Jesus appears to the church at Philadelphia (Rev 3:7-13) as
One who is “Holy and True, who holds the Key of David. What He opens no man can
shut, and what He shuts no man can open.”(vs 7). This saying illustrates the
concept of the Gatekeeper; one who controls entry.
Jesus tells us that He is the gate for the sheep (Jn 10:7-10). He is the one who opens up so that people can come into the kingdom. There is no other way to come in, except by Jesus. In fact, anyone that tries to get in by some other way is called a “thief and a robber”.
We think of churches as containing what we need to enter the kingdom of God. In the Christian literature we often read that pastors are the gatekeepers of their churches. Here I will share a dream I had about this topic. It is as follows:
The dream begins in the inside of a church. It had tall ceilings and a set of stairs which led from the front door up to the sanctuary. Though full of people, the church was dark inside.
The pastor was seen with a few men from an inner circle of friends who served with him in the church. It was an exclusive group, not letting others in. Only the pastor preached in the church, and his fellowship was only with the inner circle of men.
One-by-one I saw people from the congregation leave the dark church. As each became prepared to serve the Lord, they left through the tall front door, which was locked. There was a key hole in this door large enough for them to slip out, even though the key remained in it. His friends left also, slipping out the keyhole, until he was alone in the church. This grieved the pastor and he rattled the key in the door, though it would not come out. The pastor expressed the desire to leave also, for he had only enjoyed the fellowship of his inner circle and had not gotten out to serve the Lord in glory and power.
Then I heard the Lord speak to the pastor; “You can ride the train to glory to look and see, or you can live it, and die to yourself, and have it inside.” It was given to me to understand that a pastor’s calling is to prepare others to be greater than himself, so that they could go higher than he is. The pastor in this dream was then seen crying to be let out into the light and to do God’s great works, but he had not died to himself. God was leading people away from him because they could grow no further there. The one speaking to the pastor in this dream was a very tall angel.
Though sad, this dream shows us that no man is the gatekeeper to the church, and sadly enough, the kingdom of God may be outside some churches. God is establishing His kingdom inside of each of us, and the works we do for Him are built upon that inner work of dying to “self”. We cannot put our ministries up high, as the sanctuary in this dream was. Nor can we assume that we have the authority to open and shut. Only He who is holy and true has the authority to grant entrance into the Kingdom of God. Amen.
Jesus tells us that He is the gate for the sheep (Jn 10:7-10). He is the one who opens up so that people can come into the kingdom. There is no other way to come in, except by Jesus. In fact, anyone that tries to get in by some other way is called a “thief and a robber”.
We think of churches as containing what we need to enter the kingdom of God. In the Christian literature we often read that pastors are the gatekeepers of their churches. Here I will share a dream I had about this topic. It is as follows:
The dream begins in the inside of a church. It had tall ceilings and a set of stairs which led from the front door up to the sanctuary. Though full of people, the church was dark inside.
The pastor was seen with a few men from an inner circle of friends who served with him in the church. It was an exclusive group, not letting others in. Only the pastor preached in the church, and his fellowship was only with the inner circle of men.
One-by-one I saw people from the congregation leave the dark church. As each became prepared to serve the Lord, they left through the tall front door, which was locked. There was a key hole in this door large enough for them to slip out, even though the key remained in it. His friends left also, slipping out the keyhole, until he was alone in the church. This grieved the pastor and he rattled the key in the door, though it would not come out. The pastor expressed the desire to leave also, for he had only enjoyed the fellowship of his inner circle and had not gotten out to serve the Lord in glory and power.
Then I heard the Lord speak to the pastor; “You can ride the train to glory to look and see, or you can live it, and die to yourself, and have it inside.” It was given to me to understand that a pastor’s calling is to prepare others to be greater than himself, so that they could go higher than he is. The pastor in this dream was then seen crying to be let out into the light and to do God’s great works, but he had not died to himself. God was leading people away from him because they could grow no further there. The one speaking to the pastor in this dream was a very tall angel.
Though sad, this dream shows us that no man is the gatekeeper to the church, and sadly enough, the kingdom of God may be outside some churches. God is establishing His kingdom inside of each of us, and the works we do for Him are built upon that inner work of dying to “self”. We cannot put our ministries up high, as the sanctuary in this dream was. Nor can we assume that we have the authority to open and shut. Only He who is holy and true has the authority to grant entrance into the Kingdom of God. Amen.
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