Imagine that someone has been knocking on your door for several days. They have been relentlessly calling out your name, but you never get up to answer the call or knock at the door. Over and over again, the person at the door continues to knock and call out your name.
“Hello, please open the door!”
“Hello, can you hear me?”
You may think this scenario merely reflects your knowing who is at the door and your refusal to get up and open it. Maybe you don’t like the person at the door, or perhaps you don’t know the person at the door. Indeed, that would be the most sensible reason for not responding to the calling of your name and the repetitious knock at the door!
What if you could not HEAR the knock at the door? What if you could not HEAR the calling of your name? This makes no sense, you say! How could I not hear the knocking at the door? We can find the exact tragic scenario in the Bible to answer this question.
The Knock at the Door
Revelation 3:20 (KJV) — 20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my sound*, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. (italics mine, see * note).
In all my years of reading this scripture, it never stood out to me that even though Jesus knocked on the door, it didn’t mean those inside could hear Him knocking. Notice the following:
- I stand at the door and knock.
- If any man hears me knocking,
- And opens the door,
- I will come in and fellowship with him.
As if Jesus being on the OUTSIDE isn’t tragic enough, here we see a TRAGIC and TERRIBLE truth!
Not everyone will hear Jesus knocking.
I hope you pause right here as you read this! What if Jesus is standing outside of my life, knocking over and over again, but I simply cannot hear Him knocking? This should cause anyone who claims to be a Christian to pay attention! Why? Because the text implies a tragedy that any of us could fall prey to! But how does this happen?
Damning Diagnosis
Revelation 3:17–19 (KJV) — 17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: 18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
Did you catch it? Material success was duping those within the house. They had little problems and great prosperity. Life was going good. They were making money, living life, and enjoying what they likely perceived as the “blessings of God.” In their mind, they were good. Unlike the early days of their walk with God, when they likely fought to get ahead, they now felt a sense of security and success. What began to happen?
Revelation 3:15–16 (KJV) — 15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
Their success began to lead to spiritual stagnation. Their prayer lives, their passion for the things of God, and their relationship with Christ started to decline slowly. Tragically, the reality of becoming lukewarm is that one seldom knows it is happening! Indeed, this is how backsliding starts for so many. They begin to drift away from everything that marked their spiritual beginning.
- They start going through the motions.
- They start feeling less and less of God.
- They start seeing more and more wrong with the Church.
- They become less appreciative of the things that helped turn their lives around.
- They begin to justify less prayer, less bible reading, and less commitment.
- They begin to find value in material things instead of spiritual things.
Somehow, the very Christ that had made all the success they enjoyed had been PUSHED OUT OF THE HOUSE!
Will You Hear?
Now, Christ is knocking at the door of the house that He helped bring success to!
Nothing is more tragic than shutting out from the house the one who built the house!
Oh, but if I can scream at the top of my lungs to the countless men and women today who find themselves unknowingly in this position. My heart breaks to see Jesus knocking at the door of those whose success was made possible by the one they have now shut out.
You say now, “I don’t hear anyone knocking,” and I respond: That is exactly the tragedy of this warning given by Christ to the Church of Laodecia!
IF YOU HEAR MY VOICE! IF YOU HEAR ME KNOCKING!
The only way you can identify if you are deaf to the knock at the door is to examine the fervor of your spiritual walk with God. In this, I believe, you can find a restoration of hearing that will enable you to hear Christ knocking at the door. All the signs will be there if you are willing to be honest with yourself.
- Dying efforts to pray
- Dying commitment to the things of God
- Dying passions for your church and church family
- Dying passions for worship and giving
- Dying passion to reach the lost
- Dying passion seen in prioritizing material things over spiritual things
As Christ screamed from the letter to the Laodecians, who were unaware of His being pushed out of the house:
Revelation 3:18–19 (KJV) — 18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
BE ZEALOUS and REPENT!
Launch yourself back into the things you have drifted away from with ZEAL and PASSION and REPENT!
Oh God, FORGIVE ME for becoming lukewarm. Forgive me for pushing You outside of my life! Forgive me for becoming so captured by the success you made possible in my life!
WILL YOU HEAR?
*The Greek word used for “voice” is also used as “sound” throughout the New Testament. Here, in context, it implies the sound of knocking that announces Jesus at the door.
