You hear a knock on the front door of your house. Or you hear the doorbell ring in your home. What thoughts go through your mind as you head toward the front door? What emotions do you typically feel? Like so many situations in life the answers to those questions depend on the circumstances surrounding the knock on the door or the ringing of the doorbell. If you were waiting for a dear friend or a close relative to arrive you would have feelings of anticipation. A smile would form on your face as you headed toward the front door. But imagine if you were several months behind on your mortgage and you knew that the person at the door had in his hand an eviction notice. Sadness would blanket you as you dragged yourself to the front door. And you would probably have different reactions to a knock at the door or the ring of a doorbell depending on the time of day or night. Finally, I guess our reaction to someone being at our front door depends on who is on the other side of the door and what they want. Do we know the person? Are they trying to sell us something? What is the purpose for their visit? The answers to all those questions will influence what we think and feel when there is a knock on our door or our doorbell rings.
With those thoughts and feelings in mind let’s turn our attention to the words of our Savior in Revelation 3:14-22. (Read text.) This morning Jesus is knocking at the door of our heart. There is a part of us that is scared to answer the door. In the house of our heart there are things we don’t want him to see. But Jesus comes to bring us great things. On top of that he wants to have fellowship with us today and forever. May we listen as the Holy Spirit tells us to:
ANSWER THE DOOR!
I. Jesus is calling us to repent
II. Jesus is offering us forgiveness
III. Jesus wants to be our guest
In Revelation 2-3 we find seven letters from Jesus to seven different Christian churches. We just finished discussing those chapters at our Thursday morning Bible class. The seven letters to the seven churches follow a similar pattern consisting of seven parts. Normally, there is the call for John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, to write to a specific church. Then a powerful description of Jesus is given. Then there is a word of praise for the congregation. Following that there is a word of rebuke and then an admonition to do the right thing. The letters continue with a call to hear what Jesus says and normally conclude with a gospel promise.
The letter to the Laodiceans is unique among the seven. It contains no word of praise for the congregation. We often say of someone or something at the end of list that it is “last but not least.” In this case Laodicea was last and least! Jesus had nothing good to say about the congregation. His letter was an urgent call to repentance coupled with fearful warnings.
I.
I guess it could be a risky thing for a pastor to stand before his congregation and compare it to the Laodiceans. Your reaction might be, “What are you saying about us, Pastor? Are you telling us that there is nothing praiseworthy about our congregation?” No, that is not what I am saying. But since we are a congregation of sinners we need to continually hear Jesus’ call to repent. Repentance isn’t a one-time act. It is a daily part of a believer’s life.
So what is repentance? In our service this morning we are considering the nature of true repentance. In its simplest sense repentance is a change of mind. When we are confronted with the Ten Commandments, God’s holiness, and his righteous expectations of us we are filled with disgust and horror over who we are and what we have done. We then turn to God in faith and he assures us that our sins are forgiven. In view of God’s mercy we then think differently about our words, and thoughts, and actions. The Bible says this repentance is a continual process for believers.
The first thing Jesus did in his letter to the Laodiceans was to confront them with their sins. “15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” Ouch! Sometimes the truth hurts. The Christians in Laodicea had become lukewarm in their lives of sanctification. Sure they weren’t living like outright pagans or unbelievers. Their lives weren’t totally immoral and unbelieving. But they also weren’t living like the salt and light they had been called to be. Their words were partially diluted and polluted by sin. Their thoughts were only partially focused on Christ. Their actions were warmed by their love for Jesus but they were also kind of “ho-hum” and “half-hearted.” They were not on fire for Jesus nor were they on fire in their love for others. Because of their spiritual apathy and laziness Jesus warned them that he was about to give up on them.
Now it is important for us to recognize that Jesus never wishes that his followers would become cold toward him and fall from the faith. But we can understand his frustration. It’s as if he is saying, “Laodiceans, in a way it would be easier if you were outright unbelievers. If you were stone cold toward me you would be less of a danger to other Christians and you might be more easily converted to me.” Those must have been harsh words for them to hear.
And there was more. Jesus continued, “17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’” The Laodiceans had let themselves become deceived. They really thought that their lukewarm lives of faith and their lackluster Christianity would make God love them. “We are pretty good people who live decent lives, so God must love us,” seems to have been their thinking. They were sadly mistaken about their spiritual health and their Christian living. Jesus went on to say, “But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” The Laodiceans needed a reality check and some time for some honest reflection. So Jesus was knocking on the door of their hearts. The One knocking at the door of their hearts was calling them to repentance.
Today Jesus is knocking at the door of our hearts. We can see ourselves in the Laodiceans. Sure our lives may be better than many people around us. But is there any fire in our love for God? How have you approached your worship this morning? Is there a burning desire in your heart to hear God’s Word and to respond with praise, prayers, and thanksgiving? And is there any fire in our love for others? Or do we just exchange common courtesies and greetings while we harbor sinful thoughts against others? Are we actively looking for ways to serve God by serving others or do we live a life of lukewarm love? We can see why Jesus is knocking at the door of our heart today. He is calling us to repent of our tepid response to his love and our halfhearted obedience to his commandments.
Perhaps you have heard the story about the pastor who went to visit one of the members of his congregation. He knocked several times on the door of the house of a woman who hadn’t been in church for a while. He decided to leave a note and he thought it would be a good idea to include a Bible passage. He wrote one of the verses that I just read to you from Revelation. “20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock.” The pastor had some other visits to make so he figured he would stop back later in the day. A few hours later he walked back up to the door and saw a note from the woman he was trying to visit. The note had a Bible passage on it. It was Genesis 3:10 which reads, “I heard you…and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
Maybe we are afraid to answer the door because we don’t want Jesus to see us the way we are. Or maybe we have been deceived into thinking we don’t need Jesus. After all we seem to get along okay on our own and we live a good life. But may the Holy Spirit give us ears to hear what Jesus is saying as he knocks on the door of our heart. He is calling us to repent.
II.
For a moment I want you to imagine another situation where you hear a knock at your door or where you hear your doorbell ring. You look out of one of the windows in your house and you see Ed McMahon and the Publishers Clearing House Prize Patrol making their way to your front door. They have one of those oversized checks with your name on it made out for a million dollars. Wouldn’t you tear the door off the hinges to let Ed into your house? It wouldn’t matter what we were wearing our how dirty our house was we would enthusiastically welcome someone bringing us a million bucks.
Continuing the idea of Jesus knocking at the door of our hearts listen again to what he wants to bring us. “18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. 19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.” When Jesus knocks at the door of a person’s heart he not only calls him or her to repent he also offers him or her forgiveness, new life, and salvation.
Jesus had everything that the Laodiceans needed. But their refusal to repent was preventing them from receiving forgiveness. In addition to forgiveness Jesus was ready and willing to give them the pure gold of a stronger faith. Through the precious promises of the gospel Jesus wanted to clothe them in his holiness. The Savior also wanted to give them the healing ointment of faith for their spiritual eyes to allow them to see clearly. Although Jesus had nothing good to say about the congregation in Laodicea he certainly didn’t withhold his desire for them to make a spiritual recovery. He extended the same affection to them as he did to the other six churches. In clear and direct words the Good Shepherd expressed his love for his wandering sheep. In fact we get the feeling that Jesus even poured out more of his love on them than those in the other churches mentioned in Revelation 2-3.
Today Jesus is knocking at the door of our hearts. Once again he is here with us offering us forgiveness. He also wants to make us spiritual millionaires. He points us to his perfect life and reminds us that it belongs to us by faith. Again he leads us to his cross to show us the richness of his mercy. Jesus also exchanges the soiled garments of our sinfulness for the royal robes of his righteousness. Seeing the baptismal font in the front of our sanctuary reminds us that we who have been baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ. His perfect life is ours and his sacrificial death is credited to us. On our spiritually blind eyes Jesus again puts the ointment of his forgiveness so that we can see life as it really is as one of God’s children. Realizing what Jesus wants to bring us may we answer the door as he knocks. Jesus wants to bring us forgiveness and everything that goes with it.
Speaking of someone knocking at the door I went to tell you about a young man named Scott. He became a member of the congregation in Tulsa where I served as pastor. Scott worked as a delivery guy for Pizza Hut. When I saw his car pull into the driveway of the parsonage I would run to the door. On a fairly regular basis Scott would bring us pizzas from cancelled or incorrect orders. He always cleared it with his manager but instead of throwing the pizzas away he would offer them to me and my family. Seeing Scott at the door in his Pizza Hut uniform holding his insulated pizza deliver bag would cause my mouth to start watering. I would run to the door to welcome Scott. I pray that the Holy Spirit would create much greater enthusiasm in us as we respond to the Savior’s knock. He has precious gifts of grace that he wants to give us. Today with the eyes of faith may we see Jesus standing at the front door of our heart. With the ears of faith may we hear him calling. Then may we answer the door and welcome him to receive the great things he offers.
III.
Not only does Jesus want to call us to repentance and bring us great things he also wants to be our guest. We hear him say, “20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” Yes, Jesus’ call to repentance may make us uncomfortable. But think of how awesome it is to have Jesus as our guest. How can we not answer the door of our heart and open it wide to him?
It is important to remember that Jesus wrote these words to believers. Until Jesus calls a person to faith that person can’t open his or her heart to believe in Jesus. But once we have been brought to faith we can let our sinful nature slam the door on Jesus. We can resist his call to daily repentance and despise the forgiveness he wants to bring into our lives. But then we only rob ourselves of the joy of having Jesus join us in fellowship.
Once again I want you to go back to the imaginary scenario of someone knocking at your door or ringing your doorbell. Imagine a dearly loved friend is coming over for dinner. You have been checking your watch repeatedly. You are eagerly anticipating your friend’s arrival. Finally, you see your friend just outside the door. He or she doesn’t have to knock or ring the doorbell. You open the door even before he or she gets to the door. When we hear the closing promise that Jesus made that will become our reaction. Our dinner with Jesus will go on forever in heaven. Jesus said, “21 To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.” The banquet of salvation at the Lamb’s high feast will never end. May we never shut him out of our lives so that we miss the eternal fellowship meal he offers us.
A few years ago when my family and I were living in Cincinnati there was a knock on the door of the parsonage early in the morning. My daughter answered the door and came to tell me that there was a police officer at the door. I guess it would be fair to say that my heart skipped a beat. I hurried to the door. The officer asked me if it was my car parked out on the street in the fire lane. The night before I had moved the car out of the driveway so that my cousin could back our camper into the driveway. I had planned on leaving the car where I parked it for just a minute. Obviously I forgot about it and a minute turned into all night. “I’ll give you a few minutes to move the car or it is going to be towed,” the officer said. I immediately ran out and moved the car. Although that knock on the door embarrassed me I am happy that the officer gave me a chance to move my car before he called for a tow truck.
In a similar way Jesus’ knock on the door of our hearts and his call for us to repent may embarrass us and make us feel ashamed. But the alternative is that our soul will be towed away to hell forever. When Jesus rings the doorbell of our soul he wants to save us from self-delusion and damnation. He wants to bring us forgiveness and give us heaven.
Our reaction to a knock at our front door or to the ringing of our doorbell depends on a lot of things. But the biggest influence on our thoughts, and feelings, and actions has to be the person on the other side of the door. Today we know who is knocking on the door of our heart. It is our Savior. Jesus stands at the door and knocks. He is calling us to repent. He is offering us forgiveness. He wants to be our guest. Friends in Christ, answer the door! Amen.
