<TITLE>07. Par 23-25</TITLE>L-23 Therefore, this Word tonight is a pardon to everyone that will receive It. But if you do not want to receive it, it is not a pardon. "Behold I stand at the door and knock: if any man will hear My voice and open unto Me, I'll come into him." What an invitation.
There is a famous painting. I forget the Greek artist that painted it. Many of you might know the artist's name. But he'd spent a lifetime painting the picture of Christ at the door knocking. And when...
All great pictures before they could be famous pictures, they had to pass the critics. And when the critics was criticizing or trying to find something to criticize the picture, one critic said to him, "Sir, your painting is a great painting. It shows that Christ has the light in His hand, as He comes in darkness to the sinner. He's coming at nighttime; there's nothing I could say about that. For that's when He comes to a man, is when he's in darkness. And the expression on His face as He knocks at the door with a expectation of hearing someone on the inside respond to His voice or His knock..." And said, "It's all beautifully drawn and illustrated here." But said, "There's one thing that I must say that you forgot." He said, "How would He be able to enter? You have no latch on the door."
And the painter said, "Is that your criticism?"
He said, "It is."
He said, "Sir, I painted the picture this way." He said, "You see, this is a different kind of a door. The latch is on the inside."

L-24 That's the way it is. Christ cannot by His own will open the door and come in. He can only knock, and then you open the door. The latch is up to you. He can knock, but you have to open. So that's the way it is.
And then when we think of a man knocking at a door. It's no unusual thing. The thing, the main part that counts, is not the man knocking at the door; it's the importance of the man at the door. Many people knock at doors every day. But the importance of the man... And a person knocking is... What's he doing anyhow? He's trying to... He's... Maybe he has a message for you; or maybe he wants you to do something for him; or maybe you have something that he wants. There's some reason he's trying to gain entrance, trying the get your attention, trying for you to open up to get an audition with you, trying to talk with you just a little while. And there's been many knocks on many doors by many great men.

L-25 For instance, in the days of Rome, when Rome controlled the known world, what if the great emperor of Rome, Caesar, would've of come down to a peasant's house, where a--a poor person lived, and would knock at the door? And the poor man would look around the corner and see that it was the great emperor of Rome knocking at his door. What do you think that poor peasant would think? What an honor it would be for this Roman emperor to come to a poor man's door and knock at his door.
That peasant would go to the door, throw open the door, and say, "Great Emperor of Rome, you honor my house. You give me a great honor, kind sir. Welcome into my little home. And if there is anything here that I have that you want, you are more than welcome to anything that I have. If there is anything that my lord desires of me, I will gladly give him unto my life to him." Oh, it would be an honor to that home for the--the emperor of Rome to visit the home.


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