Are You Knocking

Are You Knocking By Bro. David Rogers

Bethlehem Baptist Church

Luke 11:9-10

Have you ever gone to a house and knocked on the door and no one answered. You see that all the cars are in the driveway. You can hear the T.V. blaring, the stereo is booming from upstairs, the dog is barking, the children are screaming and no one can hear you knocking. How frustrated do you get? Do you bang on the door harder, do you call out? Yet still no answers you. How mad do you get, knowing that someone is home but they are not interested in hearing your knock? They don’t want to answer the door. Just think how God must feel when we, His Children, are to busy to answer His knock on our hearts. How must He hurt when He is trying to get our attention and we refuse to answer.

This week during the revival God knocked on several people hearts. Many answered His knock but many did not answer His knock. Maybe their radio was turned up to loud or the kids were screaming, the t.v. had something on it that was to good to hear Him. Maybe work was to consuming that they did not have time to hear God knocking.

If you are a Child of God I want to bring something to the fore front of your attention. God does not say I am to be 4th of last on your list of things to do. No. He says that He is to be first before yourself, your family, your job, your hobby, your t.v. shows, before anything else God is to be first. There is nothing that is more important that God in your life. I want you to understand I love Carla and Kristen dearly but God comes before the and that is the right place. Because how can I truly love them If I don’t love my creator and savior first. He teaches me to love. Yet many of us place God at the bottom of our list of things to do. When we don’t place God first we can not or will not hear Him knocking.

At the Milan Cathedral there are three inscriptions over the respective doorways. Over the right-hand door there is this motto: “All that pleases is but for a moment.” Over the left-hand door the words are: “All that troubles is but for a moment.” But over the center doorway there is this on simple sentence: “Nothing is important save that which is eternal.” How true that statement is yet so many are more concerned with that which pleases or the troubles that come along in life. They are not concerned about the eternal. Tom Landry the coach of the Dallas Cowboys was once asked how he had been so successful. His response was “In 1958, I did something everyone who has been successful must do, I determined my priorities for my life would be God, family and then football.” Oh that more Christians would determine this.

But tonight I am not going to talk so much about us not hearing God knock but about

Him hearing our knocking. How does God respond to our knock? Luke 11:9-10 “Luk 11:9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Luk 11:10 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”

Even after hearing all our excuses and whining for not hearing Him God stills answers when we knock at His door. God is not asleep. He is not in bed, nor is he watching t.v., or jamming on the radio, nor to busy to answer when we call. Even though we often fail Him God still wants to answer our prayers and He will. We do not have to storm the gates of heaven nor knock down the doors of heaven to get His attention.

It is His desire to hear our prayers. Isa. 65:24 says “Isa 65:24 And it shall come to pass that, before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.” God wants to have that close personnel relationship with us. He wants to talk with us. He wants to be our best friend. There are those who say that God does not answer prayers, that He no longer perform miracles. To them I say maybe you are not getting the message that sometimes God answer is no. Our problem is that we don’t want to take no for the answer. God always hears our prayers and He always answers our prayers. Sometimes His answer is no not because He wants to punish us or play games with us but because that is the right answer for us at that time. Over the years I have learned that some of the best answers that God has ever given to my prayers has been no. God knows what is best for us.