Welcome to the In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Friday, May 31st. Jesus Christ issues an invitation to everyone.
As you listen to today's podcast, let's think carefully about how you will respond to this invitation. In the Gospels, there are some very beautiful scenes about Jesus. And one of them is when He was being baptized by John the Baptist. And a second would be when He was teaching the Sermon on the Mount to all the people who gathered there listening to Him. And then, of course, Jesus was very, very admired by the children. And you see Him in the Gospels loving on them. And then we see Him in the Garden of Gethsemane praying. And then, of course, when He ascends to the Father, we see Him before all of those people.
And somebody might say, well, what about the cross? Well, the cross is not a beautiful scene. It's an awesome scene. It is a scene that the world needs to know and to see and to hear about it.
But it wouldn't fall into the category of a beautiful scene, a scene that has changed all of our lives. But when I look at all of those scenes, I think about the picture that Solomon painted of Jesus standing at the door and knocking on the door. And if you've ever seen that picture, you'll remember that there's no handle on the door. So, you can't get in from outside.
You have to open from the inside. And there is a passage of Scripture from which he got that whole idea in Revelation chapter three. So, I want you to turn there in your Bible for a moment. And he is talking to the churches at that particular time. And this is the Laodicean church, which is just full of backsliders and lost people. And I want us just to read a little bit of that. And here's what Jesus said.
And you know, there are probably lots of churches today. He could say the very same thing. Listen, the third chapter beginning in verse fifteen. I know your deeds that you're neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were cold or hot. So, because you're lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spit you out of my mouth. Because you say I am rich and have become wealthy and have need of nothing, know that you really are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.
And then he talks about all the things that they have. And he says in verse nineteen, Those whom I love I reprove and discipline. Therefore, be zealous and repent.
Acknowledge that you are sinful and repent of them. And repentance means you turn away. There are many people who believe, have the idea that if you just confess your sins and confess them, then you're forgiven and that's it. But confession says that I agree with God about what I've done is wrong. Well, I could do that over and over and over.
Many people do. But if there's no repentance, there's nothing genuine about confession that is not followed by repentance, which means if I'm heading in this direction, it's the wrong way. If I repent, I turn around and walk the opposite direction. And so, he says in this passage here, he says, I know your deeds that you neither cold nor hot, and I wish you'd get on one side or the other. So, he's talking about a church.
They probably saved people there, but there were so many that were so backslidden. He has nothing to say good about this church. But God doesn't speak to churches as such.
He speaks to individuals. So, when we come to this twentieth verse, listen to what he says. Behold, I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him and will dine with him and he with me. Now, that's a beautiful picture of Jesus, how He relates to us. And if you'll notice, He starts out by saying, Behold.
And that word simply really means watch, give me your attention, watch. You remember when John the Baptist identified Jesus and He came on the scene? He said, Behold the Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world.
Look at Him. And here is Jesus picturing Himself here as standing in front of the door. And what does He say first? He says, Behold. And it's interesting when you think about that. He's not a stranger.
He's not somebody who's just peddling something. This is the Son of God. And every single one of us has stood on the other side of that door. Before you and I were saved, we had Him shut out.
And so, something happened in your life and mine that got our attention. It was the Lord Jesus Christ getting our attention. And many of us trusted Him as our personal Savior.
Many people, they hear the gospel and they do not. And so, I want you to listen very carefully to this passage because this is the way Jesus operates. So, He said here, Behold.
That is, look, this is important. And He says, I stand at the door and knock. I stand at the door of your heart. He doesn't shove the door down.
He doesn't push the door. He says, I stand there. I'm standing there because it's important.
This isn't some salesman walking by or some unimportant person. But this is God in the presence of His Son who has knocked on the door of every one of our hearts. And many of you who have never trusted Jesus as your Savior, it doesn't mean that He hasn't tried to get your attention. But you just decided to think about other things and you don't want Him to get your attention.
You don't want to think about it. And so, you go on your way getting busier and busier and busier and explaining away the feeling that you have that God is beginning to do something in your life. And so, if you think about it, He's standing at the door.
He has taken the initiative. Now, think about this for a moment. Every other religion in the world, those people who worship their gods, whatever they may be, they're the ones who are doing this, seeking after their God, seeking after their God, trying to do this and that and the other and you name it. And they're trying to find God. Christianity is the only religion in the world in which our God seeks us. God is a God of love. And when you and I read and we quote John three sixteen, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him would not perish, but have eternal life. He gave His Son. He's seeking us, coming after us, interested in us, loving us, taking the initial step to get you saved.
It isn't what we did. It's what He has done. So, He says, He stands at the door and knocks. And it's interesting the word He uses, knock, here.
And the tense of the verb is, I'm knocking. He says, I stand at the door and knock. He's standing there knocking, which symbolizes, of course, His readiness and His willingness to enter our heart and bring about a change of life. You see, Jesus is not ignorant of what's going on behind your door. He knows what's happening in our heart. And He also knows how much fear and ignorance and blindness and darkness is in a person's heart. He says, I stand at the door and knock.
That means He takes initiative to get your attention to listen to Him because He has something to say that'll change your life. And I wonder how often He has knocked on the door of your heart and you said, well, you know, I don't feel good. I'm going to take an aspirin or something. Or, I think I'll just go shopping. Or, I'm going to a party.
I'm going to have a drink or whatever it might be. To turn a deaf ear to the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ and His attempt to get your attention is disastrous because one day you'll stand before Him and give an account for your life. And you'll not be able to say, well, you know, I guess I was just busy and Lord, if I'd have just known. When you stand before Him, you're not going to say anything.
You're simply going to be judged. And He says, I stand at the door of your heart and knock. Watch this carefully. When you deliberately walk away, when God is trying to knock on the door of your heart, you deliberately walk away. Every step you take walking away is a dangerous step because you can keep on walking away. You can keep on deafening your ear to the truth. But remember this, you don't have to listen if you don't want to, but watch this. You may not want to now. You may not want to hear what He's got to say. I warn you again, you keep rejecting Him and one of these days you won't want Him. One of these days you won't want Him.
And so, all the testimonies and all the Bible reading and all the sermons in the world, you won't want Him. When He says, I stand at the door of your life and I knock, He's knocking at the door of your heart. And He says, I stand at the door of your life and I knock. Now, when God sends you a message, it may be very brief, perfectly timed because He loves you, because He cares about you. And so, He says, I stand at the door and knock, not once but over and over and over and over again, knocking at the door of your heart. So, let me ask you this.
Do you pursue that? Do you say, well, God, I don't know where You are and what's going on, but if You are up there, as people would say, would You show me, would You speak to my heart? One thing for certain, God is willing to speak to your heart, willing to make it crystal clear if You're willing to open the door and give Him an opportunity.
Behold, I stand at the door and knock and knock and knock and knock. He says, and if anyone, if anyone, and Jesus doesn't speak to groups, He speaks to individuals. Now, He could speak to every individual in this fellowship this morning, but He speaks to individuals, because every single one of us will hear what God wants us to hear, and we won't all hear the same thing, no matter it's the same words, same voice. But a different message, and the message from God is according to the condition of your heart. And when you hear the same voice, you hear it in the same way. Behold, I stand at the door and knock if anyone, if anyone hears my voice. So, if somebody will say, Well, I never heard God speak.
Well, you probably did and didn't know it. Listen, God wants you to know the truth. He wants you to hear the truth.
And so, He speaks. He's not going to turn a deaf ear to you. He loves you and wants to save you and has the best for you.
And all of these Scriptures we've read about how the church was operating and how people were living out their lives, God knows how we're living them out. When He knocks at the door of your heart, watch this carefully. When He knocks at the door of your heart, watch this carefully. When He knocks at the door of your heart, watch this carefully. When He knocks at the door of your heart, watch this carefully. He knows how much longer you have to live.
He knows what's going to happen tomorrow. He knows the condition of your heart. He knows how mired up you are in sin. He knows all the things that you're depending upon to help you through life apart from Jesus. He knows who your friends are. He knows what you believe. He knows why you believe what you believe. He knows where you've been in life that would cause you to believe what you believe. He says He stands at the door and knocks.
Why? Because He desires to save you from wrecking and ruining your life. And my friend, if you were without Christ, if you knew what was in your future without Jesus Christ, you'd say, I want to be saved today. It's the fact that Satan has blinded your eyes, deafened your ears. And you're walking in darkness because you refuse the light of life, which is the Lord Jesus Christ. People love darkness, the Bible says, because their deeds are evil. People who know Jesus love the light of the truth of the gospel. He says, Behold, I stand at the door and I knock.
If anyone hear my voice. Then He gives us a beautiful illustration here when He says, look at this, when He says, If you open the door, I will come in to him, or to her, and will dine with him and he with me. Now, what is that all about?
Here's what it's all about. In those days, for example, people had very little to eat for breakfast, just a little bread and so forth, and the same for lunch. Their meal was the evening meal. And that's when they got together as a family and they had the largest meal then. And they loved the fellowship at that time and talk about things of the day and so forth. And it was a time of fellowship.
And it was a very important time in their life. Here's what Jesus said, You let Me into your life, and here's what I'll do. I will come into your life and we will have fellowship. I'll not just be your Savior, but I'm going to be your friend. I will no longer be a visitor, but I'm coming in to be your friend. Whatever your need is in life, whatever's going on, I will be exactly what you need.
He says, I'll come in to you and I will dine with you. That was Jesus' way of saying what they would understand so clearly, and that is He's coming into fellowship with them. When Jesus Christ comes into your life, He changes everything from your eternal destiny to your daily walk. If you are wise, you'll think about your future.
If you are wise, you'll think about material things and not really what's going to make a difference. If you are wise, you'll think about your eternal future. You will open the door of your heart to Jesus Christ and tell Him today, Lord, I do believe in You. I'm asking You to forgive me of my sins, and today I repent of the life that I've been living, and I surrender my life to You. And Lord, I don't know much at this time, and I know that You'll help me, but I'm turning my life over to You, and I want You to guide me and enable me, Lord, to become the person You created me to be to begin with.
I need a transformation in my life. What will He do? He will forgive your sins. He will write your name in the Lamb's Book of Life.
You will be eternally a child of God. He will do all the things that we've mentioned plus many others, not just guiding you and leading you and providing for you. But listen, giving you a sense of peace in your heart, you'll never find any other way. Giving you a sense of joy, giving you a sense of security, giving you a sense of happiness, of confidence, now you have Him.
Everything you're looking for is wrapped up in the person of Jesus Christ. Listen, since He is omnipotent, He has the power to arrange anything and everything in your behalf. But first of all, you've got to hear Him knock. You've got to hear Him say, if you'll let Me in, you've got to let Him in. How do you let Him in? By simply asking Lord Jesus, I open the door of my heart, will You come in, change my life?
Because I know that You went to the cross and paid my sin debt in full, I yield my life to You and ask You to guide me all the days of my life. What's Your other choice? There are only two choices.
There's some folks who try to straddle the fence. No, two choices. And think about this, one of them is walking in darkness and sin and all the things that go with that. And one is following Jesus and all the wonderful things that come with that. What will you do? If you're a wise man or a woman or even a young person, you will ask Jesus Christ into your life right now.
You will never be the same again. And that's His invitation to you as He says, Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hear My voice and open the door, I'll come in with him, dine with him, fellowship with him.
And you will be the same again. And that's my prayer for you. And, Father, how grateful we are that You take the initiative.
You came seeking us, we didn't come seeking You. And I pray that Your Spirit will let this message sing deep into the heart of every person who is here, who listens, who is unsaved. And, oh Father, I pray that they'll hear a loudness of Your heart, I pray that they'll hear a loud knock. They will hear a loud voice, and they will have a deep desire in their heart to open the door to You and allow You into their life, bringing Your awesome life with You. In Jesus's name, amen. Thank you for listening to A Knock at the Door. If you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or other ministries, stop by InTouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of InTouch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.
