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"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." "How willing is Christ to take possession of the soul temple if we will let Him! He is represented as waiting and knocking at the door of the heart. Then why does He not enter? It is because the love of sin has closed the door of the heart. As soon as we consent to give sin up, to acknowledge our guilt, the barrier is removed between the soul and the Saviour." "I saw that many have so much rubbish piled up at the door of their heart that they cannot get the door open. Some have difficulties between them-selves and their brethren to remove. Others have evil tempers, selfish covetousness, to remove before they can open the door. Others have rolled the world before the door of their heart, which bars the door. All this rubbish must be taken away, and then they can open the door and welcome the Saviour in." "The expulsion of sin is the act of the soul itself. True, we have no power to free ourselves from Satan's control; but when we desire to be set free from sin, and in our great need cry out for a power out of and above ourselves, the powers of the soul are imbued with the divine energy of the Holy Spirit, and they obey the dictates of the will in fulfilling the will of God." "Humble yourselves before God, and make an earnest effort to empty the soul temple of all rubbish - all envyings, all jealousies, all suspicions, all faultfindings. 'Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double-minded.' How do I do this? Pray, Lord, here is my heart, with all my heart sins, - my resentment, my bitterness, my hatred, my blaming others for my sins of irritation and impatience - or whatever is in your heart. Take my heart and cleanse me from all sin and create in me a new heart and come into my life and empower me by your Holy Spirit. Jesus can do it today if we will surrender all to Him. "If we ask Him, the Lord will give us the Holy Spirit to cleanse the habitation of the soul; for every room of the temple of God must be entered and purified." "When one is fully emptied of self, when every false god is cast out of the soul, the vacuum is filled by the inflowing of the Spirit of Christ. Such a one has the faith that purifies the soul from defilement. He is conformed to the Spirit, and he minds the things of the Spirit. He has no confidence in self. Christ is all and in all." If we realize our lost condition there is no need to feel discouraged. God has a wonderful plan to save us and to give us power to live the sanctified life. We must discover His plan and then cooperate with Him. |