1 00:00:02,759 --> 00:00:06,720 Speaker 1: Life Audio. For more resources to help you in your 2 00:00:06,800 --> 00:00:12,360 Speaker 1: walk with Christ, please visit us at Bible Studyheadquarters dot com. 3 00:00:12,880 --> 00:00:17,520 Speaker 1: You're listening to daily devotions with Pastor John. I'm John Stangey, 4 00:00:17,960 --> 00:00:22,480 Speaker 1: and today's devotion is inspired by Revelation chapter three, verse twenty, 5 00:00:22,560 --> 00:00:26,960 Speaker 1: which says, Behold, I stand at the door and knock. 6 00:00:27,400 --> 00:00:30,200 Speaker 1: If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I 7 00:00:30,240 --> 00:00:33,239 Speaker 1: will come into him and eat with him, and he 8 00:00:33,720 --> 00:00:39,240 Speaker 1: with me. We were created to live in perfect fellowship 9 00:00:39,240 --> 00:00:42,040 Speaker 1: with the Lord. God did not create us to live 10 00:00:42,080 --> 00:00:44,760 Speaker 1: at a distance from him. We were made in his 11 00:00:44,960 --> 00:00:48,319 Speaker 1: image and likeness and blessed with the opportunity to come 12 00:00:48,320 --> 00:00:52,559 Speaker 1: to know Him in a personal relational way. Is your 13 00:00:52,600 --> 00:00:57,520 Speaker 1: heart open to this kind of relationship? Jesus implores us 14 00:00:57,520 --> 00:01:00,280 Speaker 1: to open our hearts to him, but that's something most 15 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:05,360 Speaker 1: people struggle to embrace. For a growing Christian, what does 16 00:01:05,360 --> 00:01:08,520 Speaker 1: it look like to live in fellowship with the Lord. 17 00:01:09,680 --> 00:01:13,399 Speaker 1: It involves many things, but for starters, it requires us 18 00:01:13,480 --> 00:01:17,120 Speaker 1: to genuinely trust in Him. And as we trust him, 19 00:01:17,400 --> 00:01:20,760 Speaker 1: we're blessed with his peace, which guards our hearts and 20 00:01:20,840 --> 00:01:24,720 Speaker 1: guards our minds against welcoming the anxieties of this world. 21 00:01:24,800 --> 00:01:29,559 Speaker 1: To dominate our lives. Living in fellowship with Christ also 22 00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:34,640 Speaker 1: involves subjecting our will to his. Where he calls us 23 00:01:34,680 --> 00:01:37,959 Speaker 1: to go, we go. What he calls us to do, 24 00:01:38,560 --> 00:01:42,959 Speaker 1: we do. Our desire is not to ignore the prompting 25 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:46,240 Speaker 1: of the Holy Spirit as he illuminates our hearts and 26 00:01:46,360 --> 00:01:51,760 Speaker 1: points us to Jesus. Can we hear the voice of 27 00:01:51,960 --> 00:01:56,560 Speaker 1: Christ in our lives? Are we open to growing in 28 00:01:56,680 --> 00:02:04,320 Speaker 1: fellowship with him? Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for 29 00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:06,520 Speaker 1: your word, and we thank you for the privilege that 30 00:02:06,560 --> 00:02:08,000 Speaker 1: it is to be able to look at this portion 31 00:02:08,080 --> 00:02:11,760 Speaker 1: of scripture from the Book of Revelation today, and Lord, 32 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:15,040 Speaker 1: you reveal to us in your word that you desire 33 00:02:15,160 --> 00:02:18,760 Speaker 1: to have fellowship with us. It's not your desire that 34 00:02:18,800 --> 00:02:22,200 Speaker 1: we live our lives at a distance from you. You 35 00:02:22,240 --> 00:02:24,560 Speaker 1: want us to be up close. You want us to 36 00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:29,600 Speaker 1: know you in a personal and relational way. Lord. Sometimes 37 00:02:29,600 --> 00:02:32,040 Speaker 1: when I hear people speak of you, I almost think 38 00:02:32,080 --> 00:02:35,360 Speaker 1: that they're referring to you at a distance, as if 39 00:02:35,440 --> 00:02:38,560 Speaker 1: they know about you, but maybe don't know you in 40 00:02:38,600 --> 00:02:41,640 Speaker 1: a personal way. But when we look at this portion 41 00:02:41,720 --> 00:02:44,560 Speaker 1: of scripture from the Book of Revelation, you reveal that 42 00:02:44,680 --> 00:02:49,560 Speaker 1: your desire is that believers know you personally, and that 43 00:02:49,639 --> 00:02:53,440 Speaker 1: we know you well, and that we live in fellowship 44 00:02:53,919 --> 00:02:57,040 Speaker 1: with you, that we trust you, that we submit our 45 00:02:57,080 --> 00:03:00,680 Speaker 1: will to you, that we hear your voice in our lives. 46 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:02,840 Speaker 1: And we know, Lord that if we're going about our 47 00:03:02,880 --> 00:03:06,000 Speaker 1: lives in such a way that we are ignoring your 48 00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:10,000 Speaker 1: counsel and ignoring your voice and running from you, we 49 00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:14,519 Speaker 1: won't understand your will. But if we're listening to your voice, 50 00:03:14,520 --> 00:03:18,800 Speaker 1: and if we're subjecting our will to yours, your will 51 00:03:18,880 --> 00:03:23,000 Speaker 1: will become abundantly clear to us in your time and 52 00:03:23,080 --> 00:03:27,000 Speaker 1: in your way. Lord, we're grateful for the internal witness 53 00:03:27,040 --> 00:03:30,120 Speaker 1: of your Holy Spirit, and we're grateful for the counsel 54 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:33,440 Speaker 1: of your word. We thank you that you've made your 55 00:03:33,480 --> 00:03:37,080 Speaker 1: counsel available to us this way. We pray that we 56 00:03:37,120 --> 00:03:40,480 Speaker 1: would rely on your leading in every context that we 57 00:03:40,560 --> 00:03:44,280 Speaker 1: find ourselves in. Again, Lord, we thank you for reminding 58 00:03:44,360 --> 00:03:46,840 Speaker 1: us from this portion of your word today that you 59 00:03:47,040 --> 00:03:50,040 Speaker 1: desire to be up close and that you desire to 60 00:03:50,080 --> 00:03:53,840 Speaker 1: have deep personal fellowship with us. We appreciate it, and 61 00:03:53,880 --> 00:03:56,400 Speaker 1: we're thankful that you love us in such a deep way. 62 00:03:57,040 --> 00:03:58,840 Speaker 1: And Lord, we pray that you'd bring that to our 63 00:03:58,920 --> 00:04:02,600 Speaker 1: minds multiple times throughout the course of today. We pray 64 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:05,720 Speaker 1: that we meditate on that truth and be encouraged from it. 65 00:04:06,320 --> 00:04:11,120 Speaker 1: And we thank you for all of these things in Jesus' name. Amen.