GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH

"BEHOLD, I STAND AT THE DOOR, AND KNOCK"
Christ's Desire Toward His Own Elect
Revelation 3:20

Don Fortner

I am sure you have all seen the picture, "Christ At The Door." And you know that all pictures and representations of Christ, the cross, the Holy Spirit, God, or even the angels of God are idolatrous. There is no place for those thinks in the house of God and there should be no place for them in your house. But that particular picture conveys a message altogether contrary to the gospel. It accurately portrays the current, popular opinions of the religious world about Christ, salvation, and man. But it is all a delusion. The door to man's heart, according to the picture has no handle on the outside, so it can only be opened from within. So Jesus stands helplessly at the door and begs for the sinner to open the door. If the sinner chooses not to do so, there is nothing that poor, helpless "Jesus" can do but go away. Now, if you know Christ, you know that the whole picture is blasphemous and idolatrous, and you know that the message it conveys is fake.

Yet, in Revelation 3:20, our Savior gives us a picture of himself as One who knocks at the door, seeking admission. Here is the Omnipotent, Sovereign Son of God, leaning against the door. He says, "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."

Now this is truly a wonder to behold. In his sermon on the mount our dear Lord says, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." That is exactly what we might expect from our gracious God and merciful Redeemer. But who would ever imagine that the great Benefactor would ask, seek, and knock so that he might be gracious? But here it is! Instead of the sinner knocking at the door of heaven in fervent supplication, the Son of God himself is knocking at the door of a man's heart, seeking admittance! God's ways are higher than our ways and his thoughts are higher than our thoughts. Tonight, I want us to look into this wondrous mystery. May God be our teacher.

I fully realize that these words of our Lord are addressed to the apathetic, indifferent, Laodicean church. They are spoken to men and women in churches where the Lord Jesus Christ has been spurned and neglected. Our Savior says, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man (any man in such a wretched church) hear my voice, and open the door. I am equally sure that these words of our Savior are addressed to any true believer who, for love of ease and by the care of this world, has become cold and indifferent to Christ. To you who need reviving, Christ says, "Open to me my sister, my love my undefiled; for my head is filled with the dew, and my locks with the drops of the night" (Song. 5:2). His promise is, if you will hear his voice and open to him, he will come in and sup with you and you with him. And I am certain that these words are spoken to perishing sinners in need of mercy. Christ Jesus is here calling sinners to himself. He is calling for you to open your heart and receive him! Here is Life calling to the dead. Here is Pardon calling to the damned. Here is Salvation calling to the lost. Here is Mercy calling to the rebel. Here is Grace preserving those who desperately need grace.

I have a message for everybody here tonight. My message falls from the lips of the Lord Jesus Christ himself. "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."

The Lord Jesus Christ is willing and anxious to be gracious to poor sinners. He says, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock." May God graciously cause each of us to hear his voice and open the door.

I. "Behold!" Stop, look, wonder, and listen. Here is a marvellous thing. The Son of God is suing for admission into our hearts. Imagine that! What condescension! What mercy! What grace! What love! "Behold!"

If we were to stand at the gate of mercy and plead with God for his saving grace, year after year, and be left with no answer of peace, it would only be what we justly deserve. Our sins justly deserve God's wrath. Should he refuse to be gracious, we have no grounds of complaint.

But here the Lord Jesus stands at the door of doomed, damned, desperately wicked sinners and sues for admission! That is incredible. Though he is often spurned, still he leans upon the door, like a rejected lover, and knocks for entrance. "Behold!" His condescension exceeds belief!

• Here is the Divine Creator, pleading with fallen, guilty, rebellious, ungrateful creatures.


• This is the Judge of all the earth, following the condemned criminal to the gallows, urging him to accept pardon, urging him to let his sentence of death be reversed.


• This is the All-Sufficient, Self-Sufficient God, who would be just as happy and glorious if every child of Adam where left to perish like the fallen angels; but he is calling for sinners who deserve his wrath, to accept all the blessings of grace and glory at his hands.

If you learn nothing else from this text, learn this, The Lord Jesus Christ is an Earnest Suitor for The Affections of Worthless Sinners! (Isa. 65:1-2; Rom. 10:21; Matt. 11:28-30; 23:37).

(Illus: Hosea and Gomer)

II. "Behold, I" – This gracious Suitor for your heart's affections is the Lord Jesus Christ, The Friend of sinners.

He is the Almighty, Sovereign, Eternal God, Creator of heaven and earth. He could destroy sinful men from off the earth and create a new race that would love him with all their hearts. But he delights in mercy. Who is this One, who stands at the door, and knocks?

• He is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world – (John 1:29).


• He is the Surety of the everlasting covenant – (Heb. 9:20).


• He is the Sinner's Substitute – (I Pet. 3:18).


• He is the Sinner's Advocate – (I John 2:1-2).


• He is the All-Sufficient, Saving High Priest, The Mediator between a holy God and sinful men – (Heb. 7:25).


• He is the Lord our Righteousness – (Jer. 23:6).

The word "stand" does not really convey the proper meaning. The meaning is "I am upon the door."

(Illus: A Husband Leaning and Knocking at the Door, Calling for his Wife to Open The Door)

A. The Hearts Of Men By Nature Are Locked Up And Barred Against The Lord Jesus Christ. (Luke 11:21).

Satan is like a strong man armed in his palace, and the palace in which he resides is the heart of man. By great power, he arms his palace against Christ, and keeps his palace in peace. Many of you are in bondage to satan, and you do not even know it. You are in peace, perfectly satisfied to be satan's bondman. When Christ comes seeking admission, he disturbs the peace of your heart; and you lay every bar of resistance you can find against the door. Your selfish lusts bar the door against the Son of God. Prejudice, religious tradition, and unbelief are bars against the gospel of God's grace. The love of the world, the lusts of the flesh, and the lies of the devil steadfastly deny entrance to the Son of God. No power can prevail to remove these bars and open the heart, except the power of omnipotent love.

No man's heart is naturally open and receptive to the gospel of Christ. (Rom. 3:9:19).

1. Blindness shuts out light.
2. Ignorance shuts out knowledge.
3. Sin shuts out righteousness.
4. Righteousness shuts out mercy.
5. Rebellion shuts out King Jesus.

B. Our Lord Jesus Knocks For Entrance Into The Hearts of Men, Calling For Sinners To Open The Door And Receive Him.

I dare say, everyone of you have heard and felt Christ Jesus knocking at the door of your own heart. I know you have.

1. He knocks at the door of your heart by every pricking of your conscience.
2. He knocks at your heart's door, to awaken you, by the events of providence.
3. He knocks at the door of your heart by the preaching of the gospel.
4. He knocks at your heart's door by the secret wooing and convictions of his Spirit.

C. The Lord Jesus Is Patient and Longsuffering, Waiting To Be Gracious To Trifling, Obstinate Sinners. (Ps. 86:15; 103:8; 111:4; 116:5; 145:8; Isa. 30:18-19; II Pet. 3:9-15).

Year after year, Christ stands, knocking, waiting to be gracious, calling for sinners to open to him. Of Israel, it is written, "forty years suffered he their manners in the wilderness" (Acts 13:18). How many years has he patiently called you? How long has he stood, knocking at your door, enduring your insulting neglect and unbelief?

Now, hear this and be warned – If you persist in your obstinate refusals of his gracious calls, the time will come when you will cry to him, and he will not hear you. You will knock at his door, but he will not open to you. (Pro. 1:21-31).

IV. "If Any Man Will Hear My Voice, And Open The Door, I will Come In To Him."

My friend, if you are hoping to obtain mercy and grace from God, if you are going to get God's salvation in Christ, if you hope to enter into eternal life, you are going to have to open your heart and receive the Lord Jesus Christ. (John 1:12-13). You must hear and obey his voice. He says, "Open to me." And you must open to him. If you do not, he will not come in.

A. The Lord Jesus Will Never Refuse To Come In To The Heart And Soul Of The Vilest Sinner, Who Opens To Him.

The Son of God delights to come into the house of sinners and take up his abode with them (John 14:23).

(Illus: The Leper – "Help Me!").

B. The Great Aim And Design Of Gospel Preaching Is To Persuade Sinners To Open Their Hearts And Receive Christ – (II Cor. 5:11-21).

C. No Sinner Will Open His Heart And Savingly Receive Christ By Faith Until Christ Graciously Opens His Heart And Causes Him To Hear His Voice.

"My Beloved put in His hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him. I rose up to open to my Beloved." (Song 5:4-5).

V. "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."

When Christ comes in to sup with us, he brings the provision.

A. There Is A Mutual, Sweet, and Intimate Communion Between Christ And Redeemed Sinners In This World (I John 1:3; Song 1:13; 2:4-6).

B. This Blessed Communion With Christ Is But A Prelude To And Foretaste of Heaven's Eternal Glory And Bliss – (v. 21).

Do you hear the Savior's voice? Open to him. He will come in to you! And when he comes, he will bring peace, pardon, righteousness, and everlasting life.

(Illus: Barnard and the Prostitute).

All that I have said concerning sinners, I say to you whose hearts are cold, in the sleep of indifference. If you will open the door, Christ will come in!

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