Door, 7of7

~ 3 Functions of Doors ~

Doors do three primary things—admit some, protect some, and exclude some.  

Admit  ~  Jesus said, “I am the door.  If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture” (John 10:9).  “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:14-16).

Protect  ~  “Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).  “What then shall we say to these things?  If God is for us, who can be against us?  He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?  Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies.  Who is he who condemns?  It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?  As it is written: ‘For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.’  Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.  For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:31-39). 

Exclude  ~  Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.  Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’  And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Matthew 7:21-23).

Summary  ~  A man can choose to go to hell in his own way (there are numerous doors)—but to go to heaven he must choose to go God’s way—through Jesus Christ (the one and only Door). 

Closing Comments  ~  First, the Door we have been describing through seven posts is not an ordinary door made of wood or iron, but a living person!

Second, the Biblical sheepfold was a circular enclosure with an opening on only one side.

Third, in Biblical times the shepherd would lie down at night with his body across the opening. 

Fourth, for an intruder to reach the sheep in the fold he would have to first pass over the body of the every watchful shepherd.

Finally, the safety of the sheep within the fold is assured by the presence of the shepherd who is guarding them with his life. 

The above being true how much safer are Christians with a divine rather than human shepherd! 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

NOTES:

(1)     The current TOP 10 ALN posts are listed at the very bottom of this home page.

(2)     There is an INDEX of all ALN posts accessed by scrolling down the left column.

(3)     You may LINK to any ALN posts on your own blog or website. 

(4)     You may COPY any ALN post, but please credit ALN as the source by prominently displaying the following statement:  Reprinted from “Abundant Life Now,” a free blog which offers inspiring moments, thought-provoking comments, and solid Biblical insight at http://RobertLloydRussell.blogspot.com/ .

Gold Alphabet

~ C.H. Spurgeon’s Comments Regarding Psalm 119 ~

Introduction  ~  Those who are familiar with Psalm 119 understand that it is composed of 22 divisions of eight verses each for a total of 176 verses—making it the longest chapter in the Bible.  Each of those 22 divisions begin sequentially with the next letter of the Hebrew Alphabet (ALEPH, BETH, GIMEL, DALETH, HE, VAU…).  In Germany this psalm has been known in as The Golden ABCs of the Word of God. 

Personal Note  ~  Soon after I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior Charles Haddon Spurgeon became one of my favorite Christian leaders of the past.  There are many wonderful accounts of his preaching to literally thousands before the time of microphones or amplifiers.  My maternal grandmother heard him speak.  Below I have reproduced one of his messages with some modifications to make it more readable in contemporary English.

Spurgeon Still Speaks  ~  This psalm is a wonderful composition.  Its many expressions are as many as the waves, its overall testimony is one like the ocean.  The psalm deals with one subject.  While it contains many verses, its one hundred and seventy-six stanzas provide the same core thought.  However, it is not repetitive since there is always a shade of difference, even when the overall thought appears to be the same.  Some have said that in it there is an absence of variety—but that is merely the observation of those who have not studied it.  I have weighed each word, and looked at each syllable with lengthened meditation; and I consider this sacred song to be charmingly varied from beginning to end.  Its variety is that of a kaleidoscope: from a few objects innumerable permutations and combinations are produced.  In the kaleidoscope you look once, and there is a strangely beautiful form you shift the glass a very little, and another shape, equally delicate and beautiful, is before your eyes.  So it is here.  What you see is the same, and yet never the same.  It is always the same truth, but always in new light, put in a new connection, or in some way or other invested with freshness.

I do not believe that any subject other than a heavenly one would have allowed of such a psalm being written about.  The themes of this world are narrow and shallow.  Neither could such a handling have been given even to a sacred subject by any mind less than the divine.  Inspiration alone can account for the fullness and freshness of this psalm.

The best compositions of men are soon exhausted; they are merely cisterns, and not ever springing fountains.  You enjoy them very much at the first acquaintance, and you think you could hear them a hundred times over; but you could not: you soon find them wearisome.  Very soon a man eats too much honey: even children at length are cloyed with sweets.  All human books grow stale after a time; but with the Word of God the desire to study it increases, while the more you know of it the less you think you know.  The Book grows upon you: as you dive into its depths you have a fuller perception of the infinity which remains unexplored.  You are still longing to enjoy more of that which it is you’re a great blessing to taste.  All this is true even of the psalm which is in itself nothing more than the eulogy of the divine testimony.

This wonderful psalm, from its great length, helps us to wonder at the immensity of Scripture.  From its keeping to the same subject it helps us to adore the unity of Scripture, for it is but one.  Yet, from the many turns it gives to its one thought, it helps us to see the variety of Scripture.  How manifold are the words and thoughts of God.  In His Word, just as in creation, the wonders of His skill are displayed in many ways.

I admire in this psalm the singular commingling of testimony, prayer, and praise.  In one verse the Psalmist bears witness; in a second verse he praises; in a third verse he prays.  It is an incense made up of many spices; but they are wonderfully compounded and worked together, so as to form one perfect sweetness.  The blending greatly increases the value of the whole.  You would not like to have one-third of the psalm composed of prayer—marked up to the sixtieth verse, for instance; and then another part made up exclusively of praise; and yet a third portion of unmixed testimony.  It is best to have all these divinely-sweet ingredients intermixed, and wrought into a sacred unity, as you have them in this thrice-hallowed psalm.  Its prayers bear testimony, and its testimonies are fragrant with praise.

Mr. Charles Bridges has written upon this psalm a peculiarly delightful work.  I do not seek to rival him; but I would attempt the edification of the Lord’s people in the same way as he has done, for he has made no effort to display learning, but has aimed at promoting devotion.  Several notable authors traversed this heavenly country before Mr. Bridges, and I am one of those who follow after him: the succession will not end till the Lord comes.

I commend my labor to my Lord’s acceptance, and pray that his Holy Spirit may make these praises of Holy Scripture to ring as sweet bells in the ears of his own people evermore.

~ Dear Reader, pray for Thy brother in Christ, C. H. Spurgeon, Westwood, July 1887.

Reference  ~  One of the places this CHS sermon is found is in his seven volume “Treasury of David.”

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

NOTES:

(1)     The current TOP 10 ALN posts are listed at the very bottom of this home page.

(2)     There is an INDEX of all ALN posts accessed by scrolling down the left column.

(3)     You may LINK to any ALN posts on your own blog or website. 

(4)     You may COPY any ALN post, but please credit ALN as the source by prominently displaying the following statement:  Reprinted from “Abundant Life Now,” a free blog which offers inspiring moments, thought-provoking comments, and solid Biblical insight at http://RobertLloydRussell.blogspot.com/ .

Identity in Christ, 83

~ I Have Direct Access To God, 2 ~

Introduction  ~  When Christians understand the various characteristics and aspects of the birthright which came with their second birth, they comprehend their identity in Christ.  Once Christians understand their identity, their destiny is also clear!  This series of “Abundant Life Now” posts will look at one of those facets each week. 

This Week’s Verse  ~  “According to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him” (Ephesians 3:11-12).

~~~ EXPLANATORY “IDENTITY IN CHRIST” NOTES ~~~  

(1)  Each Monday ALN posts an example of Scripture’s description of aspects/characteristics of Christians—those who have personally trusted in Jesus Christ, The Messiah, as their personal Savior.

(2)  This series is not intended to be an exhaustive list.

(3)  God the Father described Himself to Moses as the great “I AM” (Exodus 3:14).  God the Son also said “I AM” (John 8:58). 

(4)  Jesus Christ is the Son of God and several times in the Gospel of John He refers to Himself as “I am.”  “I am the Bread of Life” (6:35-51), “I am the Light of the World” (8:12, 9:5), “I am the Door” (10:7-9), “I am the Good Shepherd” (10:11-14), “I am the Son of God” (10:36), “I am the Resurrection and the Life” (11:25), “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (14:6), “I am in the Father, and the Father in Me … Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me” (John 14:10-11), and “I am the True Vine” (15:1-5). 

(5)  Individual Christians are also sons and daughters of God.  This series will show some of the various “I am” aspects of a Christian. 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

NOTES:

(1)     The current TOP 10 ALN posts are listed at the very bottom of this home page.

(2)     There is an INDEX of all ALN posts accessed by scrolling down the left column.

(3)     You may LINK to any ALN posts on your own blog or website. 

(4)     You may COPY any ALN post, but please credit ALN as the source by prominently displaying the following statement:  Reprinted from “Abundant Life Now,” a free blog which offers inspiring moments, thought-provoking comments, and solid Biblical insight at http://RobertLloydRussell.blogspot.com/ .