KNOCK KNOCK
Text: Revelation 3:20
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”
Knock Knock, who’s there? Atch. Atch, who? Gezunheit!
Knock Knock, who’s there? Boo. Boo, who? Why are you crying?
Knock Knock, who’s there? Dwayne. Dwayne, who? Dwayne the pool I’m dwowning!
The “knock, knock” that I want to address this morning is the knocking the Holy Spirit does on our heart’s door. We all know the “knock, knock” of the Lord. And it’s no joke. In the world, they would rather call it our “conscience”. The truth is, it’s the knuckles of God rapping, tapping, knocking, and sometimes pounding upon the door of our heart with conviction.
The “knock, knock” of the Lord begins early in our childhood. I can already see God’s “knock, knock” on the conscience, or the heart’s door of my grandchildren. What is precious to me is seeing the affect the Lord’s “knock knock” has on them. They are still too young, and innocent to ignore the Holy Spirit’s knock-knocking. In their tenderness they yield quickly. But they are learning…AS WE ALL DO. Learning how to ignore God’s “knock-knocks”.
Then comes the day when we hear the Gospel message (for the first time, or the 1000th time) and we feel the heavy hand of the Lord knocking hard upon the door of our heart. When we finally acknowledge the knock-knock of God and open the door, He comes in, and through forgiveness of our sins, through His precious blood, we begin the have fellowship with Him (which has been His plan all along!).
However, I want to touch on the Knock-knock of the Holy Spirit after our salvation experience. You see, He keeps knocking. The Lord, He just never stops knock-knocking!
Song of Solomon 5:1-6 Titled in my Ryrie Study Bible as “The Honeymoon Is Over”.
The wife is in bed.
The husband, who has been away, arrives late in the night and finds the door locked, and he has no key, so he knocks upon the door, to get his wife’s attention, to come and open the door.
He calls out to her in a kind, and longing voice.
She stays in bed complaining of the trouble she has taken to get ready for bed, and the disruption it will cause her to get up.
The husband places his hand upon the door handle once more to see if she will go ahead and open the door. Finding his entry still prevented, he stops knocking, and leaves.
From her bed (after a moment of hesitation, then reflection on her initial responses) the wife, her heart now flooded with love and emotion for her husband, rises up to open the door. As she places her hand upon the door latch, residue of the cologne he has anointed himself with is still upon it, and it coats her fingers, only making her more anxious to let him in.
However, as she unlocks and opens the door, she finds the doorway empty. It is obvious her husband has given up trying to get in. He has judged her response and has departed to find other lodgings for the night.
She desperately searches for him, calling out to him, but is unable to find him.
Jesus told the people of Jerusalem (in Luke 19 at the Triumphant Entry) because they did not know the time of God’s visitation, they would suffer horribly. In essence, He was saying, you heard the knock-knocking, but refused to get up and answer the door!
Peter echoes this principle (1Peter2:21) when he speaks of the lost having a day of God’s visitation.
God’s knock-knocks are not just reserved for when we do wrong, but most times, it’s when:
-He is wanting to move us to pray.
-He is wanting us to speak to someone.
-He is wanting to do a new work in our lives.
Remember, God’s knock-knocks, are no joke. He is serious. He loves you and wants to make wonderful changes in your life.
Jeremiah 29:10-14“…I will visit you…I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will (be able to) call upon Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found of you….”
Conclusion
Knock, knock. Who’s there?
END
