By John Thiel

Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

Here are the candidates. If any man open the door I will come in and sup with him. Who will He sup with? Who is to be encouraged here? Not the people who are already self encouraged – I’m part of the church I’m a member of Gods church, I’m increased with goods I have need of nothing. The message to the church of Laodecia is for those living in our time today. God is speaking to the leadership of the church.

Revelation 3:14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

The lukewarmness makes God nauseous. The claim is made by his church here:

Jeremiah 7:4 Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, [are] these.

Our doctrines may be correct; we may hate false doctrine, and may not receive those who are not true to principle; we may labor with untiring energy; but even this is not sufficient. What is our motive? Why are we called upon to repent?–“Thou hast left thy first love.”  {1SM 370.2}

We are only Gods church if we have what is sufficient. The people that claim they are rich and increased in goods or Gods church are declared in Revelation 3:17. They do not know they are wretched. For anyone to claim we are the remnant church is a very severe danger.

At the very time when the acclamation is made, “The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, are these,” temptations come in, and darkness gathers about the soul–earthliness, selfishness, and self-glorification. {5T 485.3}

What is the darkness that gathers? When there is a claim the temple of the Lord are these. What has happened? Temptations come in and darkness gather about the soul.

There is a necessity for the Lord Himself to communicate His own ideas to the soul. What a thought!–that instead of our poor, earthly, contracted ideas and plans the Lord will communicate to us His own ideas, His own thought, noble, broad, far-reaching, always leading heavenward! {5T 485.3}

When people claim they are Gods church by saying we are the remnant church, darkness gathers, pride takes over. God comes and says, I’ve got a different idea. It’s an idea that is opposite to your thinking. Don’t you like the thought that you are acceptable with God? Don’t you like the thought that going to heaven means I’m accepted with him? You want to feel secure but God says I’ve got different ideas. Don’t you say the temple of the Lord are these. You say it but you don’t know how wretched you really are. My ideas are not along the path you would expect. If we are the remnant, what would be the thought of ourselves? Who are the candidates for the church triumphant. What sort of attitude do they hold? You can discern the thoughts in Revelation 3.

Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

These people are candidates for verse 21;

Revelation 3:21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

In verse 20 if they open the hearts door, they become candidates to become the church triumphant.  It says, I’m at the door, I still want to come in. Who is he saying this to? The any man, not the church or the leadership. Instead God says, because you are like that, I’m going to spew you out of my mouth. I can’t stand this pride thing. The only thing He can stand is dwelling in a high and lofty place with him who is of a humble and contrite spirit.  The others He feels nauseous about. The temple of the Lord are we they say. It makes God sick to the stomach. The ones He loves to dwell with are those that are of a humble and contrite spirit. He wants the ones who’ll let Jesus sup with them.

To him that says, “I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing,” the Lord of heaven declares, Thou “knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” But to the lowly, the suffering, the faithful, the patient, who are alive to their weakness and insufficiency, are given words of encouragement: “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.” The True Witness says to all: “I know thy works.” This close scrutiny is over the churches in California. Nothing escapes His searching gaze; their faults and errors, their neglects and failures, their sinful departure from the truth, their declensions and shortcomings–all are “opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” {5T 484.2}

Here are the candidates. If any man open the door I will come in and sup with him. Who will He sup with? Who is to be encouraged here? Not the people who are already self encouraged – I’m part of the church I’m a member of Gods church, I’m increased with goods I have need of nothing. Who are the candidates? The lowly, suffering and patient who are alive. To these, Jesus says I’m going to come in and sup with you. Here is, the candidate of the church triumphant. If you are triumphant, If you are gaining victories. Can you see it? We will have a series of un-interrupted victories not seen to be as such here. The candidate for the church triumphant has a sense of unworthiness. The progress, of the up the ladder experience is beautifully portrayed in Proverbs. It is something un-conscious.

Proverbs 4:18 But the path of the just [is] as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.

Imperceptibly to ourselves, we are changed day by day from our ways and will into the ways and will of Christ, into the loveliness of His character. Thus we grow up into Christ, and unconsciously reflect His image. . . . {HP 337.3}

How do you reflect his image? By saying I’m like Jesus! Not at all. I am weak, my path has miry been. Lord, I am righteous not. No matter how hard I try, I can’t see myself righteous. Wash me thou. I can’t compare myself with anyone else in the church. I can see other people there, they are terribly wrong but I can’t compare myself. I’m a wretch. I feel myself wretched. This kind of humility doesn’t include a humility that is expected. You may say I’ve got to be humble and I have to see myself as I really am. That is called voluntary humility.

Colossians 2:18 Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,

The way to gain humility is not to say, I’m going to be humble.  Do you know you can be vainly puffed up in humility? I’ve got to be humble so I’ll make myself humble.

No man can of himself understand his errors. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” Jer. 17:9. The lips may express a poverty of soul that the heart does not acknowledge. While speaking to God of poverty of spirit, the heart may be swelling with the conceit of its own superior humility and exalted righteousness. {COL 159.1}

Jesus says you’ve got to sup with me. To him that is lowly and suffering who are alive in their weakness and insufficiency. That is the man. Can you create this kind of attitude within yourself? Many people try. I’ve seen them and I’ve felt the tug on my heart strings and I’ve felt the tug to humble myself thinking I’m such a terrible fellow. There is only one way to be truly humble. Here is a problem, I want to be acceptable with God in this Laodicean period, and God says if you want to be a candidate in the Laodecian period, you must do this.

In one way only can a true knowledge of self be obtained. We must behold Christ. It is ignorance of Him that makes men so uplifted in their own righteousness. When we contemplate His purity and excellence, we shall see our own weakness and poverty and defects as they really are. {COL 159.1}

This is the person who is lowly and suffering. This is the person who sups with Jesus. He sees Christ’s perfect nature and he compares himself with Jesus and see himself as totally hopeless. As you compare yourselves among yourselves, you can get into arguments with each other saying, I’m not as bad as you, you can’t do that with Jesus. Stop comparing yourselves among ourselves. Compare yourselves with Jesus and how will you feel? Wretched, poor blind and naked. The Laodecian people who don’t see themselves as poor blind and naked, are not seeing Jesus. When you see your true condition, you are a candidate for the church triumphant.

We shall see ourselves lost and hopeless, clad in garments of self-righteousness, like every other sinner. We shall see that if we are ever saved, it will not be through our own goodness, but through God’s infinite grace. {COL 159.1}

When we can really see how wretched we are by comparing ourselves with His righteousness, then we will understand the beautiful work of grace. Only he who sees himself as sinful, is able to appreciate the precious of the Saviour. This is what Jesus says. Knock, knock, I’m trying to come into your heart. Anybody who opens the heart, what does he mean with that? He means just this, that we look at him and we open the heart to the clear rays of Christ’s perfection. This is why many people shut the door to the heart as they don’t like the vision of that as they see themselves in terrible contrast. The candidate for the church triumphant will open the heart and sup with Jesus.

As one with us, He must bear the burden of our guilt and woe. The Sinless One must feel the shame of sin. The peace lover must dwell with strife, the truth must abide with falsehood, purity with vileness. Every sin, every discord, every defiling lust that transgression had brought, was torture to His spirit. {DA 111.4}

These are the sufferings. The ones who like Jesus, have a view of purity and see their own sinfulness Jesus saw in his own experience your guilt, your condition of woe. He saw everything as His own and He was the righteousness one. If you and I will open our hearts to Jesus, you will experience what Jesus experienced as He sups with you. What will you experience? We will experience the shame of sin. Before that we enjoyed sin. It wasn’t so bad. The nearer you come to Jesus the more you see the shame of sin. The peace lover must dwell with strife. Falsehood is a shocking ingredient with us. Vileness is ours and I have to dwell with that vileness as Jesus purity wants to dwell within me. That is supping with Jesus. Can we see it? That is why the people who permit themselves to enter into such assimilation will be righteousness because as Jesus was tempted, he was faithful.

2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him [to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Supping in him and experiencing the vileness of my own sinfulness, and simultaneously experiencing his purity. Can you appreciate the paradox that goes on inside? This is supping with Jesus. Do you have a keen sense of your unworthiness? Do you hate your condition? Do you hate your failures? Can’t stand yourself anymore? You are a candidate for the church triumphant. You will be capable of fleeing to the saving elements of the gospel of Jesus Christ. You will be capable of remaining there until you are thoroughly purified. This is the church triumphant. They are thoroughly pure.  They have gained the victory as Christ has gained the victory. The whole gamut of human experience Jesus came through because He repented our sinfulness. If we will repent with Him and sup with Him, we will be purified as He is. We will become the church triumphant. The candidate of the church triumphant is not the one who says the temple of the lord are these. It is the one who is suffering and unconscious of his true spirituality. That person is a candidate of the church triumphant. May we be encouraged as we take hold of this whole paradox of sensation. It is not a human imagination. Indeed, I can flee to the redeeming grace no matter how I feel. Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it, redeemed by the blood of the lamb. As we take hold of this and stay in it, we will feel our sinfulness but praise the Lord for that.

Amen.