<TITLE>03. Par 10-13</TITLE>L-10 Now, before approaching the Word... Well, let's just have another word of prayer. Lord God, this is Your Word that we're approaching. No man, no matter how well prepared he is, he's altogether insufficient to handle the Word of God, for It is of no private interpretation, as we're read in the Scriptures. But it has been revealed by the Holy Spirit. And we would ask that the Holy Spirit would come tonight and interpret the Word that we shall read. Sink the seed deep into the hearts of the people. And that we might speak the right thing and hear the right thing, that God would be glorified. For we ask it in the Name of His Son, the Lord Jesus. Amen.

L-11 I wish to read from Revelations tonight, the 3rd chapter and the 20th verse. And this is addressed to the church age that we are now living, the Laodicean church age. And if many of you who... When you go home, I wished you'd just read that chapter through. But I wish to read for a text the 20th verse.
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: and if any man will hear my voice, and will open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
This is an unusual text. It gives us a picture of someone knocking at a door. I can't think just now who the artist was, that spent a lifetime painting that picture of Christ knocking at the door. But after the picture was painted... You know, any famous picture has to go through the hall of critics before it can go in the hall of fame.
That's the way the church is. The church, first, has to go through the hall of critics, before it can be taken in the rapture and put in the hall of God's fame. All that lives godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. So you see, you've got to be criticized; you've got to be made fun of. There's no other way around it.

L-12 So this great artist, when he had painted this picture, and it was going through the critics. One critic, he said, "Sir, your picture is a wonderful picture, but there's one thing that you forgot in painting your picture".
And the artist said, "Sir, what have I forgotten?"
He said, "You've got Christ painted. His picture--His portrait looks very fine, and the building looks like someone's home, but there is no latch on the door. So He's knocking on a door that doesn't have a latch."
And the artist said, "Oh, no, sir, you see in this case the latch is on the inside."
And that is true. The latch is on the inside of your heart. It don't matter how much you see, or how much you say you believe, how religious you are, you must open your heart to receive Him. No one could open it for you. Your priest cannot, your pastor cannot, your mother or your daddy cannot, your sisters or brother cannot; you have to do that alone.

L-13 And in this text tonight, it is addressing the Laodicean church age, which is the last church age. And did you notice according to Scripture... This might not agree with many people's theology, and that's all right; I could be wrong. Many times I'm wrong, no doubt. But just as what I believe--that the last church age, we're now living in it.
If you'll watch how--how the church ages come. One was a bright one, the other a little farther, a little darker, then the fifteen hundred years of dark ages, then Luther, then Wesley, then Pentecost.
And He was standing in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, which represented the seven church ages, with His hands out, and to look upon as Alpha and Omega, first and last. The highest candlestick was the darkest, of course. And in this last church age, is supposed to receive the same light that they had in the first--alpha to omega. But the pitiful part, in the Scriptures we are learned here that he said, "Because you say, I am rich and am increased in goods..." You see the condition of the church today?


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