Part 2
"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." (Rev. 3.20)
CHAT IV
A Knock at the Door
"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." (Rev. 3.20)
LET us think now for a short time about something that you see and use every day, that sometimes brings safety, and sometimes danger, and that divides one from the other. Can you guess? You have a good many of them in your house, and you are moving them all day long. We are going to talk about a door.
How impossible it is to open a door and walk in, if it is locked and bolted against us! Open doors take us into delightful places, but they can also take us into prison. What important parts of a house they are! How safe you feel in bed at night knowing that all the house doors are shut and fastened inside!
A door is sometimes a man's salvation. Here is a man fleeing for his life! He is unarmed and defenceless, another man is pursuing him sword in hand. He means to kill him. The frightened man comes to his house, he dashes in at his door. He draws the stout bolt and locks it. His enemy is outside. He breathes freely.
We are glad we have a door to shut out our enemies, but do we ever shut out our friends?
There was an old woman who lived in a little cottage in Scotland, not very far from Balmoral, the Castle that belongs to our Kings and Queens.
When Queen Victoria was alive, she was very fond of visiting some of the old people who lived near her. One afternoon this old woman sat in her cottage alone. She was in a very bad temper. She had quarrelled with her nearest neighbour, and because some of her friends had been gossiping about her, she shut her door and locked it, saying viciously to herself:
"Ay, I'll keep myself to myself in future. I won't let 'em in when they come to try and get a dish o' tea out o' me."
Presently she heard a soft knock at her door.
She set her lips and nodded her head.
"Knock awa'," she whispered.
The knock was repeated louder now.
"Knock awa' till doomsday," she called out in a angry voice. "I'll not let ye in!"
The knock was not repeated, and footsteps outside were heard going away.
The old woman nodded her head and smiled.
"They won't trouble me for a bit," she assured herself.
But she did not smile the next day when she was told that her Queen had stood outside her door, and knocked for admission, and she had refused to let her in.
The Queen never visited her again.
There was a poor man in Liverpool who could not pay his rent. He lived in a little house by himself, and was in great trouble lest his landlord should turn him out. One day he heard a knock at his door, and thinking it was his landlord, he locked the door and slipped out into his back garden, hoping people would think he was out.
The knocking went on for some time, then ceased, and the man crept back into his house by and by, and thought he had been very clever in escaping his landlord. But in a few days the landlord sent the bailiffs in to sell him up, and then too late, he heard that a rich friend had come to see him a few days before on his way to America. It was he who had knocked, and had been shut out, and the poor man knew that he would have given him the money for his rent, if he had opened the door.
[Illustration: A MEASURE OF MEAL. Matthew 13.33.]
Now, we have each of us a little house of our own inside us, with a door which we can open or shut at our will. It is the door of our heart. We let in a good many visitors who spoil our house for us, and stain it with sin. Temper, envy, pride, cowardice, selfishness, and deceit all work havoc in our hearts, but there is one Royal Visitor who comes and knocks and pleads with us to let Him in.
"My son, my daughter," He says, "give Me your heart!"
"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."
It is the Voice of Jesus. Have you ever heard it? He comes to every boy and girl, for He loves them all. He wants you to know Him and love Him, and if He seems a stranger to you now, He will not be a stranger long if you open the door of your heart to Him. He will cleanse your heart whiter than snow if you let Him in. He will help you to guard the door against your enemies, and all those wicked spirits who are trying to spoil your happiness and life.
A young woman said to me one day:
"I'm expecting a visitor soon. It's my mother from the country. My husband always likes to see her, for she brings us such a lot of presents when she comes. She has a farm, and she brings us butter and eggs, and chickens."
"And I suppose you like to see her too?" I said smiling.
"Oh, yes; but not for what she brings. She's my mother, you see, and I dearly love her!"
Now, children, the Lord Jesus Christ brings presents with Him when He comes into your heart. He brings pardon for your past sins, peace, and joy, and power to fight your enemies and overcome them. Will you remember those three presents all beginning with a "P":
Pardon, Peace, Power.
They will last you all your life, and as you grow older, you will value them all the more.
But I think you will soon learn to love the Lord Jesus for Himself, and not for what He brings you. He wants your love. And, remember, He has loved you all your life long, and He wants to live with you down here in your heart, guiding you, teaching you, and helping you in all your troubles and difficulties every day. Open your door to your best Friend, invite Him to come in and make your heart His dwelling place.
Is it not wonderful that the King of kings should wish to enter your heart?
Listen to what God says. He tells us of the two places in which He dwells:
"Thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy, I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit."
"Oh Jesu, Thou art standing Outside the fast closed door; In lowly patience waiting To pass the threshold o'er.
"Oh Jesu, Thou art pleading In accents meek and low, 'I died for you, My children, And will ye treat Me so?'
"Oh Lord, with shame and sorrow We open now the door: Dear Saviour, enter, enter, And leave us nevermore."
CHAT V
———
How to Tackle Giants
"Without Me ye can do nothing." (John 15.5)
CHAT V
How to Tackle Giants
"Without Me ye can do nothing." (John 15.5)
THERE is nothing we dislike more when we are very small than to be helped.
How often you hear a little boy say:
"I can do it, Mother; let me do it myself."
It may be cutting up his food with a knife and fork; it may be washing his face and hands, or any other simple thing. When he gets older he thinks, he can do bigger things on his own, without anyone's help at all. And very often experience teaches him that he is not so clever as he thinks himself to be.
Now all Christian boys and girls have a great many difficulties and temptations in their lives.
They make many resolves to be good, they want to be good. They mean to start the day well, but somehow before they know it, their tempers have got the better of them, and the day is clouded by tears and passion.
One of the reasons that the Lord Jesus came down from Heaven and lived amongst people on the earth, was to show them how He wanted to help them on their way to Heaven. He told His disciples just before He went back to Heaven:
"Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world."
And He also said this to them:
"Without Me, ye can do nothing."
Have you ever watched trains coming and going in a railway station? Sometimes there is a long line of carriages, but no engine. Can those carriages move along the rails by themselves? No; they may be perfectly ready for passengers; the lights in them may be bright, the passengers may get in and take their places, but without the engine, they can do nothing. The engine comes along, there may be only one link joined to it, and the whole train, carrying hundreds of passengers with their luggage, will move along the line without any effort. Swiftly, easily it glides along.
[Illustration: CHAT III. "Taken to the Police Station."]
[Illustration: Pictures to Paint—5. WHAT BIBLE SCENE IS THIS?]
Now take the engine. Can it move itself? Not without the steam power within. If there is no steam, there is no movement. The wheels of the engine cannot move themselves. Without the steam, the engine can do nothing.
Have you seen great guns being fired? What sends the great shells flying through the air for miles and miles? Can they make themselves go? No, it is just a spark that ignites the powder. Without that spark the shells, the guns can do nothing.
So we, capable as we may think ourselves, can do nothing unless we are linked on—or are in touch with—our Lord and Master. "Without Me ye can do nothing."
Do you think you can get on without Him?
Just think hard a minute. Sometimes you get up in the morning and you feel good! You say to yourself: "f shan't lose my temper to-day," or, "I shall do nothing to be scolded about."
And almost before you know it, you have given way to temper, or you have got into disgrace for doing something wrong. How was it? You can't explain it. "I forget," you say. Who can remind you just in time? The One who offers to help you all day long.
Imagine a big battle about to take place, and the soldiers going into it without any officer or general to tell them what to do. Would those soldiers get the victory over well ordered troops coming against them? No—never. And you will never get the victory over your enemies unless your Captain is leading you, and you do what He tells you. "Without Me ye can do nothing."
You must remember that the Devil with his hosts of wicked spirits are out to try to get you to sin every day and all day. What chance have you against the Devil? None at all, without your Captain's strong loving Hand holding yours, and helping you to fight.
A little boy was bullied by a big boy. He tried to stand up to him, but was knocked down at once. And then he caught sight of his father walking down the street. In an instant, he picked himself up and darted to his father's side.
"Hold my hand tight, Daddy," he cried.
The father did so.
Then the little fellow called to the bully to come on. "I'm ready for you now," he said; "I'll beat you easy!"
He was secure and safe in his father's hold, and he feared nobody, and nothing. That is how we can feel when Jesus is holding us by the hand. Will He do it? This is what He says in His Word:
"I the Lord have called them in righteousness, and will hold their hand, and will keep them."
Now, when did Jesus say, "Without Me ye can do nothing?"
It was just before His death, that He told His disciples this truth. He told them that He was like a vine, and they were like the branches, but that just as branches cannot bear grapes if they are cut away from the vine, so they could not bear fruit in their lives unless they were joined to Him.
What a wonderful thing! Can a boy and girl be joined to Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords?
Yes, if they open their hearts' door to Him, He has promised to come in and abide with them, and then He will help them to bear fruit.
Do you want to bring forth fruit in your life to-day?
Then keep close to Jesus and ask Him to fill your heart with the sunshine of His presence. For:
"Without Me ye can do nothing."
Do you remember the story of the shepherd boy killing the giant?
David might have had his sling and stones, but they would have been useless unless he had had God with him when he went to meet him. He told Saul that God had helped him to kill a lion and a bear, and that He would deliver him out of the hand of the giant.
"Without Me ye can do nothing."
It locks the door against all our own efforts and struggles. And the key that unlocks it is:
"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."
A sailor lad gave his heart to Christ one Sunday evening after a mission service had been held. The minister talked to him afterwards, and found out that he had a very bad home in the East End of London, and was going home to spend the rest of his leave there.
"I don't know how I shall do it!" the poor boy said. "My mother drinks and is hardly ever sober; my father and brother hate religion of any sort, and have half killed a mission preacher when he was down our way. How can I stand up against them?"
"But," said the minister quickly, "if the Almighty has you by the hand and goes home with you, won't you be stronger than they?"
The boy smiled.
"Ay, sir, I'll be like David. I can tackle giants. I'm not afraid now."
He went home, and he was the means of bringing all his family into the Kingdom of God. It was not he. It was God with him that did it.
You'll be afraid of nobody and of nothing if you have God holding you by the hand.
But remember!
"Without Me, ye can do nothing."
[Illustration: CHAT V. "In a Railway Station."]
[Illustration: Pictures to Paint—6. WHAT GREAT EVENT IS THIS?]
CHAT VI
———
A Free Gift
"The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6.23)
CHAT VI
A Free Gift
"The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6.23)
DON'T you like getting presents? I do. Birthdays and Christmas are always enjoyable times. We love receiving surprise presents. I remember visiting a house in the country once, and a little boy and girl of the house came into my room when my luggage was being unpacked, and eyed everything being taken out of my bag and boxes with the greatest interest. At last they could keep silent no longer.
"And what have you brought us?" they asked.
I was filled with confusion, for I had brought them nothing. I had not known of their existence. Their expectations were disappointed.
Another little boy of my acquaintance came to lunch with me one day. His mother was with him, and I think had talked to him beforehand about being on his best behaviour. I had got a toy for him to amuse himself with, and he had a very good time after lunch playing with it.
When he was going away, I told him he could take it with him. "I'll make you a present of it," I said.
To my surprise, he put his hands behind his back, and said, "Oh, no, thank you."
"Don't you want it?" I asked.
He shook his head, though he eyed it lovingly.
"I assure you, your mother will like you to have it," I said.
But nothing would induce him to take it, and he went away without it.
I fancy he was trying to be extra good. He thought it was not good manners to take a present away.
"What a silly boy!" you say.
But we often act like that with God. And it is such a pity, for we lose so much by not stretching out our hands to take what He offers us.
We may have a present offered us, but if we won't put out our hands to take it, what is the good of it to us? And how ungrateful to the kind giver!
Sometimes people get unsuitable presents. I heard of a little girl who bought a tiny doll's tea-set, and gave it to her mother as a birthday present.
And a scholarly old bachelor uncle gave his little nephew on his seventh birthday a Latin book, "Virgil's Aeneid."
We can fancy that neither of these presents was suitable!
Now God knows exactly what we want, and He gives us everything suitable to our age and circumstances. But there is one gift that is wanted by everybody, big and small, rich and poor. Many of the gifts we get in this world, wear out, and come to an end; this one cannot come to an end. And it is the gift that God likes to give us.
Some presents cost a lot of money. This one cost Somebody His life to get, and that makes it the most valuable gift in the whole world.
In the time of slavery, there was an old negro woman who had a son whom she loved very dearly. She and he lived and worked on a sugar plantation in the West Indies, for they were both slaves. But at that time some of the slave owners would allow their slaves to purchase their freedom, and though it cost them a great deal of money, some freed themselves in this way. It was this old woman's one desire in life to work overtime, save her money, and free her son from bondage.
She did not tell him what she was doing but she worked when he was asleep—and never took any rest or holiday herself. The consequence was, she ruined her health, and after many years of this dreadfully hard laborious life, she broke down, and had to take to her bed. But by that time she had earned the money to buy the freedom of her son. She called him one night to her dying bed, and produced a canvas bag.
"Here," she said, "is money to set you free, my son. You will never be a slave any more. I have worked all my life to get it, and now I have got the money, I die in peace."
She died in her son's arms—and he felt that his freedom had cost his mother her life.
Now the gift that God offers to us all cost the Lord Jesus Christ His life, and it is only through Him—or because of Him that we can get it.
What is it?
"The Gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Is not Eternal Life a tremendous gift to be offered to us? Yet we can all have it. Every one of us—great and small—rich and poor. And if we know we have it, death will not make us afraid. Our souls cannot die. Eternal life with our Saviour in Heaven. That Land of Happiness which is too glorious to be described. Who would not stretch out their hands for such a gift?
But it needs empty hands to take it. We must let everything else go, and we must take the Lord Jesus Christ for our own Saviour. It is only for His sake, and through Him, that God gives us this gift.
Take it from Him now. Thank Him with all your hearts for giving it to you, and serve Him and love Him for the rest of your lives. That is how you can show your gratitude for such a gift as this.
It is the biggest gift you could have offered to you.
[Illustration: SELLING SPARROWS. Luke 12.6, 7.]
Suppose you had everything you want in this world, but no life in the next?
If you were drowning, and were offered a pony, or a purse, or a house, or a bag of gold, would you be glad of such gifts? "No," you would cry; "it's my life I want. Save me."
And all the gifts that this world can give will be useless when we come to die.
God's Great Gift of Eternal Life will be what we shall want then, and if we have refused to take it all our life from His hands, how do we know that we shall receive it from Him then? God will not offer His gift for ever. It is insulting His love and goodness to refuse to take it, to despise it, to be indifferent to it now. Stretch out your hand, lay hold of Eternal Life! And you will thank God for ever and ever for His wonderful Gift.
"The wages of sin is death, but the Free Gift of God is Eternal Life."
CHAT VII
———
To Be Ready
"Be ye therefore ready also, for the Son of Man cometh at an hour when ye think not." (Luke 12.40)
CHAT VII
To Be Ready
"Be ye therefore ready also, for the Son of Man cometh at an hour when ye think not." (Luke 12.40)
WHAT is it to be ready? To be prepared.
We don't like unpunctual people. Some children are always late for meals and late for school. But we lose pleasure sometimes by being late. By not being ready. Suppose a rich uncle comes to take you out for the day. He is going to take you into the country by a certain train. You are not ready when he comes for you, you lose the train, and he is so angry that he says he won't take you out at all. You lost your treat by not being ready for it.
But "ready" does not only mean being in time. If a grown up girl was going to be presented at the King and Queen's Court, she might be at the Palace in time, but if she were not suitably dressed, if she had not troubled to put on a court dress, she would not be "ready" for the presentation.
Do you remember a story in the Bible like this? There was a man who went to a palace at the King's invitation and sat down to feast with him in his common soiled working clothes. He had been offered a suitable party suit of clothes before he went into the Palace, but he refused them, and he was sent away from the banquet, and turned away in disgrace.
There are lots of stories about people coming to grief by not being ready, though they were warned beforehand.