Revelation 3:20: Who’s That Knocking at My Door?

INTRODUCTION

A minister told about going to the house of a poor, old woman because he had heard that she had no money to pay her rent. The minister brought the money to help her out, and he knocked at her door. He knocked and knocked, but she didn’t come to the door. She was inside, but she was hiding.

Afterward, she said, “I heard the knocking but I thought it was the landlord coming for the rent.”

This is a parable for us. Jesus comes to us with a gift, but we think he comes for a payment, so we hide and refuse to come to the door.

You have probably heard sermons about Jesus at the door knocking and I know you have seen pictures of Jesus standing outside a door. Around the door weeds are growing and there is no doorknob on the outside of the door. Jesus is knocking and waiting.

This afternoon I want to talk about where that comes from in the Bible and what the message is for us.

I. In the last book of the Bible, the Book of Revelation, St. John has a vision.

A. At the beginning of his vision, St. John saw Christ in glory.

Jesus was seated on a throne in the midst of seven golden lampstands.

He was clothed in a long robe and in his hand he was holding seven stars.

His voice was like the sound of many waters and his face was like the sun shining in its full strength.

John fell at his feet as though dead.

But Jesus laid his right hand on John, and said, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died and behold I am alive for evermore.”

In the vision Jesus told John that the stars were the angels of seven churches, and the lampstands were the seven churches. These churches were in what is now the country of Turkey—in history we call it Asia Minor. This was the part of the world that St. Paul first evangelized, and many churches were established in the early days of the church. We read about it in the Book of Acts in the Bible.

In this vision Jesus gave John a message for each of seven churches in seven cities in Asia Minor: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.

To some of the churches, Jesus points to their faults. To Ephesus he say, “This I have against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.” Then he makes this promise: “To everyone who conquers, I will give permission to eat from the tree of life that is in the paradise of God.”

To the church at Smyrna, Jesus says, “I know your affliction and your poverty. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

Jesus praises the church at Pergamum because of their faithfulness even when one of their members was killed by an enemy of Christ, but he also points to some false teaching that they must correct. He says, “To everyone who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give a white stone, and on the white stone is written a new name that no one knows except the one who receives it.”

Jesus also praises the church at Thyatira, but here again he warns them about an evil woman in their midst—who he calls Jezebel—who is teaching people to eat food sacrificed to idols. He tells the members of this church to hold fast to their faith when he comes to them he will give them the morning star.

To the fifth church, the church at Sardis, Jesus has a lot to say of blame. They need to repent because he will come to them in judgment. But he promises them that there are some among them who are faithful, and these faithful ones will be clothed in white garments and he will confess them before the Father.

The sixth church is the church at Philadelphia—yes, there was a Philadelphia long ago in the ancient world. Philadelphia means “brotherly love in Greek,” and the church in Philadelphia lived up to the name of their city. They were weak but they had kept Jesus’s word of patient endurance, so Jesus promises the ones who conquer that they will be pillars in the temple of God.

B. Then we come to the last church—number seven—the church in Laodicea, and that is the one we want to talk about this afternoon.

Here is the message Jesus gives John to deliver to the church in Laodicea:

“I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spew you out of my mouth. For you say, ‘I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.’ You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. Therefore, I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich; and white robes to clothe you and keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen; and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. I reprove and discipline those whom I love. Be earnest, therefore and repent.

“Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me.”

C. Laodicea was a prosperous city.

It was famous for its textile industry, which manufactured cloth and fine carpets.

It was a banking center.

It had a famous medical school.

The members of the Laodicean Church were wealthy. They were wealthy and satisfied with themselves.

But they had become indifferent to the faith they had once joyfully received.

Jesus calls them “lukewarm.” At our house we drink tea. We like our tea either hot or cold—cold in the summer and hot in the winter. Lukewarm tea and lukewarm water are not nice to drink.

Believers who are “hot” are those who are fervent in their faith. To them Jesus is their most important Friend. To them their faith is the most important thing about them. They live for Jesus. They love as Jesus taught them to love, and their ambition is to be servants of others as Jesus taught them by his example. These are the “hot” Christians who delight their Savior.

I think that the people Jesus calls “cold” are the people who know they fall short of what they ought to be. People who are cold are never comfortable. They shiver, and they want to get warm. When people know they are “cold” toward God, they are ready to come to Jesus because they know their need. That is why Jesus prefers people who are “cold” to those who are lukewarm, and comfortable in their lukewarmness.

These believers in Laodicea were prosperous. Their wealth had led them to think that they were okay with God.

Often, when people become wealthy, they become self-satisfied. They forget their need for God. Their prosperity leads them to think that they are enjoying God’s blessings.

That is why Jesus so often warned of the danger of riches. Poor people were more likely to come to Jesus because they knew they needed God. That is still true today.

II. So Jesus said to them: “Behold I stand at the door and knock…”

A. Let us imagine the householder in that ancient town.

He hears the knock, but he pretends he doesn’t hear it.

The knocking has been going on so long, he’s gotten used to it.

It doesn’t disturb his digestion. It doesn’t disturb his sleep.

He keeps reading his book. If he had a television, he would keep watching it, even while he hears the knocking.

B. I tell you, Jesus is always knocking at our hearts, asking us to open the door and invite him in.

This is the first scene in the story. Jesus outside the door, knocking and knocking, waiting, and knocking more and more persistently.

That Jesus keeps knocking and doesn’t barge right in tells us that Jesus will never force himself into my life against my will.

Many think that whether or not we choose to welcome Jesus into our lives, he will somehow find a way in, and, in the end, make sure that everyone has a happy eternity. But that’s not what the Bible teaches.

But Jesus waits for us to welcome him.

C. Now for the second scene—inside the house. Notice these words: “…if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you and you with me.”

Our best friends are the friends we invite to dinner.

To have Jesus in our lives is to enjoy a rich feast.

Sometimes we talk about the difficulties along the path that leads to eternal life.

That is true: the road we travel through life as Christian believers isn’t smooth.

It is full of difficulties—but it is also full of joys.

Too many people see only the difficulties of belonging to God.

They never taste the delights because they have never invited Jesus into their lives.

There’s something unusual about the feast we enjoy when Jesus comes into our lives

When we invite someone to dinner, we furnish all the food.

But when Jesus comes into our life, he brings the best part of the feast with him.

Jesus becomes more of a host than a guest.

And what a grand banquet we have when Jesus joins us!

III. I know you have heard sermons on this text, but now I want to show you something you may not have thought about.

A. Many evangelistic sermons based on this text. You have heard some of them.

I hope you have responded by opening the door, so that Jesus could enter your heart.

Some of you have enjoyed the company of your gracious Guest for many years.

B. Jesus didn’t say these words as an appeal to unbelievers.

He said them to church members, to believers—or, at least, to people who considered themselves believers.

These Laodiceans had responded to the gospel sometime in the past, but over the years they had become indifferent to the presence of the Savior.

I see this at Village Place. We have people here who were faithful church members most of their lives. They tell me about their churches and the work they did in them. But they don’t get to church anymore. They don’t come to our meeting. To look at their lives, you wouldn’t see much difference from people who never knew God.

All of us have a tendency to drift away from God. We have to keep coming back. That is why prayer and Bible study are so important. That is why church is so important. That is why we have to keep asking ourselves, “What would Jesus have me do today?”

This appeal—“Behold, I stand at the door and knock, if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you and you with me”—is addressed to every one of us—over and over.

Sometimes people invite Jesus into the living room, but they keep him out of the rooms where they spend most of their time. They keep parts of their lives for themselves. So they become part-time Christians.

A famous atheist said, “For me to believe in their Savior: his disciples would have to look more redeemed! (Nietzsche). Are you a ½ Christian or a ¾ Christian—or you in it for God 100%?

It is easy to neglect God and become lukewarm, like those Laodicean believers.

Jesus is telling us that we need to listen for that knocking and open the door again and again and invite the Lord back in.

A good way to start each day is to invite Jesus once again into our hearts that we may be sure of his companionship through the day.

Then our life every day will be continually a rich feast of fellowship with the Lord.

CONCLUSION

Do you remember the little story I told you at the beginning of the message? The poor woman hid from her pastor who was bringing her the rent money because she thought he was the landlord?

I believe that Jesus is always knocking at the doors of people everywhere. But they mistake it for the rent collector. They think that if they let Jesus into their lives, he will make life miserable.

That is so many people dread the idea of becoming what they call, “religious.” They avoid church. They avoid prayer. They avoid the Bible and books about faith. They think living for God is dull and unpleasant. They hear the knocking but they don’t realize it is the Savior, coming to bless them with his gift of life—real life—eternal life.

When we invite Jesus into the house of our life, we are really inviting him into his house. Because we belong to him.

That is why when he comes in he provides such a rich feast—a banquet.

That is what Heaven is—a great banquet where we sit down with all the saints and angels and Jesus himself and rejoice together.

And we can begin that banquet right here, right now. Open the door. Invite him in. Keep opening the door. Keep inviting him in. Live every day with Jesus in your life, as your Savior and Lord and Friend.

Do you remember that old song?

“Into my heart, into my heart,

Come into my heart, Lord Jesus.

Come in today, come in to stay.

Come into my heart, Lord Jesus.”

John 21:15-19: How Peter’s Failure Made Him a Better Man

INTRODUCTION:

Did you know that Peter is mentioned more times in the gospels than all the 11 other disciples put together?

No disciple speaks so often and so much as Peter.

And Jesus speaks oftener to Peter than to any other of his disciples—sometimes in blame and sometimes in praise.

No other disciple is reproved by our Lord so often as Peter, and no disciple ever ventures to reprove his Lord but Peter.

No other disciple ever so boldly confessed and outspokenly acknowledged and encouraged our Lord as Peter did—and no one ever interfered with or tempted Jesus as Peter did.

Jesus spoke more words of approval and praise to Peter than any other person. And at the same time, Jesus said harder things to Peter than he ever said to any other of his 12 disciples—except for Judas

We read so much about Peter that when we close the book we feel like we know him personally.

If someday we have the opportunity to visit with him, it won’t be hard to get into a conversation. There are so many things he can tell us.

Because we read so much about Peter, we know his faults too. Maybe that is why we can relate to him and learn from his example.

I want to talk about a story that happened after Jesus’s resurrection but before his ascension.

It is the story about how Peter and several others of Jesus’s disciples went fishing on the Sea of Galilee, and an encounter with Jesus that changed his life.

But before we get to that, we need to tell about some things that came before.

I. Just a few days before this fishing trip Peter had disgraced himself in a way that is almost unimaginable.

A. Jesus had been arrested in the Garden where he had prayed all night.

Earlier that same night Jesus had warned his disciples that before the night was over, they would all desert him. But Peter argued. He declared loudly: “Even if all the others desert you, I will not.

But Jesus told Peter: “Truly I tell you, before rooster crows two times you will have denied me three times.”

But Peter insisted: “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!”

B. When the soldiers came and arrested Jesus, Peter was ready to fight for Jesus. He drew his sword and chopped off the ear of the slave of the high priest.

Peter’s zeal was misguided and Jesus reproved him. He said, “Put your sword back into its sheath. Am not I to drink the cup the Father has given me?”

C. But Peter didn’t give up. He was determined to prove his love and his courage. So when they led Jesus away, Peter followed—at a distance—right into the courtyard of the house of the high priest. And that was a big mistake.

You remember that a servant girl saw him and said, “You also were with the Nazarene, Jesus.”

And poor Peter, caught off guard, tried casually to deflect the remark: “I don’t know or understand what you are talking about.” And he went out into the courtyard.

The girl saw him again and said to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.” And again Peter denied it.

After a little while some other bystanders made the same accusation, and poor Peter denied with oaths and curses that he even knew Jesus. What had started out as a little lie had escalated into a major catastrophe.

When he heard the rooster crowed the second time, Peter remembered that Jesus had said, “Before the rooster crows two times, you will deny me three times.”

And Peter went out and wept bitterly.

II. And now we come to the story we intend to consider today. It was some time after Resurrection Day. Jesus had appeared to the women at the tomb, and then to Peter, and few times to his friends. The story we are going to talk about is told only in John’s gospel, in his last chapter.

A. Jesus had risen and met with his disciples, but they hadn’t received instructions about what to do next.

Seven of Jesus’s disciples, including Peter, were together by the Sea of Galilee, and Peter said, “I’m going fishing.”

The others came along and they fished all night but caught nothing. Just as day was breaking they saw a stranger on the shore. The stranger told them to cast the net over the right side of the boat and they did—and brought in a prodigious catch of fish.

John said, “It is the Lord!” And Peter—always a man of action—went over the side of the boat and splashed his way to the shore.

After they got the ship beached, Jesus cooked them a breakfast with some of the fish they had caught.

B. The part I want to talk about happened after they had finished their breakfast.

Here it is, from John’s gospel:

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”

(I think that when he said, “Do you love me more than these?” he means, “Do you still claim to love me better than anyone else—because Peter had bragged that even if all the other disciples denied Jesus, he would not.)

But Peter wasn’t bragging anymore. He just said, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

A second time Jesus said to him, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”

Peter said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.”

Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.”

Jesus said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was grieved because he said to him a third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.”

Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.

The reason Peter was grieved when Jesus asked a third time, “Do you love me,” is because he was reminded that three times he had denied that he knew Jesus. And for each of Peter’s three denials, Jesus told him his instructions: “Tend my sheep.”

Peter’s failure was in the past. His vocation was just beginning—his important work of tending and feeding God’s people.

Notice that Jesus said, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” And then Jesus gave him his commission: “Feed my sheep.”

Other qualities are also necessary, but love is the quality that makes the other qualities work together.

In his letter to the Colossians, Paul instructs the believers to clothe themselves with compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, patience, forbearance, and forgiveness, and then he writes, “And above all these clothe yourself with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony” (Colossians 3:12-14). Without love, nothing works.

Did you notice Peter’s remark: “Lord, you know everything! You know that I love you.”

One of the great blessings of belonging to God is the comfort of knowing that God knows all about us and loves us anyway.

A psalmist wrote:

“O Lord, you have searched me and known me!

You know when I sit down and when I rise up;

you discern my thoughts from far away” (Psalm 139:1)

Theologians talk about God’s “omniscience”—that means that God knows everything. But the important thing for you and me is not that God knows everything but that God knows me.

Theologians talk about God’s “omnipresence”—that means that God is everywhere. But the important thing for you and me is not that God is everywhere, but that wherever I am, God is with me.

APPLICATION:

In this encounter, Jesus confronted Peter with his sin. He didn’t tell Peter: “Forget about it. It’s okay. You’re forgiven; we’ll go on as if it never happened.”

Jesus reminded Peter of his failure by asking three times: “Do you love me?”

By saying, “Do you love me more than these?” he reminded Peter of his boast that even if all the others denied Jesus, he would not.

And by giving Peter a job to do, Jesus assured Peter that he was forgiven. Peter would go forth a sadder and wiser man.

The story is told of a six-year-old boy who was running through the house. His mother asked him to stop running because he might stumble and hurt himself or break something.

But the little boy kept running, and he stumbled and fell, and broke a vase.

His father saw it all happen, picked him up, dusted him off, and said, “Don’t worry about it. It’s just a vase.”

But his mother came and knelt down and gathered up the shattered pieces and said softly, “It wasn’t just a vase. It was my favorite vase. My mother gave it to me, her mother gave it to her, and I looked forward to giving it to my children.” And she wept, and the little boy wept, and the mother took him in her arms and hugged him and he hugged her back. (From a sermon by Fred Craddock: “Why Is Forgiveness So Difficult?”).

We shouldn’t take forgiveness for granted. Forgiveness isn’t easy—even for God.

I too have failed the Lord—more times than I even know.

Sometimes I take comfort from the thought that I’m better than a lot of people. But then I have to remind myself that I have had advantages most people haven’t.

I had the advantage of having people in my life who showed me what it means to belong to Jesus. I have experienced God’s blessings, answers to prayer, deliverances from danger. I have experienced God’s generous grace in my life.

If I feel superior, I may be looking down on people who have done better—considering their background and experiences and limitations—they may have done better than I have.

And I realize that I don’t see myself as God sees me—or even as other people see me. The Czechs have a proverb: “For others’ sins we have the eyes of a lynx, for our own, the eyes of a mole.” A lynx is a bobcat—an animal with legendary sharp sight. A mole lives underground and is very nearly blind.

I know I’m not perfect, and I also know that I am blind to most of my sins.

Maybe that’s good. Maybe I would despair if I could see myself as I really am.

After his failure and restoration by Jesus, Peter became a more tender, compassionate person. He knew his own heart in its weakness and sinfulness, and he knew Jesus better than he ever had before.

Peter’s failure introduced him to himself. Before Peter’s failure he had thought of himself as full of love and courage. But after he had disgraced himself by his cowardice, he was forced to see himself as he was—sinful, weak, and prone to give way under pressure.

Our sins can make us better people. It isn’t good that we sin, but we can learn from our sins.

I read this in one of my books last week. The book was written by a Dominican Priest, named Gerald Vann, and the book is called The Divine Pity. Here is what Father Vann wrote:

“Even sin has its redemptive purpose. Even our own personal sins can be turned to good, and are meant to be turned to good in our lives. The shame and sorrow increasing the sense of sin, the realization of the endless patience of God in increasing humility and wonder; all this is part of that process of going down to the depths, that we may learn to be poor, to be meek and to mourn, and that we may be comforted and turned into strong and fearless instruments of God’s purposes.” (p98).

Out of his humiliating failure and great love for Jesus, Peter became a humble, compassionate shepherd of God’s flock. Tradition has it that ever after Peter’s failure, a tear glistened in his eye. He never forgot his sin and it made him the tender-hearted, compassionate, humble man that God could use in a mighty way in his Kingdom.

In the Book of Acts, we meet Peter again. But he’s no longer the self-assured, self-confident Peter of the gospels. But the Peter we meet in Acts is still of courage and faith. He fears nothing.

Only a few days after this event, on the day of Pentecost, Peter preached to a crowd and 3000 people turned to Jesus, including some of those who had cried out for him to be crucified!

This is a different Peter, a humbled, but powerful witness for Christ.

He defies the authorities who tell him that he must preach Christ no more. He goes to prison and is rescued by an angel. He is God’s instrument to heal the sick, raise the dead, and preach Christ and see thousands come to Jesus through his proclamation of the gospel.

If you become discouraged because you look back over your life and are disappointed by missed opportunities, ashamed of your failures, convicted about your sins—think about what your failures can teach you—about yourself and about your Lord Jesus.

Humble yourself, ask for and accept God’s forgiveness, tell him that you love him—and go on. In company with Jesus, you’ll be a better person than you were before.

None of us will ever be a Peter. None of us will ever gain renown on this earth, but if we learn from our mistakes, if we learn from our sins and from our failures, God can use us—sometimes he uses us when we aren’t aware of it. And if our hearts are right and we walk with Jesus in obedience and love and if we serve others as we are able, Jesus will welcome us one day with words like these: “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Master.”