope. Notice how this scope broadens anyone. Behold, anyone. And I believe this includes unbelievers outside the church. I don't think he has just said, behold, I stand at the door to the unbelievers inside the church.

27:58He's standing at the door to anyone. That is a very global, all-encompassing term. And I see no reason to limit anyone to just unbelievers in the church and not including those in society. Though primarily he is speaking to those unbelievers who profess Christ. And if that's you today, oh, open the door, come out of the Wretched position. Well, Jesus is saying these things clearly to anyone who sees themselves as wretched, and that can include a lot of us. So there are certainly implications for both views.

28:51And we're still friends if you want to understand this differently. But certainly we can say there are implications. And the wretched condition is contentment with Jesus on the outside of your life. There's something fundamentally wrong with those who will not let their Creator into their life. That is a wretched condition. Your Creator made you. He loves you. He puts you where he did, when he did, because he wants a relationship with you. He is generous. This is, he doesn't blast this church out. He doesn't spit them out, but he comes to reprove, to discipline, because he has an invitation.

29:45But notice the human response. The response that Jesus awaits is seen in two verbs: to hear Christ's voice and to open. Their hearts to him. Now, the word hear, hears, you look at verse 20, the most important command given to Israel was to hear, to hear Jesus, I mean, to hear God's voice, to hear his word. Hear, O Israel, Deuteronomy 6, 3, you should listen and be careful to do. Verse 4, hear, O Israel, most important thing. And Jesus goes on to also stress the same point. Remember the parables of the soils, Mark 4, 24, and he was saying to them, Take care what you listen to. By your standard of measure, it will be measured to you, and more will be given you besides.

30:52Hear. Pay attention to what you're listening to. What are you letting in? But it's clear that the human response, Jesus has taken his stand at the door. He's knocking, seeking entry, but he's not going to come in and bill it. He's not going to knock it down. He's waiting for an answer. And the one who answers is first the one who hears the sound of him. I love the way the Greek words, it's not just, here's my voice, it's the sound of me, the one who hears the sound of me.

31:30My voice is certainly adequate, good translation. But here's the idea: it's hear the sound of him. First, you've got to recognize who's at the door, who is this? It's your creator. The beginning of the creation of God, Christ is at the door, and Christ, the Nazarene, this one, he has come. He seeks entry. He wants entry into your life today for the first time, or even in a more fuller sense than ever before. He is seeking to commune deeper.

32:12But you have to listen to what he says. You have to hear his sound and listen to what he's saying. That's how you respond. Obey what he's saying. And how you respond plays a role in how he completes the creation of God. Are you going to be one who lets him in, or are you going to be one that leaves him out? And this plays a role in how he completes the creation of God. So must hear. Human response is to hear. Human response is to open. To open. And this is an expression of faith. To open is to let in.

32:58That willful decision. To open, that I hear, I hear, I know who's out there, I know who he is, I know what he's seeking, and I want that. I want him to come in, and I open the door. Even if it's subtle, and sometimes I can't remember the time when I made a willful decision to, some people, their testimony, I remember making a willful decision. Lord, yes, I want you into my life. Finally, I get it. Finally. And there are many people whose testimony is like that. There are some that are like, you know, I can't really remember the exact time, place, but this doesn't mean there wasn't a decision. At some point, even if you can't remember, there was an inclination to say, yes, Lord, I see the goodness of you in so many places. I see it in my parents. I see it here. Of course, I want you.

34:02And maybe there isn't even a cognizant, conscious decision, but there is one. There is a letting him in. Likewise, hardening works the same way. Some people say, well, I'm a sinner. I was made this way, so I sin. And it's God's fault or God's creation, so I sin. I do the things I want to do because God made me this way. No, hardening takes me. The same way. Even if a person doesn't really remember when they turned and walked away from God, it may have started subtly. No, I don't want to go down that way. No, I don't like that. No, I don't like that authority over you. No, I don't. And there begins to be a subtle hardening.

34:48You know, there are some, and it's interesting I hear sometimes around town about what I believe. And some people seem to want to put words in my mouth sometimes. And it's interesting the different theological ideas that I teach here, even though I never knew I did. And some, and this is one that kind of floats around and comes around, some say, I do not believe people play a role in salvation. That I do not believe people play a role in salvation. And the thought is, okay, well, you just, you know, I have a high view of God's sovereignty and salvation, and therefore you just don't do anything, and boom, you can't play a role.

35:41Well, let me tell you this: whoever suggests that, I just want to tell you a couple things. Number one, either they don't understand Protestant theology. Protestant theology begins with the idea that salvation is by grace alone. Through faith alone. Where there is no faith, there is no salvation. By grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone, so says Scripture alone. That is basic Protestant theology. So, if you ever hear someone say that or attribute that to us, they don't really understand Protestant theology at best. Or they don't understand us at best. Let me read to you something from our doctrinal statement.

36:36We believe sovereign election does not contradict or negate the responsibility of man to repent and trust Christ as Savior and Lord, and that salvation does not take place without a willful decision by the recipient of salvation. Such a statement does not reduce salvation to mere decisionism. You can only come to Christ when He calls you. It is He who is drawn near. It is He who has taken the stand. It is He who is seeking entry. That is grace alone.

37:19The cause. Yes, the rebirth. Cause, what happens when a we've just been talking about this, when somebody is giving Birth, guess what's happening at the same time? Someone is being born. Someone is being born. And so you cannot separate God's regenerating work from faith. That's why the Protestant theology, the reformers, never separated. It's through grace alone, through faith alone. And when you don't have those, there is both. No, a person will not ever be able to find the cause of someone's damnation in the unelect status of God, but in the willful suppression of the truth.

38:12You see, the source of saving faith is not the fallen human heart, it takes a work of grace. But certainly, it's to bring about faith. And what does faith do? It desires, going back to the idea that what does grace do in our life? It makes an unwilling, a dead heart willing to the things of God. It opens the heart, it expands the mind, it makes us thirst for things that we would never thirst for. That's the work of grace. But it never happens without a person exercising faith. In fact, I have devoted my entire life to calling forth. Expressions of faith, to lay the truth of God before you, and then calling you to put your faith in it, to respond, to choose to believe, to choose to come. This is what faith is about.

39:16Our young adults are studying the book of Mark. What is faith? It's about hearing who God is, it is about hearing who Christ is and saying in your heart, I will go to Him as such. That's what faith is. But clearly, in this context that we're here, the responsibility is upon the wretched to hear and to open. And yet it is not without a work of grace, Christ even being there in the first place. The responsibility of man is to hear and to open. That's the welcoming in. That is what faith looks like.

40:03But then the question really gets practical. What does his voice sound like? What does his voice sound like? I mean, are we waiting around for Jesus? He's seated at the right hand of the throne of fathers. He's not walking around Galilee, he's not coming up to like he did Peter and John and James on the come, follow me. We don't hear his audible voice. So, then what does it sound like? Well, let me tell you, he uses means to communicate his grace to you. He uses means. What are some of those means? Well, sometimes he uses parents to speak to you and lay before you the things of God.

40:51Sometimes he uses friends. Sometimes he uses his Bible, just use in your own personal time with the Bible. Sometimes he uses all sorts of means to make himself known. That's what the call, all kinds of means, to draw near, to communicate to you, to impress upon your soul, your Creator has an interest in you. And you know what? He will even use a silly little preacher standing up in a pulpit who only puts a tie on for the most part when he's standing up here.

41:30He will stand up here and he'll tell you things like, Your Creator loves you. Your Creator is interested in you. He is at the door of your life and he wants you to let him in. That's what the call sounds like. And he is calling some of you this morning to open the door and let him in. Will you? All kinds of means. See to it that. You do not turn him away. So, your Creator's goodness is seen in where he stands and what he is doing.

42:11Second, your Creator's goodness is seen in His generous invitation to you. This invitation includes you. And third, your Creator's goodness is seen, oops, is seen in His desire for fellowship with you. Not only His generous invitation to you, but His desire for fellowship with you. I don't care who you are. Behold, let's take in this scene. 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. Behold, take this in. I will enter. Two verbs, two future verbs that really relate to promises. I will come in.

43:19I will dine with him. One speaks of entry, the other speaks of fellowship. The one who opens the door, I will come. In the one who has taken his stand and will go no further upon opening the door comes in. There's movement. Movement from the outside to the inside. An entry with joy. The idea is: open the door. Great. That's why I came here, so that you would open the door. An entry, an entry to share, an entry to have joy with. There's a joy in the entry on his part.

44:03Second verb speaks of fellowship, and we'll dine with him. And we'll dine with him. And this is the idea: I will take the main meal of the day with him. I will take the main meal. The main meal, this is after work is done, and what would happen is people would sit around. It was a leisure time. It was not a hurried time. It was a time to process the day, a time to think ahead, a time to plan, a time to talk about all sorts of things. It was a time of conversation, a time of wholesale, you know, wholesome conversation. It was a time to discuss issues of the heart. Sometimes laughter was heard, counsel was given, it's time for solving problems, all that. It was. That leisurely time.

45:03But it speaks of personal fellowship. And I love what it says here. There's an active fellowship on both sides. Notice, and we'll dine with him. I will take the choicest part, the choicest part of life, the best part of the day with him, and he with me. I will dine with him and he with me. Notice the two motions: active fellowship on both sides, a close fellowship. First, let's look at, notice how he will dine with you. Your creator's goodness is seen in the fact that he will dine with you. You are the host, he is the guest, he will dine with you, and he actively fellowships with us in our happenings. He meets us where we're at. He wants to know what's on your mind, what's on your heart, what your desires are, what your dreams are. He wants to share your life.

46:14He wants to be involved with us in all the issues of life that we face and that are important to us. That's his desire. Do you see your creator's goodness here? He wants to know you. But then there's a second notion. Look at this. And he with me. I will dine with him, and he will dine with me. This scenario, he is the host. You are the guest. We fellowship with him in his happenings. Not only does he meet us where we are, he wants us to meet him where he is.

47:05Remember, you read through the Old Testament, it was always an honor to dine at the king's table. Today is. If you dine at the king's table, what an honor, what a privilege to dine at his table. And this expression has implications for this life, but also for what's ahead. In this life, you can think of it, him dining with us and we with him. There is a solidarity or a companionship that he has with us in his program, in the plan and purpose of Christ, that he has for us.

47:48You know, there's so much more to living than just our worldly interests. We have a very small view of the world, a very small view. He has a very large view, and he wants us to. Step into his plan and his program. He wants to share with us the things that are very important to him. And this is what makes life all of a sudden get very large. But there's coming a time when we cannot experience the walking through this world with him and working in this world with him. It's coming a time when that comes to an end. In fact, John 9:4, Jesus says this, We must work the works of him who sent me as long as it is day. Night is coming when no one can work. At night, no one can work. The day's work is over.

48:45So now, use this life to welcome him in. Open the door. Let him come in. You share your life with him and you let him share his life with you, his program, his purpose. Work with him. So this idea of us, of him dining with us and we with him has implications for this life, but it also has implications in the future. Revelation 19, 9 says this, write, blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. These are the true words of God.

49:25Table fellowship, a great supper. He's spoken a lot about this in his Earthly ministry, a time of dining where people from the east and west, those of the household of faith, will come and sit down with Abraham, the kingdom of God, and join in this celebration, table fellowship, not just now, but in eternity. And the point of all this, why does he come? Why does he knock? Why does he seek entrance? Why? He doesn't just pity you, he delights in you, he loves you.

50:06This is your Creator's goodness that I want you to behold this morning. He delights in you. You know, as I look at this, it ought to be the other way around. We ought to be knocking on his door. We ought to be venturing up there and knocking on his door. Let us in, but it's him coming to us, seeking entrance into our lives. It ought to be the other way around. And it's the door of the wretched, the one who's completely undeserving. There is anybody that thinks like that.

50:44He comes to knock at the door of the wretched because he wants them, a relationship with them. He'll do whatever is necessary to make that relationship happen in a righteous manner. Well, your Creator's goodness is seen in where he stands and what he is doing, his generous invitation to you, his desire for fellowship with you. I hope this morning that as we just have taken this vista, that you really see the reality of your Creator and the way He sees you.

51:29I remember when these truths first started becoming real to me. Early high school, it was like the first opening of a baby's eyes. I started to understand the world around me. I started to understand the God who created me. And guess what? Nearly four decades later, I'm still talking about it. I'm still talking about it. He wants entry. He really, really does. And his desire for you and relationship with you is so extravagant. You know, one of my favorite days of the week is Garbage Day. I don't know how many of you love Garbage Day or Trash Day. I mean, all my kids probably don't. You've got to take the trash out. But what happens garbage day? Day, you get rid of all that junk, all those old banana peels, all that stinking, rotten stuff in the trash. You get to take it out. And at my house, there's a lot, I can assure you. We have all kinds of smelly stuff that has to go. We host a lot, and there's a lot that goes out.

52:48But as I, you know, what happens to us as we go through life? Guilt starts piling in, shame, all kinds of regrets, all kinds of sorrow, all kinds of grudges, all kinds of self-justifying arguments. We have to go down a road of defending ourselves, and then we come up with these sophisticated blame strategies to blame others, blame God. All that is trash. All that is trash. And as the Lamb of God, guess what he does? He takes it out.

53:28He takes all that garbage out. But he's more than just the Lamb of God. He's the King. He's the Shepherd of our souls. He's the Shepherd and the Lamb. At the same time, He's the Friend. He puts in us a new principle. He guides us in the way we should go. That's your Creator's goodness. What's a desire with you? Look quickly at verse 21. Your Creator's goodness is also seen in his goal. Verse 21: He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with me on my throne, as I overcame and sat down with my father on his throne. You know what he wants? He wants you to overcome all obstacles, all hindrances, to an unbridled fellowship with him. Why does he want that?

54:36He wants you to reign with him. You see, table fellowship turns into throne fellowship. These words are extravagant. Sit down with me on my throne. You're going to have to come back. I want to spend some time looking at his throne theology next time. Two weeks. But I want to just ask you: what keeps you from opening the door to him? Move from being reluctant. Quickly open the door to him. He is here this morning, wanting entrance. You should say to him, Come in. Thank you. Thank you. Remember, Zacchaeus? Thank you for coming to my house. Open. Come in.

55:35You're welcome here. And not just in my kitchen and not just in my dining room, but everywhere. You are welcome here. Let him in. Let them in. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your goodness to us. We thank you for the truth of your word. Father, help us in your grace to open the door. Give us understanding. Change our hardened wills. Father, we're dependent upon your grace to do a work of grace in us so that we would even come. Help us, this Father, today to open our hearts. And Father, this day we take this word, we open our hearts, and we ask you to come in and have your way with us. In Jesus' name, amen.