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| Revelation 3:20 |
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.
(Revelation 3:20 NKJV)
Often people use the above verse when witnessing to the unsaved.
While I suppose one may do this, however in the context of this passage, Jesus is
speaking to the church, not the unchurched. What a sad thing it is when Jesus is outside
of the church trying to get in. Even individually, this may often be the case.
Some may figure they are right with the Lord because of what they do, such as
singing in the choir and attending church regularly. For many, they are busy
serving and going through the motions, but their hearts are far from Him. Thankfully,
Jesus gives us two solutions to our lukewarmness in His message to the church
at Laodicea in Revelation 3:18. The first is to buy from Him and clothe ourselves with His
garments. The second is to anoint our eyes so that we may
see. What does this mean? Simply put, we purchase these garments from Him with
our faith, (See Ephesians 2:8-9) and anoint our eyes with His Word. (See Romans 10:17) We must always remember, “I can
do nothing apart from Him.”
The Lukewarm Church
14 “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write,
‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: 15 “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. 17 Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— 18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. 21 To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
22 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’”
(Revelation 3:14-22 NKJV)
It sure is sad to envision Christ standing outside the church, but I have been in those churches that so mistrust the Holy Spirit, that they are afraid of him....And since the Spirit comes in the name of Jesus...and is what helps the believer understand the Word of God...then they are in fact, casting Christ out of the church.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the individual believer's heart, I can't help but make a comparison between the kind of visitor that comes to your home that you might allow inside and invite to the table for a meal...and the visitor that you do not know, who you may answer, but not allow inside...There are those kind of believers too...they acknowledge who is at the door, but do not trust him to come inside.
What, if any, is the significance of the game of checkers just inside the door in your picture, Ken?
Thank you Lisa for your input. I considered using another photo with closed doors, but choose this one instead because the game board displays that those inside the church have their minds on something other than Jesus. What you say about not trusting who is standing at the door is unfortunately true for many. May God bless you. Ken
DeleteOh, That was a nice touch ...the game being played inside!
DeleteMy mother has this card-sized picture of Jesus standing at a door, knocking. I remember seeing that same picture from when I was a child. It always struck me. Jesus, like a gentleman, knocking and waiting for an invitation to enter.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that this door is one with a handle only on the inside.
May we be eager to open the door to Him, always.
GOD BLESS!
Great point, Sharon. Jesus will never force Himself in. I have heard it put this way, "Jesus will not take anyone kicking and screaming into heave. Thank you for leaving your thoughts and may God bless.Ken
DeleteThankful God gave us the ability to chose to open the door or not. I too believe the scripture is for the church but I have heard them used very affectively for the lost. If it bring someone to the saving knowledge of the Lord who am I to say anything. God can use His word however He wants. I remember once I was seeking an answer from the Lord, That night I was watching an old John Wayne movie and he said something and my heart jump because I knew God was giving me my answer. I then begin to look deeper into the scriptures and sure enough the answer was confirmed. Good post
ReplyDeleteHi Betty. Thanks for visiting, it is nice to meet you. I hope you stop by again. While God can use anything He chooses to get our attention, you did rightly in confirming it with His Word. He will never go against His Word, the Bible. May God bless you.
ReplyDeleteKen
Hi Ken! This is so true. I can't imagine life without the Lord now or my Bible. It's hard to understand why people would go to Church to nap or zone. His Word is living and active and sharper than any two edged sword : ) Besides His joy is awesome! Great post.
ReplyDeleteThank you Karen for your comment. Oh how much do we need His Word and sit under a Godly teacher and learn plus lift up our worship to Him.
DeleteGod bless,
Ken
Frightening to think about being lukewarm; many say they love God, but don’t allow Him to control their lives, they focus only on our own daily agendas and to-do lists. Unfortunately they require worldly pleasures, and give God their left-overs. With all of our hearts we have to make sure that no relationship, selfish interest, worldly possession, or profession falls from the desire to give God all the glory!
ReplyDeleteGreat share Ken! Have a blessed Memorial Day weekend my friend,
Denise
Scary thing it is to think of in giving God my leftovers. If one is not careful, the cares and concerns could easily distract one and get their eyes off Jesus. Thank you for your input, Denise and you too, have a blesses Memorial Day weekend.
DeleteKen
Hi Ken,
ReplyDeleteHow sad this verse is and I don't want Jesus to say this to me! We have to feast our eyes on His Word and then obey it remembering our first love is Jesus and then to love our neighbours. In this day this is a very humiliating and humbling act.
Great word to share. Blessings brother.
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Hi child of God. I love what you say, "we have to feast our eyes on His Word..." God bless you, my friend and have a great day.
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