Who's Knocking At The Door

Who’s Knocking At The Door? Matthew 7:7-8; Revelation 3:20 For more than 40 years, Fred and Linda owned and operated the Ace Pawn Shop. It was just a “mom and pop” operation, but it was well-known by the locals. But then, unexpectedly, Fred died, and Linda found that she couldn’t run the store by herself. So after 40 years of service, she decided to close the doors. As a final act of appreciation to all of their customers over the years, Linda sent a card to everyone who had an item in pawn and offered it back free of charge. And the sign hanging in the window said it all: “Pawn Shop Closing: Claim What’s Yours.” Today’s Bible verse talks about asking, seeking, and knocking. In other words, Claim What’s Yours. What are you asking for in life, or what are you asking to get outta life? Are you seeking God’s will, or still searching for God Himself? Are you knocking on the door of prayer, hoping Christ hears you? Or are you knocking upon heaven’s door, hoping Jesus will answer? I think some of those questions are ones we’ve all asked a time or two. Because even the most devout Christians can find themselves seeking for a long time what God has promised for them to find. After all, Jesus says in today’s Scripture, “the one who seeks finds,” but what He doesn’t say is when “the one who seeks finds.” You see, when we knock on the door of someone we know is home, we expect a fast answer. Because let's say, you’re invited over to someone’s house. You show up on time and knock on the door. You notice the car is in the driveway. The lights are on inside. You can hear the TV in the background. The dog’s barking. You even see people moving inside. There’s no doubt in your mind that they can’t hear you. But there you are, becoming more frustrated and impatient the longer you stand there. Sound familiar? I mean, in a world that’s speeding up, it keeps getting harder to slow down. Everyone battles impatience sometimes in life. Have you ever seen those game shows where the contestant gets to pick between door #1, 2, or 3? They’re excited; they don’t know which door to choose. The look to the screaming audience for advice, like they know which door to pick! And when they finally decide, sometimes they win the grand prize, sometimes it’s just the consolation prize. If it’s the grand prize, their excitement increases, but if it’s the consolation prize, they quickly become discouraged. And then the “If only’s” come. If only I would have chosen the other door. If only I would have done this. Life seems to be filled with “If only’s.” Let me tell you that life is not a game show. There’s not multiple doors to choose from, there’s just one. In God’s Kingdom there’s no consolation prize because Christ is the prize behind every opened door! No “If only’s,” no “What if’s,” because Christ will never leave you stranded or lost. So when life comes to a crossroads and you don’t know which door to pick, ask Jesus, because He won’t steer us wrong. As Paul said in Philippians 3:14, “The goal I pursue is the prize of God’s upward call in Christ Jesus.” Notice how Paul’s looking to the future, not the past. Are you discouraged by your past? Have you tried opening many different doors only to have them slammed shut? Life gives us lots of doors, but are they all worth opening? Did your faith in door 1 turn out to be nothing? Or maybe door 2 left you empty-handed or broken-hearted. Our past can certainly help shape who we are today, but if in your life there’s that one door that’s given you nothing but heartache, let me tell you, the best way to get over yesterday is to have a forward focus, to press on. Jesus tells us to persist in pursuing God. Many times people give up after only a few halfhearted efforts and conclude that God cannot be found or His will cannot be known. But the question must be asked, “What are you really asking, and what are you truly seeking?” Is it for your glory or God’s? One pastor once said, “He that is impatient, and cannot wait on God for a mercy, will not easily submit to Him in a denial.” Our timing is not God’s timing. And if we can’t faithfully wait for God, then how will our faith stand strong when Jesus asks us to submit to His will when the outcome is unclear? The answer is prayer. Prayer is an earthly request for heavenly intervention. The question is, how long are we to “ask, seek, and knock?” Until you get an answer. There are 3 answers to prayer: yes, no, or wait. And if you haven’t heard a yes or no, then you keep asking. You keep knocking. As Proverbs 8:17 says, “I love those who love Me, and those who seek Me find Me.” If you think about it, God is like the Quick Trip (QT). Quick Trip is open 24/7. If you run outta something, you can run over to the QT. The idea was when everyone else is closed, a convenience store will be close by and open to meet your needs. When everyone else turned off their lights, locked their doors, and went home to bed, you could always find an open convenience store nearby. But the reason why so many people have lost sight of God as our Provider is we’ve gotten too used to the Wal-Marts in our lives. We’ve gotten too used to the big chains. But the goodness of God is that He’s the convenient one. God’s always close by. He’s there when everybody else shuts down. He’s open when everybody else has closed their doors. God’s got more than enough, and He’ll be available, whether you show up or not. He is your convenience center and He is there to meet your needs because He cares for you. That’s why anyone can go to God in prayer at any time, because there’s no restrictions on who can “ask, seek, and knock.” It’s a true and amazing blessing when Jesus says, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). With Christ’s Words fresh in mind, let’s now look at the second half of today’s Scripture. (Rev. 3:20). Now the first thing I want you to notice, if you haven’t already, is that Jesus says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock.” In our first Scripture, Matthew 7:7-8, you are the one standing and knocking at the door. But now, in Revelation 3:20, Jesus is the One standing at the door and knocking. Do you see how important that is? Jesus is not asking you to do anything that He won’t do. Jesus says “ask,” and He’s asking for you. Jesus says “seek,” and He’s seeking you. Jesus says “knock,” and He’s already knocking. If anyone ever thinks or says, “Jesus can’t be found,” today’s verses prove otherwise. Jesus is not a distant God. He’s not unknowable. And He’s certainly not unsearchable, because He’s searching for you! Both you and Jesus are standing at the door! But sometimes people don’t want what to open the door. The hear the knock, they can’t deny Christ is there, but they don’t want to open the door. Others say, “I’ve tried finding Jesus but couldn’t.” That’s because they didn’t open the door. But once you find the door, once you come to the door, are you going to open the door? Because we need to hear something else very important: Only You Can Open The Door! Now, I want to clear up what, on the surface, looks like a contradiction, before we get the wrong idea. Revelation 3:20 says you must open the door, but our earlier Scripture, Matthew 7:7-8, says the door will be opened. But make no mistake, you have to open the door. In Revelation, Jesus is waiting for you to open the door, but in Matthew, the door is opened because it’s unlocked. I say this because the word used in Matthew is hoo-min, which means with or by. It means both you and Christ are opening it together. Jesus unlocks the door, and He opens it with you. Both your hands are one the door! And that takes us to something else we need to realize about these doors. The door in Matthew is the Christian door. It’s the believer's door because the door represents prayer. When you ask God and truly seek His will, your knocking opens the door for answered prayer. But in Revelation, the door is the non-Christian door. It’s the door provided for all the non-believers, providing them the opportunity to come to Christ. It’s the door or repentance that leads to everlasting life with Christ Jesus. But there’s only one way to open both doors. There’s only one key that opens both the Christian door of prayer and the non-Christian door of repentance, and the key is faith! Hebrews 11:6 says, “Without faith it’s impossible to please God, because anyone who approaches Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” You have to open the door to please God. Faith opens the door to prayer because faith believes God hears and answers prayer. Faith opens the door to repentance because “it's by faith we are saved” (Eph. 2:8-9). Faith is the key! But what are some things that keep faith from opening these doors? In Revelation, Jesus is knocking on the door to the church in Laodicea. The Laodicean church was complacent and rich. They were self-satisfied. Christ was knocking on the door of their hearts, but they were so busy enjoying worldly pleasures that they didn’t even notice Christ was trying to get in. What stops the door from opening are the pleasures of this world. It’s a temporary satisfaction, and it’s one that leads to feeling indifferent towards God’s knocking. If you ever find yourself feeling indifferent to church, or the Bible, or to God, you’re beginning to shut the door of Christ. If that’s you or someone you know, kick back open that door. Leave the door of your heart continually wide open, and you’ll never have to worry about hearing Christ’s knock. Letting Jesus in is your only hope. So if Jesus is knocking at the door of your heart, don’t shut Him out. Christ wants to have fellowship with us, and He is patient and persistent in trying to get our attention – not kicking down the door or breaking and entering, simply knocking. The power of prayer is when we’re on the other side of the door. When we shut the door to the world's kingdom and open the door to God’s kingdom. Don’t keep God’s power and presence on the other side of the door. Open that door of prayer or repentance. And in times of impatience or doubt, remember Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and don’t lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.” Ask, seek, and knock. All three words require action. Keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking. Do this because all three words are also accompanied by a response from God: His people receive, His people find, and His people have the door opened. Ask for God to show you a way, and He’ll provide a door. Seek the door God has provided. And knock on that door once it’s found. For anyone who doesn’t believe or is searching for God, Christ is knocking. If you’re praying to God for something, remember, faith asks, hope seeks, and love knocks. Jesus allows us to choose whether or not we open our lives to Him. I pray that you choose today, “For nothing is impossible with God” (Luke 1:37). AMEN