Rev. 3:20 and Acts 14:26-28 and Matthew 7:7-8
Years ago, I used to sell custom made
windows. They were replacement windows. They were a well known brand of window,
and business was usually good. But, in the winter time when things slowed down,
I would actually walk the streets; looking for windows that needed to be
replaced; and then knock on doors to try and sell replacements.
Once in a while, I would go to the door and
knock…and no one would answer. O, I knew they were in there!….The T.V. was on…
the lights were on…. But, no one came to the door! I think it was the briefcase! They knew I was going to try and sell them
something.Our scripture tells us that Jesus “stands at the door and knocks” and, I want to look at some of the reasons people don’t answer. You see, Jesus knocks…He knows we are home…He knows what we are doing…He knocks, and He knocks, but some people just won’t answer.
Maybe they think he wants to sell them something they don’t need. Maybe they think He might want them to do something they just don’t want to do. Maybe they think if they answer the door, it will cost them something; so they just refuse to answer the knock.
I want you to know this morning, that God will never push the door open. He will never force His way in. He won’t knock the door down…. He just stands at the door, and knocks. So, let’s look at some of the reasons people don’t open the door.
#1. They don’t hear the knock. They may be so busy, entangled with the affairs of life, that they just don’t even hear the knock. They are so pre-occupied with work or play, and the things going on outside the church, that they never hear what’s going on inside. There’s just so much “noise” in their life, they can’t hear the knock. The things of the world and the noise of the world drown it out.
There’s a story about an American Indian and another man walking down the busy, noisy, streets of New York…When, suddenly, the Indian stopped and said; “Did you here that?” “Here what?” “I heard a cricket!” “How could you possibly hear a cricket with all this noise and traffic?” Sure enough, the Indian reached down and picked up a cricket in one of the potted plants on the sidewalk. Then he said; “It’s all in what you are listening for.” Perhaps they don’t hear because they are not listening.
#2. Some people are just too far away. Something happened in their life, and they find themselves too far away from God. Satan will do his best to bring things into our lives that shouldn’t be there - like drugs and alcohol - things he tells us are “fun” and will bring us great “pleasure.” It does not matter the sin, once they realize the consequence, they think they are to far away from God. One thing I want you to know this morning is that no matter how faint the knock, if we answer the door, He will come in!
#3. Some people are actually spiritually deaf. The Bible calls it “having their conscience seared as with a hot iron.” They have been in sin for so long, and away from God for so long, their conscience does not even bother them when they do wrong. Have you ever heard of a criminal who “showed no remorse”? Sin against God is a crime punishable by death…and some people show no remorse. They close their ears, they close their hearts, they shut down their conscience. Are they lost forever? No, all they have to do is open the door!
#4. People don’t open the door because they know that He knows what they have been doing…and they are embarrassed. Embarrassed by sin, they hide…just like Adam hid…maybe thinking He will go away. They know that if they open the door God’s going to change their way of thinking and feeling, and cause them to stop what they are doing! But, they don’t realize that those things are blessings! Those changes will bring more joy than they could ever believe! And, their lives will be changed for the better. “I have come that they may have life, and have it more abundantly!” said Jesus. Listen, this is not a cliché’…”When you know the truth, the truth will set you free!”
#5. They don’t answer the knock because they think it’s too good to be true! Along with that, there are times when even Christians can get so excited - they forget to open the door. In the Book of Acts, chapter 12 there is a story about Peter being in prison. An angel comes and sets him free; they pass right through the guards and out of the prison. It says that Peter went to the house of Mary, the mother of John also called Mark, where “many people were gathered and were praying.” Peter knocks on the door and a servant girl named “Rhoda” it says, answered the door. And, listen to this, “when she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed, she ran back - without opening the door - and exclaimed “Peter is at the door!”
My point is this; It’s not just the unsaved that don’t answer the door. Some people get caught up in the emotionalism of the church, or they get so wrapped up in “doing things for God”, that they look back after a few months and wonder why they haven’t moved very far in their Christian life and growth. Somewhere, back there, they saw God…and they got so excited they forgot to open the door, and let Him in!
#6. Some people have been beat back, beat down, and beat up… and they are just to weak to answer the door. That’s why the Bible says we ought to “carry one another’s burdens”. Galations 6:1 says; “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently”…Some people need to be helped to the door.
“Two monks were going to a monastery and a bad snowstorm came up. As they walked in the wind and the snow, they came upon a traveler who had fallen and was helpless. One monk said; “Leave him alone, he shall reap what he has sown”… But, the other monk loaded the man on his shoulders and carried him. The weight slowed him down considerably, and the other monk kept pushing on ahead. Almost to the monastery, the monk carrying the fellow tripped on something and nearly fell. It was the other monk. He had frozen to death before reaching the monastery. But, the monk who carried the traveler had kept warm by the man’s extra body heat.”
Have you heard a knock on the spiritual door of your life? Why not just open the door of your heart and see what God has to say. It will change your life!
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