Sermon snippet – Simply Heaven – Part XVI
INTRODUCTION – As we continue to contemplate the kind command of Colossians 3:1-2 to “set [our] affection on things above,” we come to Revelation 4:1-11. Here, we find that “a door was opened in heaven” (verse 1).
- JESUS IS THE OPEN DOOR
John 10:7-10 provides a picture of a sheepfold, a place of safety and security. The shepherd would lie in the opening and become “the door of the sheep” (verse 7). Using this extended metaphor, Jesus says that anyone who enters through Him as this door “shall be saved” (verse 9). Note that in verse 11 the imagery shifts. A door cannot protect outside the fold in this wide and wicked world (John 17:15); a shepherd can. Moreover, a door cannot die in place of the sheep; a shepherd can, and this Shepherd did. In so doing, He opened a door – the only door (John 14:6) – to heaven.
- JESUS DESIRES THAT WE ENTER THIS OPEN DOOR
It is the owner of a business or a home who unlocks the door, opens it, and lets others in. Clearly, it is the desire of Jesus to open heaven to us. No one else could open this door; the fact that it is opened shows us that Jesus wants to open heaven to us. The physical beauty of this home is unmatched (Revelation 21:18-23). Even more impressive is that there is no taint of sin everywhere, for the holiness of the Triune Godhead (Revelation 4:8) provides the everlasting beauty of heaven. This is what Jesus desires to open to us.
- JESUS DISPLAYS OUR DESTINATION THROUGH THIS OPEN DOOR
Jesus has removed guesswork or speculation. He has shown us what heaven is and what it is not (Revelation 21:3-4), and He has provided the means of access through His sacrifice on the Cross on our behalf and for our sins.
CONCLUSION – JESUS’ OPEN DOOR DEMANDS A DECISION – Jesus has opened heaven to us, but each one of us must choose to walk through that open door by placing our faith in Jesus alone. He will prepare His home for us and make it our home, “that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:3).