[19] those whom i love, i reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. [20] behold, i stand at the door and knock. if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, i will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. [revelation 3:19-20]

 

repentance, ongoing repentance, humble ongoing repentance – leads us into deeper communion, richer relationship, and more intimate awareness of his presence.

vs 19: God is calling us to repentance. those whom i love, i reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.” this call is from love and for love. this call is from relationship and for deeper relationship. this call is from his presence in us and for a more intimate awareness of his presence with us. God’s call to repentance is NOT motivated by anger, disappointment, or frustration with you. it begins with love and ends with a desire for more full relationship.

vs 20: God is initiating repentance. behold, i stand at the door and knock.” this call is solely begun in the heart of God and carried out by the work of his presence in us. if you are in the process of repenting, know this work began because God has knocked. God moved by his love for you has pursued you to this point. he is knocking …

vs 20: God is working deeper communion, richer relationship, and more intimate awareness of his presence through our repentance“if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, i will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”  the end goal of our repentance is God’s presence more fully realized with us.

 

right now, do you feel like God is far, not close? do you have a hard time sensing his presence? do you struggle believing God hears your prayers or even cares that you are praying? repentance tears down the walls that separate us from God. repentance removes the veils we put up. in his book, “the pursuit of God”, a w tozer speaks of the veil in the temple that God removed by Jesus’ death so we could have direct access to God. every believer, by the blood of Jesus, now has access to God’s presence but tozer said, we still seem to want for God’s presence, like there are more veils that keep us from his presence.

“it is the close-woven veil of the self-life which we have never truly acknowledged. … self (and all its sins) is the opaque veil that hides the face of God from us.”

the self-life. the long list of hyphenated sins of the heart: self-righteousness, self-pity, self-confidence, self-sufficiency, self-indulgence, self-love, self-centeredness, self-promotion, etc. – keep us from the awareness of God’s presence.

repentance asks God to remove these veils. it submits our sin, our sinful self-desire, to God and turns our heart to his desire, his beauty, his life.

today, bring your self-sins to the cross for judgment. good news (or the gospel) God has already judged your sin, all of them in Jesus. that’s why he is not angry, disappointed, or frustrated. far from it. he loves and longs to remove the veils that keep you from the awareness and joy of his presence. removing the veil is not an easy or pleasant process. to remove the veil is to tear apart – a part of yourself. more good news (again, the gospel), Christ’s finished work is the power by which our self and all its sins are consumed and transformed into a new creation. God alone has done and will complete this work. he is calling. your job – repent, submit and trust him. he is waiting!

 

[19] those whom i love, i reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. [20] behold, i stand at the door and knock. if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, i will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. [revelation 3:19-20]

 

~ john ryan