Revelation 3:20 October 12, 2003
Opening the Door to Jesus
In Mid September Roger and Sue Mitchell returned to Mississagua as a follow up on the Church_SHIFT Conference. I was out of town with family so I was not able to go, but I heard a recording of Sue Mitchell’s talk from the Sunday Evening Session. While she said many important things, and you can listen to her on tape, the one thing that caught my ear was that the year between this September and next September is a year of Alignment for the church - that the church and individuals in the church are to spend this year preparing for a work that God is doing next September, and we prepare by aligning our will with his, our person with his.
The whole move of church shift is to get our minds off the church as an institution that meets on Sunday morning and realize that we are the church – therefore you are the church in what ever spheres of life you walk in – if you work at a bank, you are the church in that bank – if you are a stay home parent, you are the church h in your home, at you kid’s school, at hockey practice – you are the church, the body of Christ
As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5: 20We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.
You are an ambassador for Christ in every area of you life. And this does not mean that we only act morally and ethically and try to take advantage of opportunities to evangelize the people around you – it means far more than this to take the image of the kingdom being yeast, the presence of Christ in you is to permeate the whole structure of the sphere of life that you are in, and it is to transform the structure of that structure just as yeast transforms the structure of the bread!
The question is “how can we even think of being the church in the world if our faith is lukewarm as the Laodiceans are described.
I had coffee this week with Lynn Marsh – She’s the pastor over at Danforth Baptist, and we were talking about how if we are going too see our people be the church in their sphere’s of influence, that we can no longer live just on the surface of Faith, relationship and understanding, there must be a depth to us as Christians.
Another thing that church shift teaches is that the one of the purposes on the gathering of the church on Sunday mornings is to equip us to be the church in the world. At this time I don’t think that means we do workshops on Christian business practice, or how to be a better banker, social worker, teacher, painter, plumber, but we should be equipping you to go deeper into God!
If we are deep with God, we can hear his voice and his ways in our place of work and life. He will give us the wisdom, the insight, the compassion, the mercy, the justice that we need so that people will see our good works and praise the father in heaven
This is why I want to return to the Church in Laodicea today. I particularly want to return to verse 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.”
The image reminds me of a spouse who’s partner has shut down emotionally so that one day he shouts “I’m here knocking, won’t you just let me in!”
Are you letting God into you life? Are you letting him into every area of your life?
Are there areas that you are holding back? Maybe because it is just not proper to talk about such things with God, maybe because there is shame involved, maybe because there you’re not so sure that the feelings that you have over that area of life are holy.
Psalm 62:8 says
Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your hearts to him,
for God is our refuge.
Pour out you heart to him – pour it all out
I remember coming here to a prayer and worship time. It was one of those days when I was grumpy with something, I just didn’t know what yet, but I was going to find out! I was just fit to be tied when I came into the church, and the song that was playing said I’ve given you my heart, and all that is within. And I said “Oh God, you don’t want what is in my heart right now.”
It was like when a friend comes to the door and your house is a disaster – dirty dishes, laundry, the bathroom needs a disease control team, and they’re knocking wanting to come in for a cup of tea.
There are days when our hearts look like that and Jesus is knocking and asking to come in and we stand on the front porch saying, “You know Lord, this is not the best time, my life is kind of a mess right now, maybe you could give me a couple of days to clean it up and then I’ll have you over…”
When David encouraged us to pour out our hearts to God it is not like his life was together – David’s one son Ammon fell in lust with his half sister, Tamar, and he tricked her into coming into his chamber where he raped her. Once he had had his way with her, he hated her (probably out of shame for what he had done) she runs back to her full brother Absalom’s house and tells him what has happened. King David hears about it, he is furious, but does nothing. Absolom hates his half brother for what he did to his sister, but says nothing until two years later. He throws a big party for all his brothers, and at the party he kills Ammon. Needless to say, the party is over and Absolom fled the country. Three years later, David morns that he has lost both son and calls Absolom back to Jerusalem, but he won’t have him in his presence.
Absolom comes back and starts to build support for a revolution to make himself king. He builds enough strength that when he marches on Jerusalem with his army, David has to flee to the hills. And it is in the hills and caves where he fled from this son whom he loves and hates, this son who took justice into his own hands when the king stood idle, this son who aims to kill him; that he writes this psalm that encourages us to pour out our hearts to God. What a nice family! His heart must have been full of such good things! But he doesn’t hold back, he pours it out to God and he encourages us to do the same.
Listen to the full Psalm:
Psalm 62
1 My soul finds rest in God alone;
my salvation comes from him.
2 He alone is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.
3 How long will you assault a man?
Would all of you throw him down-
this leaning wall, this tottering fence?
4 They fully intend to topple him
from his lofty place;
they take delight in lies.
With their mouths they bless,
but in their hearts they curse.
Selah
5 Find rest, O my soul, in God alone;
my hope comes from him.
6 He alone is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
7 My salvation and my honor depend on God [1] ;
he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
8 Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your hearts to him,
for God is our refuge.
Selah
9 Lowborn men are but a breath,
the highborn are but a lie;
if weighed on a balance, they are nothing;
together they are only a breath.
10 Do not trust in extortion
or take pride in stolen goods;
though your riches increase,
do not set your heart on them.
11 One thing God has spoken,
two things have I heard:
that you, O God, are strong,
12 and that you, O Lord, are loving.
Surely you will reward each person
according to what he has done.
David was a man after Gods own heart it says – and yet he pours out his heart to God even when it is full of horrendous strife and garbage.
Jesus is knocking at the door – he doesn’t want in only if the house is clean – he just wants in
Withered hand, empty cup – Pam
I want to remind you that this verse is written first to the believers – we might have Jesus as our savior, but he wants in the house.
How do we “let Jesus in?”
Dan Olding
Others? How have you let Jesus in the door, and what effect has it had on your life?
