Letting Jesus
Back Into Our World
Revelation 3:14-20
Pastor Craig Ledbetter
7 Nov, 2010 AM
I.
Introduction
(John 1:10-12)
A.
We take “relationships” for
granted! Marriage, friendships, parents, children
1.
Most everyone is “on their own”
and instead of growing naturally closer, people fall apart
2.
It is amazing that any of us get
along
a.
With all the hurt, and the
selfishness, and the grudges that people carry
b.
We have not learned to “relate,”
much less to love one another
like Jesus commands
B.
But far deeper is the problem
between us and God
C.
With all our
D.
How can a mortal, sinful, selfish
human being, fellowship with an immortal, infinite, all holy Being?
E.
Jesus makes it possible!
II.
Background
(Rev 3:14-20)
A.
The Lord Jesus
Writes a Letter to a Church
(Rev 3:14)
1.
2.
He writes to the Church of the
Laodiceans
a.
Pagans, barbarians, who turned
from idolatry to worshipping and serving the only God
b.
They were a church now – a group
of people, committed to impacting their world with the Gospel that had
impacted them
3.
Their city had an unusual name:
it meant, “People’s Rights” – a very “self” oriented people – not very God
focused
4.
It is because the church had
taken on the characteristics of the city, (instead of the other way around)
that Jesus writes to them
B.
The Lord Jesus
Exposes the Church
(Rev 3:15-17)
1.
Its works were lukewarm
a.
Hot works are passionate, lively,
excited efforts
b.
c.
Jesus wishes a church’s
works/efforts were either one or the other
d.
NOT lukewarm
e.
They were in danger of being
dumped – expelled – castaway by Jesus
2.
Its
a.
They really believed they were
1)
Rich – materially, physically,
they had need of nothing
2)
Increased with possessions
3)
Really believed that they had
need of NOTHING
b.
But, they were wilfully ignorant
of their true spiritual condition
1)
Wretched – what a word! It means,
“Very distressed, full of anxiety, or grief”
2)
Miserable – never happy or joyful
3)
4)
Blind – unable to see their own
condition
5)
Naked – shamed
c.
It is like a demented man walking
around thinking he was a king, or the Prime Minister, yet he wore rags, and
had holes in his shoes, and his sceptre was a toilet plunger!
C.
The Lord Jesus
Counsels the Church
(Rev 3:18-20)
1.
Buy from Jesus pure GOLD – it
will cost you
2.
Buy Clothes
3.
Buy Eyesalve
4.
All of these are so important to
understand, but the thought I want to focus on this morning is the next word
– “repent”
5.
Truly Repent
– of what? Of kicking Jesus out! Christians need to let Him back in charge
a.
The answer begins with Himself!
b.
John the Baptist had the right
attitude – He (Jesus) must increase, and “I” must decrease
c.
Oh that we would make MUCH of
Jesus Christ
d.
Lift Him up in honour – not with
words only, but in obedience, and life!
D.
The Lord Jesus
“Knocks”
(Rev 3:20)
1.
What a strange way of talking
2.
Jesus promised that he would
3.
Yet, here He is, described as
being OUTSIDE of a church, kicked out, pushed out, squeezed out
4.
Thankfully He doesn’t just simply
walk away
5.
I am so thankful that he still
knocks, and still wants to try again – “I” certainly wouldn’t keep trying…
but HE does, praise God!
6.
I will
a.
Wanting, seeking to be with you
and me
b.
Desiring to fellowship with me,
share moments of time with someone like ME
c.
The almighty, all
d.
And wanting to just be needed!
III.
Message –
Letting Jesus Back In (Rev 3:20)
A.
Who God Is.
1.
He is God. He is called Jehovah,
the all sufficient One; the all powerful Being
2.
Quite capable of carrying us, and
fixing our lives – handling not only our problems, but the worst problems of
all the world, all at once
3.
Ladies and gentlemen… He is our
only hope
4.
So, it makes the most sense to
look to Him for help, and for strength, and for
B.
What We Have
Made Him.
1.
An outsider
2.
Someone we conveniently ignore
3.
A bother, nuisance, a hassle, an
interruption!!!
C.
Where He is
Now.
1.
On the outside of our lives and
our world
2.
What a strange place for the Son
of God to be
3.
Remember, WE push Him out of our
lives (Cf Mark 5:17)
4.
5.
6.
7.
We have SUCH an opportunity to
have a relationship with Jesus… and yet we don’t!
D.
What He Asks
(Rev 3:20)
1.
To Listen to
his Voice Again.
a.
A Powerful Voice
1)
Created the universe
2)
3)
Will call the dead back to life
(John 5:24) – by His word!
4)
It will literally shake the whole
of heaven once again (Heb 12:25,26 “See
that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused
him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from
him that speaketh from heaven: Whose voice then shook the earth: but
now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but
also heaven.”)
5)
And yet He speaks to you and me –
this Book is not a dead book, but the living word!
b.
A Peculiar Voice
– different than all other voices
1)
John 10:1-4, 8, 16, 27
2)
Do YOU know His voice?
a)
Paul heard it on the road to
b)
Jesus spoke to the apostle John
on the
c)
King David heard the voice of God
d)
Abraham heard it
e)
Moses heard God’s voice at Mt
Sinai
c.
A Pursuing Voice
1)
Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, and let us
reason together…”
2)
Mt 11:28-30 “Come unto me…”
3)
John 7:37 “If any man thirst, let
him come unto me, and drink…”
4)
Rev 22:17 “And the Spirit and the
bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is
athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”
d.
A Peaceful Voice
1)
Not a yelling, screaming,
demanding voice, upsetting voice
2)
But a voice, a sound, that calms,
and stills the anxious heart and mind
3)
You can only hear it in the
stillness and quite of a time that you set aside just for Him
4)
We spend our lives talking and
listening to everyone BUT Christ!
5)
Have you noticed how little QUIET
time you have?
a)
iPod in your ear
b)
Radio on in the background
c)
TV on in the background
d)
Radio on in the car
e)
f)
None of them are evil, but all of
them one right after another, and it looks like we are running, from Someone
– trying to drown out a conscience, a VOICE
6)
Get BACK to having a quiet time,
where there is no sound but HIS voice!!!
a)
Listen for Him speaking as you
read His words
b)
Listen for Him to speak in times
of prayer
c)
Listen for Him to speak as you
hear the word of God being preached
d)
Maybe you need to get in your car
and head down to the park
e)
Or maybe you need to make a place
in your attic
f)
But MAKE time to be just with
Jesus!!!
e.
Do you KNOW His voice?
f.
This is probably THE most
important step – most people
g.
Did you know that over 3/4th
of all marital problems are ear and mouth problems… ?
1)
All mouth and no ears!
2)
No listening
3)
Only talking
4)
No taking time to hear not only
what is being said, but what is being meant
5)
Should now we learn that our
problems in our homes are actually symptoms of our problems with God?
6)
I believe a majority of our
problems are a listening problem!!
2.
To Yield Again.
a.
This is another reason why our
homes, friendships, churches are so weak – only a bunch of stubborn
dictators, with no ability to simply yield, and give in, and honour the
other’s
b.
So, Open the door – speaking
figuratively of removing whatever we have put between us and the Lord Jesus!
1)
We close the door to reading our
Bible
2)
We close the door of our time
3)
We close the door of our prayer
life
c.
Let Him back in – do you not see
just how awful such a situation is? To have the Lord of heaven and earth
shunned, rejected, ignored, overruled by a bunch of selfish
d.
Let Him change everything! He
changes everything just by His presence – and that is why so many run from
Him! They are afraid of being changed, freed, transformed, converted
e.
Yet, He is the only hope!
f.
We have so many people and
organisations in charge today, and Jesus is only an icon
g.
Let Him back in as Lord of your
life; as Lord of this church; as Lord of this community
h.
Luke 6:46
i.
Relationships are built upon
yielding, not controlling, or demanding
3.
To Cleave To
Him.
a.
Jesus is not looking to come make
a visit
b.
He wants to “move in to your
life” – become part of the family again
1)
The head of every meal
2)
The focus of every conversation
3)
The source of every answer
4)
The One reason we do things
c.
Relationships are built upon
commitment to the other person (Gen 2:24) –
d.
Why would people want to be
called “Christians” and yet not cleave unto Christ?
e.
Listen to Moses pleading with
God’s people to
4.
To Overcome
Every Obstacle in the Way
(Rev 3:21)
a.
You will have every reason to
give up; every reason to say that living the Christian life just is not
possible in this day and age
b.
But Jesus is worth it
c.
THAT’S what you had to determine
about your wife or your husband… doing whatever it took to make it work!
d.
If you are not willing to
overcome obstacles, you are not worthy of having such a relationship – don’t
get married if you are not willing to overcome the obstacles that come your
way
e.
Don’t have friends if you are not
willing to overlook a lot of hurt
f.
Jesus would like to know that HE
is worth all of our efforts!
g.
As hard as it may seem,
repentance, brokenness, starting over is worth it (Rev 3:19). Our own
stubbornness will probably be our worst obstacle to overcome – but overcome
it we must!
IV.
Conclusion
A.
We take “relationships” for
granted! Marriage, friendships, parents, children… ESPECIALLY our
relationship with God!
B.
With all our
C.
How can a mortal, sinful, selfish
human being fellowship with an immortal, infinite, all holy Being?
D.
Jesus makes it possible!
E.
But, as shown in the Church at
F.
And so He Knocks (Rev 3:20)
1.
Thankfully He doesn’t just simply
walk away
2.
But instead, He is…
a.
Wanting, seeking to be with you
and me
b.
Desiring to fellowship with me,
share moments of time with someone like ME
c.
The almighty, all
d.
And wanting to just be needed!
G.
So, Let Jesus
Back In (Rev 3:20) – How?
1.
Listen for his
Voice Again.
a.
It is a Peculiar Voice –
different than all other voices. Do YOU know His voice?
b.
It is a Pursuing Voice – you
don’t have to go find Him… He’s been looking for you!
1)
Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, and let us
reason together…”
2)
Mt 11:28-30 “Come unto me…”
3)
John 7:37 “If any man thirst, let
him come unto me, and drink…”
c.
A Peaceful Voice - Get back
to having a quiet time, where there is no sound but HIS voice!
1)
Listen for Him speaking as you
read His words, as you take time to pray
2)
Listen for Him to speak as you
hear the word of God being preached
3)
Maybe you need to get in your car
and head down to the park
4)
Or maybe you need to make a place
in your attic
5)
But MAKE time to be just with
Jesus!!!
2.
Yield Again.
a.
Let Him back in charge – do you
not see just how awful such a situation is? To have the Lord of heaven and
earth shunned, rejected, ignored, overruled by a bunch of selfish
b.
Let Him change everything
c.
Relationships are built upon
yielding, not controlling, or demanding
d.
Get back to just doing what Jesus
says is right to do
3.
Cleave To Him.
a.
Jesus is not looking to come make
a visit
b.
Let Him “move in to your life” –
become part of the family again
1)
Make Him the head of every meal
2)
The focus of every conversation
3)
The source of every answer
4)
The One reason we do things
4.
Overcome Every
Obstacle in the Way
a.
Your friends
b.
The balking of your family
c.
The sinful habits of your flesh
d.
ANYTHING that would come between
you and the Lord Jesus should be CUT OFF