“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me”. Revelation 3:20 ESV
This well-known verse from Revelation has been a comfort and blessing to millions of Christians over two millenia. It has also given inspiration over the years to several famous paintings. Many evangelical churches have prints of them hanging in their Sunday School classes.
Because the paintings depict Jesus standing at a door and knocking, I have always assumed that it was about the individual unbeliever being urged to accept Jesus’ invitation to have the Saviour come into his life. Certainly that was the interpretation of my childhood Sunday School teachers, and it definitely has validity.
But if we take time to examine the context, this verse is taken from Jesus’ strong, challenging word of conviction and admonition to the Laodicean church. Let’s look at the entire passage:
“And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation. “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” Rev. 3:14-20 ESV
Wow! What a word! Jesus says to the church at Laodecia that they are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold; that they consider themselves rich and prosperous, needing nothing, and far from being desperate for God to bring a mighty revival in their midst. They are not recognizing that they “are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and naked”. They don’t even realize that Jesus in on the outside knocking on the door of their church!
Friends, dare we even ask the question? Could this be the door of my church, our church he’s knocking at? Am I, are we really satisfied with the level of passion for the lost in our own hearts, and, indeed, the hearts of the people of our churches? Is there a growing level of restlessness and desperation for more of God’s presence in our worship services and ministries? Or are we self-satisfied, comfortable and content with what we’ve achieved?
The verse right before this, verse 19, says: “Those I love, I discipline, so be zealous and repent.” His counsel to the compromised church is: ‘‘Buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; 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.’’ Rev. 3:18 ESV
In Rhonda Hughey’s helpful book, Desperate for His Presence, she says:
“One of the fundamental differences between the non-Western world and the Western world is the level of desperation in the lives of God’s people. This is a critical component in our pursuit of transformation in the West. The master key of holy desperation for the presence and ministry of Jesus is required in order for us to move out of our complacent, satisfied existence.”
Throughout the years, men and women whom God has called to repent and intercede on behalf of their nation and their church have begun by meditating on 2 Chronicles 7:14:
“If My people who are called by My name (will) humble themselves, and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” 2 Chron. 7:14 ESV
It’s important for us to understand the context of this verse. It’s written at a time of great celebration for the nation of Israel. There is a huge sense of fulfillment and satisfaction at the dedication of Solomon’s temple, this magnificent structure unlike anything ever seen before! Finally, God has a home worthy of His greatness – no longer merely dwelling in a tent.
The king has prayed a long prayer of dedication, and then God shows up in power!
As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord’s house. When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the Lord on the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.” 2 Chron. 7: 1-3 ESV
In the midst of great rejoicing, God takes Solomon aside and makes covenant promises to him based on his obedience to the Lord, and dire warning should he or his heirs stray away. But, even should that happen, the Lord promises a way back – always, a way back.
“If My people who are called by My name (will) humble themselves, and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” 2 Chron. 7:14 ESV
Let’s take a closer look at this verse:
If My people who are called by My name
To whom is God speaking here? Whom is he calling to take these steps of returning? “My People . . . who are called by My name” It’s us, the church, isn’t it. Is there an admonition directed toward the godless culture around them? No, there is not! Have we ever considered that we, the church, might own some responsibility for the growing decay in our society due to our prayerlessness? We cannot, must not, point the finger at anyone else as I have such a tendency to do.
humble ourselves
“sackcloth and ashes”? Well, I’m not sure what that would look like in today’s culture. There is indeed the necessity of the regular discipline of fasting to subdue our fleshly appetites. But surely the most important way to humble ourselves is to honestly face our poverty and our desperate need for the Lord!
“Lord Jesus, we are poor, naked and blind! Despite our protests to the contrary, we are frequently ‘lukewarm’. We have criticized as fanatical those who are more sold out to you than we are!” As Jesus says to his beloved disciples as they celebrated their last Passover together,“Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5
We can do nothing of eternal consequence without Jesus! It’s so hard for us to accept this fact, but when we see it, we recognize our desperate need for Him!
pray and seek My face
God is looking not for mere tokenism but sacrificial prayer that costs us something. Am I willing to get up in the middle of the night to pray for revival? Am I willing to set aside one night a week to gather with others to pray for the residents of my neighbourhood? We need to seek God’s face, not merely for him to do something, but but out of desire for him alone, and we must not be satisfied with anything less than God’s presence.
turn from our wicked ways
What are our “wicked ways”? Of what are we guilty that might have the Lord on the outside of our church door knocking?
- are we apathetic towards the plight of the poor and marginalized in our communities?
- is there complacency in our prayers for the lost in our families, communities, and nations?
- now that the stress in leaving the Anglican Church of Canada is pretty well over, have we become “comfortable” and settled back into “church as usual”?
- is there any idolatry in the way we do things? . . . the way we have to do things?
- are we prepared to lay down anything that might be an obstruction to people coming to Jesus, or is church really about us and our personal preferences?
- have we settled for false finish lines, quite content with our own level of spirituality as compared to others?
- have we been so busy that we’ve not even noticed that we’re missing something?
- Clergy, is there any real unity in the believing churches in our city? Is there any real cooperation and sharing with other pastors in the city or are we guilty of Lone Rangerism and independence because we’re the only ones that really get it?
- are we praying regularly with other Christians for the families in our neighbourhoods or have we decided that our city is just too hard, unreachable with the Gospel?
- are we confusing “desire” and evangelical theology for the willingness to pay the price?
I’m know there is much more in my own life than these, but perhaps you can begin to see the picture.
So, what does God say he will do if we are willing to obey him by our repentance? “Then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land! “ God promises to hear our heartfelt repentance, wash away our sin, and bring restoration and healing. One commentator writes: “Heal their land” includes deliverance from drought and pestilence as well as the return of exiles to their rightful home. For the Chronicler, this includes the restoration of the people to their right relationship with God.” Can you now see more clearly how the healing of the land is so dependent on “my people” returning to him in humility and desperation? Then, and only then, can we begin to seriously call upon the Lord for His manifest presence to bring revival! Amen.
