The Tupelo journal., 1904-03-04

UT the bars may be up and you do
l. not van to take them down to- let
the door open for Jesus. There is the
bar of pride. Ali. how pride some
times keeps the heart door shut and at
last closes the very gate of Heaven
against the soul. Pride Keeps the knee
from bending; pride keeps the head
erect; pride keeps the lips shut tight.
The proud heart n nj come into
Gods presence, or. as James puts it,
God resisteth the proud" If it is
pride that is keeping the door shut,
take the bar down. Or it may be the
bar of personal desire. You have your
own purposes and plans, your own
feelings and wishes to crafty; your
own appetites TO indulge. This bar Of
personal desire includes worldliness,
sin in its various phases, ambition,
selfishness, and this bar of personal
desire must be withdrawn before Jesus
can come in. And then there is the
bar of representation. 1t is an inno-
cent looking bar, but there is no other
bar which has proved more destruc-
tive to souls. 1t is Satan's last and
effective plea. The soul realizes read
lily its need of Jesus, it knows it must
break down the bars to let the door
swing open, but not now is the plea.
Tomorrow, mex week, next year.
After the soul has been it's master a
little longer. After the desires of the
heart and life have been INDUCED a
little more fully. But there is peril in
delay, as many, many a precious soul
has realized when it was too late.
Jesus does not say He will stand at the
hearts door tomorrow. He stands
there now, but tomorrow He may
have withdrawn. This bar of pro-
crastination is a hard one to get rid of.
But be rid of it right now, dear friend.
Do what you know you ought to do at
once. While Jesus knocks, do not tell
Him to call tomorrow, but bid him
enter right now, this very moment.
A ND then the open door! Jesus q
n guest within! A feast of good things.
A new purpose ruling the life, and a
new hope filling the heart with joyi
Yes, but with Jesus in the heart we dis
cover that there are lots of shut doors
which must be opened to admit Him
to full possession of the heart. The
work is not all done when the hearts
door is opened. 1t is only begun. We
have admitted Jesus to the vestibule,
and all about are rooms and closets
and dark recesses which Jesus wants
to visit n by one and cleanse and
purify and fill with His presence. And
here is the message to the Christians.
Jesus knocks at the chamber and
closet doors within your heart and
pleads for admittance. Every DON
and recess and closet in your heart
should become a %banqueting hall for
you and your guest, Jesus. Have you
wondered many, many times why you
get SO little JOY and satisfaction out of
your Christian life? 1t is because you
have left Jesus standing out in tho
vestibule of your heart and you have
withdrawn to a far part of the heart
AMI are trying to feast yourself alone
upon some pet sin or desire. Of course
you will be unhappy. OF. course you
will have doubts and fears. The I'M
happiest creature in all the world is
the one who has admitted Jesus to the
vestibule of the heart and who then
tries to keep Him there. while he lives
in the DON apart from Him. Jesus
is knocking. He wants to come in and
sup with you. Open the door. Let
His cleansing power be felt in that
dark corner Let Him make it a dwell
ing place for Himself. Then will you
know joy and peace again, because
Jesus is admitted to all parts of your