Scripture: Revelation 3:14-22; John 14:21-23
Theme: Who Owns the Home?
Title: It’s Jesus – May I Come In?
Is Jesus inside your church or heart or is He knocking at the door?
INTRO:
Grace and peace from God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit!
I read this advertisement recently:
Room Wanted. Single male, non-smoker, is seeking a place to stay. Unselfish, good natured, and loves children. A real ‘can-do’ person, able to rise above problems. Great culinary skills (can work wonders with bread and fish) and has experience in wine making. Outstanding skills in managing medical emergencies, counseling, and teaching stress management. Not judgmental – willing to accept you just as you are. An excellent listener, compassionate and has an understanding heart. Have been known to help others change their lives for the better; able to give power to the faint and strength to the powerless. Willing to stay in any unoccupied room and remodel it. – Byran Beverly
Along with that I read this message that was written over the door of a castle in England –
“It is the duty of the host to make his guests feel at home. It is the duty of the guests to remember that they are not.” – (Reader’s Digest March 1983).
When we look at the Church of Laodicea and the words that Jesus spoke to this church both of those statements could be put into play. Jesus was looking for a place to stay and the current attitude of the church was very much like the words on that castle.
Our main passage this morning is a rather puzzling piece of scripture. After you get through all the things that Jesus says about the church:
+You are lukewarm.
+You are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and naked.
You are left with a rather stark image. This Church was in some deep trouble and it wasn’t even aware of it.
I am sure that they were waiting to hear John’s words concerning them. I am sure that in their hearts they were certain that they would receive some glowing report. That Jesus would want them to know how proud He was of them and how they were doing. How that He was pleased about all the new things they had been doing and that they were the best of the best of the churches. After all they have been left for last and everyone knows that the best is always mentioned last so that everything will finish on a high note.
If that was their thinking, then they got it all wrong. They were last not because they were the best, but because they were in the most trouble.
But being in trouble doesn’t mean that all is lost.
Jesus doesn’t abandon them. He does the exact opposite. He tells them their current condition and then shares with them what they can do to begin to repair the situation. He doesn’t condemn them and leave them.
That is not Jesus’ way.
Yes, He does share some rather unpleasant news with them. But He doesn’t reject them and then leave them to wither and die.
In verse 20, Jesus stands at the door of the Church (the doors of their hearts) and knocks.
There is a powerful image here in just a few verses. There is also a rather sticky question.
How did Jesus get on the outside of this Church?
It’s not like they were pagans. This was His Church – the CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST in the town of Laodicea. It was a church that many believed had been started by one of the Apostle Paul’s disciples, a man by the name of Epaphras. This is the same man who had also started the Church in Colossae just nine miles away from Laodicea and was one of the Apostle Paul’s best friends.
We also know that the Apostle Paul visited this church and wrote a letter to them. We read that in his letter to the Church of Colossae.
And when this letter has been read among you, have it read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you read also the letter from Laodicea.
—?Colossians 4:16
There is some thought that Paul’s first letter to Timothy was written while Paul was staying in the city of Laodicea (Sophrone Pétridès, "Laodicea" in Catholic Encyclopedia (New York 1910).
What all this tells us is that at some point in time the Church of Laodicea had been doing quite well. It had been on the straight and narrow. It had been a growing and maturing church.
And we know that this Church received Jesus’ advice. It reopened its doors to Jesus, it repented and survived. It not only survived it became one of the largest churches in its area.
Archaeologists have found that over the next 300 years the church continued to grow to the point where its largest church took up over a city block of land. They also discovered that over 20 different Christian Churches were built in and around the city.
It is important that we remember when we read these letters to the different churches that what we read is not the complete story. Thankfully by looking through history we can see what happened to each of these churches. So many of the churches listened to Jesus and not only fixed their issues they continued to exist for hundreds of years.
The only question that really nags me this morning as I look at this passage is this question.
– How did Jesus get on the outside of this Church needing to ask them to let Him back in?
How does any church do that?
It got me to thinking about the different ways that people asked Jesus into their homes in the Gospels. We can take that word home and mean heart or life. With all of this in mind let’s look at a couple of homes Jesus was invited and how it turned out.
I. We see Jesus in Simon’s Home – Luke 7:36-50
Simon the Pharisee invited Jesus to his home one day. He invited Jesus to come and eat a meal with him and some of his friends.
Everything went well until this one particular woman showed up with an alabaster jar. She sat down at Jesus’ feet and began cleaning them with her tears. She then wiped his feet dry with her hair and finished by pouring fragrant oil on his feet.
All this aggravated Simon. It caused him to despise both Jesus and the woman. Simon judged the woman to be a rank sinner and since Jesus allowed her to be at his feet then Jesus must be a false prophet. After all, any holy man or prophet would have quickly surmised that this woman was a horrible sinner and never allowed her to touch him.
This of course meant that Jesus needed to taken as quickly as possible to the nearest hill, thrown down and stoned to death. At the time that was what was to happen to all false prophets and if Jesus couldn’t see this woman for being the evil woman she was then he didn’t deserve to be alive. No holy man would ever associate with her kind.
I don’t believe Simon invited Jesus that day to a casual supper. I don’t think his intentions were to enjoy a time of food and fellowship. I think that it was all to be a set up where he would be able to expose Jesus as a false prophet and fraud. I think it was Simon’s way of having Jesus killed.
However, as you read the story it is Simon who is exposed. Jesus elevates the woman while at the same time teaching Simon what it really means to open your heart and home to the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY. Jesus looks at the woman and tells her – “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
There are some people that will invite Jesus into their lives for a little while. However, they are more interested in testing Jesus, finding out what is wrong with Jesus and being determined to find a way to not allow him to be a part of their lives.
It’s all rather sad. It’s spiritual suicide to tell you the truth.
II. Then there is the home of Martha, Mary and Lazarus
In Luke 10 and John 11 and 12 we find Jesus being invited to the home of Martha, Mary and Lazarus.
On one visit we see Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus fully engaged: giving all of her attention and heart to Jesus.
On that same visit Jesus reminds Martha what is ultimately important and what is not important. Spiritual things are more important than biscuits. In other words, Worship and Praise are more important than All Church meals.
On another visit we see Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. That must have been some kind of visit, don’t you think?
On the final visit we see Mary pouring a jar of expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet. This visit was right before Jesus went to Jerusalem to be arrested, condemned, and crucified.
In all the visits, Jesus is warmly welcomed. He is given the seat of honor and is allowed to teach, to instruct and even give some corrections when needed.
In other words, Jesus is allowed to come into the house and into the hearts and minds of Mary, Martha and Lazarus. He becomes more than their teacher and friend. He becomes their Savior and LORD.
And then we come to our passage this morning:
III. Jesus is asking to Come Into the Church of Laodicea Again
It’s a rather strange picture – Jesus knocking on the Church’s door again or as others have put it – Jesus knocking on the door of the people’s hearts again. People who had been a part of the Church for some time.
I know that we have used these verses to speak about evangelism and it is a pretty good image but that is not what is going on in this passage.
Jesus is not talking to pagans, heathens, and unbelievers.
Jesus is talking to His Church who for some reason had either asked Jesus to be on the outside or because of their behavior have caused Jesus to have to be on the outside. Either way it is not a good condition.
We could look back over the last few verses and see what had happened. In a nutshell the Church had become so self-sufficient that it no longer needed Jesus. It thought it had enough resources, it thought it had enough passion and desire and it thought it had the spiritual sight and vision that it needed. However, it had none of those things.
Now, Jesus is back at their door – the door of the Church and the doors of their hearts and He is asking permission to come back in. He wants to share some holy conversation and some spiritual food. He wants to share real life.
It reminds me of John chapter 20 when Jesus shared a meal with the disciples after His Resurrection. It didn’t happen in a house, but it did happen over a meal on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.
It was a meal that enabled Simon Peter to reconnect with Jesus and His mission. It was a time of fellowship that enabled some deep forgiveness and healing.
I think that is what Jesus wanted for Laodicea.
He wanted them to let him back in their church and in their hearts.
He wanted to reconnect with them.
Jesus doesn’t try to force his way back into their church or into their lives. He simply knocks on the door.
He wants to come in and share a meal – a time of spiritual nourishment and fellowship.
He wants to listen.
He wants to bring His Holy Presence into their lives again.
He wants them to be able to go to the next step in their walk with Him.
Jesus knew all the problems this church had – its lukewarmness, its temptation to be self-sufficient, its pride, its belief that all it needed was a good checkbook and its inability to be able to see or hear spiritual things.
And yet, Jesus doesn’t walk away.
That’s not the way of the Holy Trinity; the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
They didn’t walk away from Noah when he got roaring drunk after the Flood.
They didn’t walk away from Abraham and Sarah when they had a baby with Hagar outside of God’s will.
They didn’t walk away from Aaron when he built the Golden Calf.
They didn’t walk away from Joshua when he refused to call on God’s help with the Gibeonites.
They didn’t walk away from Nebuchadnezzar when he declared one day that he (Nebuchadnezzar) was higher than the Lord God Almighty.
They didn’t walk away from Jonah, Samson or even Job when he was complaining and declaring loudly that God was not fair.
That’s not God’s way yesterday, today or tomorrow.
History tells us that Laodicea invited Jesus back in the door. They sat down and listened to Jesus – they took his words – His feelings about their lukewarmness, their smugness and their self-righteousness – they repented and He forgave them, renewed and refreshed them.
I like that about God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
When we have shut Him out – He doesn’t force His way back in, but He does knock on our heart doors.
Not to harm us but always to help us.
Not to tell us we are going to Hell but that He will bring Heaven to Earth to us.
I think it would be safe to say that at some time in our lives we probably have had the Laodicean disease – of pushing Jesus to the side and perhaps even out the door – and have depended on our own self-sufficiently, our own spirituality and have suffered from some spiritual deafness and blindness.
It’s easy to do. It’s easy to put Jesus on the shelf so to speak and do our own thing. To put aside times of worship and praise. To put aside our Bibles and prayer time. To think that we are doing okay when deep down we know we are just lukewarm.
When those times happen then it’s time to be quiet and listen. We will hear someone knocking at our heart’s door. It’s Jesus. He is waiting for us to open the door and welcome Him back into our heart and lives.
This morning you may know someone who is suffering from the Laodicean sickness. The sickness of pushing Jesus out the door, of not listening to Him or of becoming lukewarm.
Help them take the time to become quiet. Help them listen to hear Jesus words and his knocking. Jesus has not forsaken them. He is patiently knocking on their heart’s door to come in and share some spiritual nourishment and fellowship.
This is the word of God for the people of God.
Prayer
Holy Communion – Blessing
