Revelation 3:20 (KJV)
Behold, I stand at the
door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to
him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
There is a very famous
Christian painting, inspired by this passage, called, “Christ At Heart’s Door” by Warner Sallman.
It is very likely that
every adult here has seem some version of the painting.[1]
The two most prominent
features of the painting are, of course, Jesus, and the door.
A subtler feature,
however, is the most important part of the painting – there is no knob on the
door.
The lesson is this; the
door can’t be opened from the outside.
If Christ is to gain
access, it must be opened from the inside.
The painting and the
passage it is inspired from, offers three lessons I want to share with you
tonight:
I. THE
CONDITION OF THE HUMAN HEART
Revelation 3:20 (KJV)
Behold, I stand at the
door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to
him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
Notice that Jesus is
knocking at the door. That tells us that originally the door of the heart is
closed.
It is not difficult to
see that the hearts of people are closed to Jesus at first.
A. Children must be taught about the Lord
While children almost
always are quick to trust Christ, they do have to be taught about Christ.
It’s not instinctive to
know Him.
Their heart’s door is,
at the first, closed.
B. Only a small percentage of our world’s
population profess to be Christian
As much as historians
these days like to spout off about Christian impact in the world, the greatest
number of people in the world are not Christians.
The doors of their
hearts are still closed.
C. Many people who have grown up going to
church give testimony of going to church but not being saved.
Their heart’s door was,
for a time, still closed.
Many of you right now
remember a time in your life when the door of your own heart was closed to
Jesus.
· You had no room for Him in your heart.
· You had no time for Him in your life.
The condition of the
human heart is that it is closed to Jesus.
Lesson two,
II. THE
PRESENCE OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
Revelation 3:20 (KJV)
Behold, I stand at the
door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to
him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
There is no definition
of whose heart this is.[2]
The implication would be
then that it is universal.
He stands at the door of
your heart
· And yours
· And yours
The presence of Christ
is everywhere at all times.
· He is there is victory
· He is there is tragedy
· He is there is joy
· He is there is sorrow
The Bible says of Jesus
Christ, “I
will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”
Jesus promised the
disciples in His Great Commission to His churches, “…and lo, I am with you alway, even
unto the end of the world. Amen”[3]
So even if the door of
your heart is closed right now, you can be sure Christ is just outside.
Lesson three
III. THE
ACTION NECESSARY TO HAVE CHRIST IN YOUR HEART
Revelation 3:20 (KJV)
Behold, I stand at the
door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to
him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
In preparation for this
message I read where someone pointed out that Jesus is knocking at the door,
not kicking it in.
This is why so great a
God as Jesus is worshipped by so few people in this world.
He does not force
Himself upon you.
· He is knocking, to be sure.
· He is there and He promises to come in
But you have to open the
door.
It is up to you to
choose, is there room for Jesus in your heart?
I warn you – He wants more than the corner.
He was born in a manger,
but He will want to occupy all of your heart.
Will you open the door
and let Him in?
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