Romans 11:22 exhorts us to, “Behold then the kindness and severity of God….” This does not imply that God is kind one day and severe the next. He does not change. He is both kind and severe all the time. Many are only able to behold His kindness, and because of this, they become open to distorted, extreme, and false teachings about His grace and mercy. Others tend to only see His severity and are therefore deceived and unable to grasp His grace and mercy. To see and relate to Him as He is, we must see both His kindness and severity. Our goal must be to preach “the whole message of this life” (see Acts 5:20), to behold both His kindness and severity. 

       How we perceive God is the most important element to our faith. To walk in truth is not just understanding and obeying doctrines correctly, though this is important. Truth is a Person we are called to follow. We are changed as we behold Him “with an unveiled face” (see II Corinthians 3:18). When we behold His glory with veils on, we see a distorted image of Him and often try to make Him into what we want Him to be. Some of the veils we can have are prejudices or unhealed wounds. Removing these veils is crucial to seeing the Lord as He is and being changed into His nature.

       Our knowledge of God is a key factor that affects our choices in life. Our choices are primary factors that determine our course in life. It has been said, “We do not see the world as it is, but as we are.” There is truth to this. We must have an accurate perception to walk in truth. This perception is of ourselves, of others, of the world, and most of all, of God. The way He sees is truth. Christian maturity is, to a large degree, learning how distorted our vision is and being corrected so we can see as He sees.

       Many experiences in life can impact how we view life, and we must choose whether we will let them. The Scriptures are the foundation for perceiving God as He is and for seeing as He sees. If Jesus, who is the Word, took His stand on “It is written” how much more ought we? The Bible is our most valuable tool for comparing our thinking with His and helping us stay on the path of life.

       We want to honor the Scriptures as they deserve, yet He did not say He would leave us a book that would lead us into all truth. He said He would send us the Spirit Who would lead us into all truth. The Spirit always leads us to Jesus, because He is the Truth. As we see Him and become like Him, we start to see as He sees and to understand His heart.  

       Revelation 3:20-22 is one of the extraordinary texts revealing the nature of our Lord and our responsibility to determine where we stand with Him:

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.

“He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. 

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

       First, we have Jesus standing at the door of His own church knocking to see if anyone will let Him in! This is a powerful revelation of how, in this age, He will not go where He is not wanted, even to His own church. He is not the kind of husband who would ever force Himself on His wife. Therefore, we will not find Him in those with a control spirit and should never let a control spirit dictate our course or choices.

        Next, it will be those who overcome who sit with Him on His throne. He has already been tested and overcame to sit with the Father on His throne, and now it is our turn to be tested to see where we will be. Will we be a part of the great company that stands before the throne (see Revelation 7:9), or will we be an overcomer who sits with Him on His throne? To be in the great company is wonderful, but there is a higher calling for those who overcome the spirit of this world.

       Consider what Paul wrote in Philippians 3 when he said he did not consider himself to have attained. This was written near the end of the life of perhaps the greatest apostle, yet he did not think he had attained! Attained what? He obviously was not talking about salvation or eternal life, as he attained those the moment he believed in the atonement of the cross of Jesus. Rather he is speaking here of the “high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (see Philippians 3:12-14).

       It is clear throughout Scripture that our salvation can only come from God, while our eternal position in Him is, to a large extent, determined by us. These are appointed by the Father, but we must make our “calling and election sure” (see II Peter 1:10 NKJV). This we will address in more depth later.

       The third crucial point in Revelation 3:20 is we must have our ears open to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. This is not what He has said in the past tense, but we must hear what He is saying in the present tense. Of course, we want to know and honor what He has said in the past, but what He is saying in this present distress is crucial for us to know and follow if we are to be the lights we are called to be in this great time of darkness.

        This is the reason for this study on “Increasing Light.” As we are told in Proverbs 4:18, “But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn that shines brighter and brighter until the full day.” If we are on the path of the righteous, we will have increasing light, even as the world is experiencing increasing darkness. Soon it will be dark enough for all to see the Light.

© 2022 Rick Joyner. All Rights Reserved.