It’s Homeschool Co-op time again and with it Chapel! We picked up our Names of God study today. The last name we studied was Iesous, the Greek word for the given name of our Savior, Jesus. As I shared with our last lesson, Jesus, is our Savior’s name, all the other names we have been studying are really titles. These titles are given to us by our God so that we might get to know Him and all His glory. We continue today learning a new name, a new title, of our Lord. Today we are introduced to our Christ with Thura. 

 

The title thura (thoo-rah) in the greek means a DOOR,  the vestibule, it’s used of any opening like a door, an entrance, way or passage into…

In the little movie clip above these “monsters” had their access into the lives of these children through a door. If you enter your own home you enter through a door. The only reason you would enter any other way is if you are locked out…

If you notice in this clip, these monsters entered through the closet door. They did not come in through the front door. They were not welcome guests. They were invaders. They were in fact already in the house and they were their to scare, to torment, to frighten… I could so take this even further relating these monsters to the already present sin in our house and why we need to leave our old house behind and move into our Father’s house… but I am sure my word count will have already exceeded most blog readers attention spans 😉 So we will move along and keep our focus on Thura.

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.” This figure of speech Jesus spoke to them, but they did not understand what those things were which He had been saying to them. Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

John 10:1-10

Jesus is the door. He is the door of the sheep. Here is the thing about a door… a door has two sides. You are either inside the door or you are outside the door.

We see one of our first pictures of the importance of a door in Genesis.

When God created Adam and Eve, He created them inside the garden. When Adam and Eve sinned they were put outside (Genesis 3:22-24). While outside sin continued to grow and develop and the iniquity of man became so great that God had to deal with sin.

However, our God left open a door…

 

Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence. God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth. Then God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth. Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make the ark with rooms, and shall cover it inside and out with pitch. This is how you shall make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its breadth fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. You shall make a window for the ark, and finish it to a cubit from the top; and set the door of the ark in the side of it…

Genesis 6:11-16

God left open a door for the years that Noah built this ark and in truth we know from the book of Jude that Noah’s great grandfather, Enoch, preached of the coming judgment of God upon the earth. God used Enoch to sound the warning, and used Noah to provide the door to salvation from the coming judgment… the door was wide open for anyone who would believe to enter.

 

On the very same day Noah and Shem and Ham and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark, they and every beast after its kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, all sorts of birds. So they went into the ark to Noah, by twos of all flesh in which was the breath of life. Those that entered, male and female of all flesh, entered as God had commanded him; and the Lord closed it behind him.

Genesis 7:13-16

 

We know that those inside the door survived the judgment. There was life for those who walked through the door. Those that chose not to walk through the door, when the door closed, they were now on the outside of the door. If you notice in the Scripture reference above, it was God that closed the door.

Yes, the thing about doors… there are two sides… you are either inside or you are outside. If you try and stand in the doorway you will get hurt because eventually the door that is opened will indeed be closed.

How many times growing up did you hear your parents say, “Inside or outside!”

You just can’t hang out in the doorway and you just can’t leave the door wide open forever running in and out… if you do all kinds of bugs and critters will get in the house. I can recall even getting disciplined for not picking a side of the door. As a mother now myself, I have uttered these words to my own children. As a matter of fact in my children’s church time, all my kids know that once I close the door the bathroom breaks and the “oh I forgot’s” are done. They now are mine and class begins. The door can stay open for a while… but eventually it must be closed.

Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. 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.’”

Revelation 3:19-22

Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.

Revelation 22:14-15

Jesus is the door and He stands at the door knocking… right now the door is open and you can come in, but eventually the door will close. Inside the door are those who walked through the door and were washed and ready to dine with the One who was knocking. While its day outside we run in and out, but when night falls and it comes time for the dinner meal, those who belong in the house come home and are washed up and the door is shut and we sit down to dine as a family.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way,

and the truth, and the life;

no one comes to the Father but through Me. 

John 14:6

Those who walk through the door of Christ will get to meet the Father… because He is the door, the way, the passage into, He is the vestibule to the Father’s house. We become part of the family of God and receive access to His house only through Christ (Romans 8:14-16). He is the only door. There is no other.

Now for those who walk through the Thura… what does that mean? Once you have responded to the knock and opened the door, what exactly does that mean? We must remember that Thura is a door, but it is also a way, an entrance, a passage into something or someone.

This is where it gets really good!

So pay attention 🙂

Therefore, having been justified by faith,

we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

through whom also we have obtained our introduction

by faith into this grace in which we stand;

and we exult in hope of the glory of God.

Romans 5:1-2

 

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remember that you were at that time separate from Christ,

excluded from the commonwealth of Israel,

and strangers to the covenants of promise,

having no hope and without God in the world.

But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off

have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 

And He came and preached peace to you who were far away,

and peace to those who were near;

for through Him we both have our access

in one Spirit to the Father.

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens,

but you are fellow citizens with the saints,

and are of God’s household, 

Ephesians 2:12-13, 17-19

Oh precious one, did you catch it?

We once were separate, excluded, strangers,  far away, but in Christ, in the Thura, we are brought near, no longer strangers, fellow citizens, in one Spirit.  Once you walk through the Thura, you are of God’s household.

In my parents house growing up… and even today… once you had entered the home and had your introduction to the house from then on when you came to visit you did not knock, especially if you were family. You just walked in. As a matter of fact it is that way at my aunt and uncles and my grandparents. I can’t tell you the times that we have had a knock at the door and we all would look at each other, and ask “Who in the world is that knocking?“

Only strangers knocked.

If someone stood at the door knocking they were a stranger to us and everyone in the house knew it.

Jesus stands at the door knocking because He is a stranger to those outside the Father’s house. So he stands knocking at our door and once we open the door and meet Him and have our introduction to Him, then He walks us right into His Fathers house and gives us our introduction to His Father’s house.

When we girls would leave our house and meet/make a friend, that friend would return with us to our parents house and we would introduce them to our parents. Once our friend received that introduction they had full access to our parents house. While they were there they came in and out of the house just as we did. They didn’t have to knock.

It is the same for my girls and our house.

I always tell everyone, your first visit you will receive the tour, you find out randomly where everything is, and we will ask can I get you, would you like, etc… the next time you come over you are on your own. If your hungry, you know where the fridge is. If you gotta go to the bathroom, well you know where to find it. If you need a nap you know where the bed or couch can be found.

Once you have been introduced and received… our home is your home. Once our home is your home, you can walk in and out with confidence and assurance in the knowledge that you are welcome.

It is the same in our Heavenly Father’s house.

so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.

Ephesians 3:10-12

Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; 

Hebrews 10:19-23

 

Right now my friend the door is open.

Right now we run in and out of the Father’s house.

Right now we can go boldly and confidently to the Father and we have access to all that is in the house (Ephesians 1).

Right now we are to bring our family and the friends we meet to Jesus. We are to tell them about our friend Jesus, who has become more than our friend, but our brother, Savior, and Redeemer. We introduce them to Him, so that when He shows up and knocks on their door… He is not a stranger to them. They can then open the door and meet Him themselves and walk with Him, and through Him, and obtain their introduction, their access to His Father house. Jesus stands at the door and He is the door. He is the door to the house and He is the door of the house.

Right now the door is open.

However, precious one, don’t forget that eventually the door will close.

 

“Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the prudent answered, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. Later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.

Matthew 25:1-13

 

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