I Stand at the Door

Q: What does the Bible say about being lukewarm in faith?

The Bible warns against being lukewarm in faith, emphasizing that God desires a true commitment to Him. In Revelation 3:15-16, God expresses His disdain for the lukewarmness of the church in Laodicea, stating that He will spew them out of His mouth. This reflects His desire for His people to be fervently dedicated to Him, either hot or cold, rather than indifferent. Lukewarm believers fail to recognize their spiritual poverty and need for Christ, and are thus called to repentance to earnestly seek the truth and strength found only in Him.

Q: Why is repentance important for Christians?

Repentance is essential for Christians as it reflects a change of heart and direction towards God. Repentance is not a one-time event; rather, it is a continual work of the Spirit of God in the lives of believers. As stated in Revelation 3:19, God rebukes and chastens those He loves, encouraging them to repent. True repentance involves the acknowledgment of sin and a deep desire for change, facilitated by the Holy Spirit, who instills conviction within us. It ensures that we remain in communion with God, recognizing that our righteousness comes solely from Christ, making us wholly reliant on His grace.

Q: How does the grace of God apply to our works?

God's grace underscores that our works are not the basis of our salvation, but rather a response to His love. As believers, we often struggle to understand the role of our works in relation to God's grace. Revelation 3:17-18 highlights the futility of relying on our deeds or material wealth, reminding us that all we possess is a gift from God. Our works should stem from a desire to please Him rather than a means of earning His favor. Acknowledging our spiritual poverty enables us to lean entirely on God's grace, ensuring that our lives are characterized by service as an act of worship, not a transaction for His love.

Q: What does it mean to be clothed in the righteousness of Christ?

Being clothed in the righteousness of Christ means being seen as holy and pure in God's sight. In Revelation 3:18, Christ counsels His people to buy from Him white raiment for their nakedness to be covered. This metaphor speaks to the importance of being clothed in Christ's righteousness, which is the only valid covering before God. Our own righteousness falls short and is compared to filthy rags. Hence, standing before God in the righteousness of Christ means we are fully accepted, justified, and free from condemnation, allowing us to boldly approach Him as His beloved children.

Q: How does God draw people to Himself?

God draws people to Himself through His love and the conviction of the Holy Spirit. The preacher highlights that God actively seeks and draws individuals to Himself, as portrayed in Revelation 3:20 where He knocks at the door of our hearts. This knocking represents God's invitation and initiative in salvation. While we must respond to His call, it is the Holy Spirit that first softens our hearts and enables us to hear and respond to His message. This divine interaction assures us that those whom God calls will ultimately open the door, because He has already ordained it.

quite a glorious hymn written by Fanny Crosby. The Lord surely blessed her. I had read somewhere the other day where she had written over 2,000 hymns. It's hard to even read 2,000 hymns, let alone to write them. And I wouldn't say that every one of her Hymns is a masterpiece of doctrinal teaching, but most of her hymns are hymns that speak about the practical relationship of a believer with the Lord, and she was blind from birth, and yet, was a very industrious person throughout her life and gave all glory to God in her testimony. And she was a believer in the sovereign grace of God. And one of her hymns that is often sung but little contemplated in many churches is pass me not, O gentle Savior. Hear my humble cry, while on others thou art calling, do not pass me by.

May the Lord give us a mind and heart to seek unto the Lord, because he's the only one that can help us. We're looking in Revelation chapter three. The angel to the church of the Laodiceans, write these things, saith the amen, first and the last. The faithful and true witness, the only witness God who sent into the earth as that one who would speak the message of God. There's not another. The beginning of the creation of God. He is the beginning of all things. Without him was not anything made, it was made. And he is the creator of all things.

I know thy works, he says to them, that thou art neither cold nor hot, neither would thou work cold or hot, But because I art lukewarm, neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth. Neither one of those, as we take liquids into our mouth, it's very seldom that anybody prefers something lukewarm. They either want it to be hot or they want it to be cold, but they don't want it just in between. And the Lord says that to his people. And of course, he's not counseling us to be cold, nor hot. It's not that he's saying I want you to be hot and not cold. He's saying I don't want you to be lukewarm. He's saying I want you to be that which is desired of me and to do that which is pleasing in my sight. He says I know thy works. And He does know us. He knows exactly what we are. He knows what we've done. He knows what little we've done.

You know, when people get to thinking about what all they have done, if it doesn't cause them shame, then they've not thought very well rightly about what they have done. You remember when the Lord said that, He said that when He came that He would judge the works of men. And he said to some, you know, some said, well, Lord, we've done all these things. And he said, depart from me, I never knew you. But those that said, Lord, when did we do these things? And he said, when you done it to one of the least of these, my brethren.

They didn't even know they'd done anything. See, the Lord said, when you serve me, when you give or whatever, He said, don't let your left hand know what your right hand's doing, or your right hand know what your left hand's doing. You're not doing things to be seen of men, you're doing things because the Lord would have you to do. if nobody ever knows it. See, a lot of people wouldn't do things if nobody ever knew it, or nobody was ever gonna know it. You know, most of the charitable donations and things that's given in the world have attached to them, I'm talking about large donations. Men want to give these things, but they want to be sure that you write it down as to who it was that gave it. We're not concerned with who gave it.

Because Christ gave everything for us and all that we have belongs to him. So how can we be concerned with what we give or what we do? The Lord said that when you've done all things that the Lord has commanded you to do, you can count yourself as an unprofitable servant because all you've done is what he told you to do. And that's a glorious thing. The Lord doesn't expect more of us. than he gives us. But he does expect from us that we love him with all of our heart. But he gives us that.

So there again, you can't, the old saying, they used to say this to try to get people to give money to the church because they wanted them to give thinking that God was gonna bless them with more money. You know, and they would say, you can't out give God. So the idea was we'll keep giving and you'll just get, you know, a bunch more money back. You cannot out give God because God's the source of all good things.

And he does give us more than we could ever possibly give him. You know, it doesn't make any difference what you do. It's never more than what, even the unthankful, those that perish in the final day, they've been given much more than they could ever imagine. The Lord's grace exceeds our consideration and thought.

Because thou sayest, I am rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing, and knowest not that thou art wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked, I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich and white raiment. that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear, and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve that thou mightest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Be zealous, therefore, and repent.

Now he says, because you say that you are rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing, Now we often find ourselves satisfied from time to time. Every man does, and this is the experience of all people. This is not a one-off thing here that he's talking to the Laodiceans and saying, this is what you're guilty of. Now, no doubt they were guilty of that, but it is true of all of God's people that if you say you're rich and increased with goods, you are in error.

Because if you lift yourself up, then there's no basis for you to lift yourself up. Pride goeth before a fall. Holy Spirit before destruction. That is, there's nothing men can boast of. You know, if you can, if you learn how to make a bunch of money, you can't boast in that because God gave you the ability to do that. If you can run faster than somebody, It's because God gave you the ability to do that. There's not a thought you've ever had that God has not given you. There's nothing that you have of yourself that you do not need to fall on your face and give God glory for, because he's the first cause of all things.

You say we have need of nothing, How could that be? And knowest thou not that thou art wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked? If you had to take stock of your life, is that the conclusion you'd come to? That you're poor, miserable, blind, naked? That's kind of negative things, is it not? The world doesn't, the philosophical world tells us that's a bad thing, you shouldn't say things like that.

Don't say you're blind because you can see. Well, what can you see? The only thing you can ever see is what God allows you to see. I mean, you take someone like Fannie Crosby who didn't have eyesight, physical eyesight, she never saw anything in her life. but she saw more than most people would ever see by the grace of God.

Because you see those things that you see are not real. What is it that you see in this world that you're gonna take from this world? Nothing, it's not real, it's passing away, it's not lasting, nothing here that is. And he says, how foolish is it? If you're increased with goods, what good is that? What would you have if you gained the whole world, the Lord said, and lost your soul? What difference would it make? Miserable, poor, blind, and naked. We can't see anything except the Lord shows it to us.

And that's why we should never boast of what we know about the scriptures, about doctrinal understanding. I didn't say we shouldn't say what we believe and what the Lord has shown us and be bold to defend that which we believe to be the truth and faith of God with all of our heart. If the Lord's shown us something to be true, be true to it. Stand with it. Declare it. But don't ever think that because you know something that that really means anything. It just means that God showed it to you. It doesn't mean that it was for you to glory in or for you to lord it over somebody else.

Those are things that God teaches us to humble our hearts. The most humble people on earth ought to be the people that know and understand what I'm telling you right now. We didn't do anything. We can't do anything except for the mercy and grace of Almighty God. I counsel thee, he says, I'm encouraging you, I'm instructing you to buy of me gold tried in the fire. Pure gold.

And if you go and, you know, the purification of gold is kind of a, on one hand, it is a, what do you call it, an oxymoron. You can't purify gold. Because gold is gold. It's an element, it's a pure thing. But when the scripture speaks about purifying gold, it's talking about gold that's mixed with other things. So very seldom, if you get gold out of the ground, will it be pure. It's got impurities in it, and it has to be refined.

But when it is refined, then it is pure gold. And the only place that pure gold comes from, from the hand of God, because he created it. in that fashion. And so he says, I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire. Because the way that God has ordained that gold be purified is one way. And that is it has to be subjected to intense heat. And then there's other processes and things that are done to it to purify it. But it must be tried with fire. You cannot have pure gold that has not gone through a fire.

And that which the Lord works in us, he does with fire. He tries us. He works things in our lives that are not pleasant. Illnesses, deaths, losses, all of these things. or for our benefit. Now at the time, it never seems like it is. It always seems like that that's the worst thing that could happen. But it generally is the best thing that can happen. Even great trials and struggles and things that come upon us, if the Lord sends it, it's a good thing.

And as Paul, he said, He prayed three times that the Lord would remove his thorn in the flesh, and we don't know what that was. Most people, those that have studied this, believe that it was some sort of physical problem that he had, maybe his eyesight, possibly. I mean, there's clues and things in scripture that you could gain that understanding, but regardless of what it was, it was a trial to him. I mean, here was a man, no doubt, by the time he had gone after a few years of preaching the gospel, he no doubt was a man who had many maladies and troubles, because he was often stoned, one time at least, left for dead. And so he had wounds and troubles in his body, but he carried on. But he asked the Lord to remove it, but the Lord did not remove it.

Just like Brother Al talked about there this morning about praying for his mother. Now everybody wants their mother to be with them and to live, but the Lord has a purpose in all things, in all people's lives. And he often gives us great love for people that he's pleased to take from us. And at the time, that seems like the most terrible thing that could possibly do. Why did God do this to me? And if we belong to him, the reason that he did is to make us strong. We don't even necessarily understand that at that time. I'm sure that Brother Al didn't understand that at the time that it happened. But later on, you see, that's when God works. God doesn't get in a hurry.

And he may take a lifetime showing us, you know, the aches and pains and things that happened in our life was to bring us to him. Oh, what a glorious thing. I mean, think about the thief on the cross. Now, he didn't have a whole lot of time to think about much of anything, but the Lord, you know, it's amazing how quickly the Lord can bring things to your mind, like a dream. Sometimes you think a dream is lasting a long time, and it really is just a moment thing, but all these things happen in a dream, and the course of time that it takes is only a moment. And so it is that the Lord is able to do those things and teach us and lead us and bring us to the point that He wants us to be. But think about the thief on the cross.

Now, he no doubt had a hard life. that brought him to the place where he was. And no doubt, you know, when the police arrest somebody today, they got body cams on, and if you watch some of these videos of the police arresting people, I get aggravated about it sometimes, because they're so kind and nice to these people, because they don't want to get a lawsuit, you know, for mistreating them, when they ought to just, you know, beat the fire out of them, and throw them in the car upside down, And, you know, but they put their seatbelt on and all this stuff, you know. Well, back in those days, they didn't put their seatbelt on. You know, you can be sure that this fellow, by the time he got to where he was hanging on the cross, he was in pretty bad shape.

And so the Lord brought him there. All those aches and pains at the time, he hated it. But the Lord used that, no doubt, to humble his heart and mind and to see what a wretch he was. You know, pride, I thought about this some this week. Pride in the scripture is an awful thing, or spoken of as an awful thing. Because the pride that it's speaking about is the pride that causes men to lift themselves up against one another or to lift themselves up before God. But pride, the Lord gives men pride so that they might know what shame is. See, you can't know what shame is unless you know, unless you have pride to see it. Because some people have no pride at all in their shame. They never see their shame. They just go on to their destruction because they have no consideration of it.

But when God shows us what the truth is and contrasts ourself with that, then he calls us to see that there is a great dichotomy of what we ought to be but what we're not. Oh, for the grace of God to see those things. That's what he's talking about here.

I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire that thou mayest be rich. You can't be rich by all the things that you set out to do. The Lord may call you to do great and mighty things. He may give you gifts and things that enable you to help men in the earth. but it's not going to be those things that is the gold.

That's not the things that we're to value, but rather those things wherein the Lord humbles our heart. And he blesses us, no doubt. And surely that's a glorious thing. Who doesn't want to be blessed? But being rich in this world's goods is not necessarily a blessing. can be that which is a curse. He said, counsel to buy of me gold right in the fire, that you may really be rich. Because the man who has Christ has all things. Doesn't need anything else. What does a man need if he has Christ? Nothing in this world can help him or harm him. He's in Christ.

And White Raymond, that thou mayest be clothed, that thy shame of thy nakedness do not appear. Clothes mean a lot more to some people than others. And of course most men, clothes don't mean as much to them as it does to their wife. And me, I'd put on anything that I could put on just to cover myself up, and I'd be happy with it. I wouldn't care if a shirt matched the pants or whatever. I'm just going out.

But the clothing, the only cloth that God's people are interested in being covered with is the righteousness of Christ, not anything we can put on. And when I'm speaking spiritually, well you can't put on any kind of covering that is of any use whatsoever.

You know, the Lord said that your righteousnesses are filthy rags in the Lord's sight. Now it's easy for us to understand how our wickedness is his filthy rags. That's an easy thing to understand. But what it takes the Spirit of God to teach a man is that his righteousness is filthy rags inside of God. Because you see, men think, well, I did that and the Lord's happy with me. You know, this is a thing that the Lord, he's gonna pat me on the back. He's gonna say, you did a good job. No, he said, your righteousness is filthy rags.

You don't have any covering whatsoever that's of any consequence to him. There's only one covering, and that's the covering of Christ. And he said, I counsel thee that you would buy that you would be clothed that the shame of your nakedness do not appear. There's only one way that your nakedness will not appear before God, and that's to stand clothed in the righteousness of Christ. Only way.

The Lord's not gonna count anything you did. People say, oh, well, the Lord's marking it down. No, the Lord's not marking it down. The Lord already knows what you are. and you're either covered in the blood of Christ, the righteousness of Christ, or you're naked, and you're in shame before him, that your nakedness do not appear. You know, you often hear people say, yeah, we're gonna all stand one day and be judged by God, and they used to tell us it was gonna be like in a movie. and they're gonna play this movie of our life up here on the screen and everybody's gonna see it and we're gonna all be sitting there and that's how it's going to be. Well listen, God's people, the judgment of God has already been passed on God's people and it fell on Christ. And he bore that condemnation and he carried our sin and He has clothed us with His righteousness.

Oh, what a glorious thing. Our nakedness will never appear. See, when you stand right now before Almighty God, if you are in Christ, you are pure without sin. There's therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Because you see, the Spirit of God works in His people. And when He works in them, what does the Spirit of God teach us? Does He teach us how righteous we are? No, He convinces us of sin, of righteousness and judgment. our sin, Christ's righteousness, and the judgment of God, which Christ is born for us.

What a glorious thing it is to be a child of God, that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear, and anoint thine eyes with thy salve, that thou mayest see. Oh, what a glorious thing. The law of the Lord is perfect. And it says, the commandment of the Lord is true, enlightening the eyes. See, the eyesalve that we put on is the Word of God. And he says, anoint your eyes. Look at the Word of God.

Now, you know, it's one thing to read the words on this page. Everybody should. But the purpose of reading the book is not so you'll know what's in the book, but it's so that the Lord might apply it in your heart. David said, thy word, if I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee. It's good to know all the history and be able to quote scripture. I wish you could. I hope the Lord will give you a mind and heart to do so. What he's telling us here is anoint your eyes with eye salve. Lord, give us understanding that we might see.

Because you can read the word and never see it. A lot of people read it and never see it. There's a lot of false preachers and teachers out in the world. And they read the Bible, and they tell other men what the Bible says, but they don't see it. They don't know what it is. May the Lord give us such a mind. He says, I know what thine eyes, what thine eyes have now. Can you do it? No, you can't do it. But the Lord's pleased to do it in his people. He says, as many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.

Be zealous therefore and repent. What is repentance? Well, it's being sorry. Well, then a drunkard who wakes up the next morning after having beaten his wife and children, has he repented because he's sorry for doing it? No, he hasn't repented. Because repentance is a change of direction. And that's what the Lord has called upon his people, to repent.

Now repentance, you know, when I was growing up and what we were taught was basically, well, you need to repent. Well, you've repented, okay. If you've repented, then you're okay. You know, he repented, okay, good, let's go on. No, repentance is not something you do.

Repentance is something that the Spirit of God works in you continually. Repentance is that when the Spirit of God is bringing our sin to our mind, he's also bringing with it repentance. We can't take any delight in it. We can't find great pleasure in the fact that we've gone contrary to the way of God, but we find sorrow in it. And that's what repentance is.

It's not changing in such a way that you never do something again. How many times have you said, Lord, I'm not gonna do that again? And then you find yourself doing it again. But the Spirit of God sends an arrow into the hearts of His people continually about those things.

And He is working repentance in us. Repentance is a continual working of the Spirit of God. He says, I'm chastening you. He chastens us with repentance. See, a lot of people think about chastening as, well, don't do that or God's gonna chasten you. You know, they think about chastening as a punishment. Chastening is not a punishment. Chastening is a correction. And chastening is not Episodal, that is, it's not because this, this, or this. It is a continual work of the Spirit of God in the people of God. He's continually chastening his people. And when his chastening is removed, then that's an evidence that a person is not a child of God. Because he says, what does he say?

As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Does the Word of God rebuke you? When you read these things and you find just what we're reading right here, are you rebuked by it? Now a lot of people don't like, nobody likes to be rebuked. But the children of God are thankful that God rebukes them. How does he do it? He does it through his word. He does it through the application of his word upon the hearts of his people. And he said, as many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Be therefore zealous therefore and repent. So there is a repentance which is a continual thing that God works in his people. But there's also the activity of repentance.

David knew about it, didn't he, when he composed the 51st Psalm? And he said, oh God, be merciful to me. You know, the old publican, when he went down to the temple to pray, he repented. Now he was brought there because of repentance. But he repeated it. He says, oh God, be merciful to me, a sinner.

Job, when the Lord, you know, Job as a typical example of the children of God, Job was a man blessed of God, and he knew a lot. But he had a self-righteous streak at the same time that he had an humble streak. He had an ignorance at the same time that he knew many things. And he became boastful somewhat when Elihu spoke to him. And the Lord spoke to Job, and he said, Job, where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?

And Job made this statement when the Lord appeared to him in a whirlwind, and he said, mine eyes, he says, I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eyes seeth thee, and I repent in dust and ashes. See, he recognized it became full force and Job repented. Repentance was brought, the Lord was working repentance in Job the whole time that he was boasting. The Lord was just setting the stage to bring Job to repentance. But he brought him to repentance and then Job repented. So you see, the Lord's bringing us to repentance. He's working repentance in us. making us desirous to repent, but then he makes us to repent. And we do repent. And we say, oh Lord, cleanse me. Make me what you want me to be. Renew me afresh. Hide my soul in the cleft of the rock.

He says, behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I'll come into him and I will sup with him and he with me. Now, who's he speaking to there? Same ones that he just said. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten, be zealous therefore and repent. What's he saying to repent? He says, I'm knocking at the door.

See, Joe knocked at, I mean, the Lord knocked at Joe's door. Did he not? He showed up and he showed himself, he showed Job who he was. And he knocked on the door and Job said, he opened the door. Now, you know, people sometimes get too worried about talking about men opening the door. You know, we sing a song and it says, He handed me the key, and then I opened up the door. That's exactly what happens. See, you couldn't open the door. You didn't have any power to open the door. But when God gives you the key, he causes you to open the door. But you do open the door.

Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Now, can a man just go out here in the field somewhere and just decide one day, well, I think I'll call on the Lord. No, that's not what it is. But you see, when the Lord drives the man into the field and he humbles the man's heart and he causes the gospel of the glory of the blessed God to come into his mind and heart, then that man, by the grace of God, will call on the name of the Lord. He'll actually do that with his lips, with his mind, with his heart.

And that's what the scripture's saying here. He says, I stand at the door and knock. He's just not knocking at any door out here. He's knocking at the door that he intends to open. And he will. See, the Lord's not knocking and nobody's opening. See, the doors that the Lord knocks on, they get opened because He intends to come in. See, when the police come up to your house and they knock on your door, they're not just coming for a visit. They're coming in. And when the Lord knocks on the door, He's coming in.

That's a glorious thing. See, he's not setting forth an effort or an instance here where somebody's not going to open the door. He said here, if any man hear my voice and open the door, I'll come in. Does that mean man's in control? No, because you see, the Lord's knocking on the door that he intends to open. And he's not knocking on the door. And men are saying, nope, I ain't letting you in.

But the Lord is the one that comes to the closed door. He's the one that comes and he softens the heart. And he draws men to himself with cords of love that can't be broken. There is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared. What a glorious king he is. And he comes to his people and he says, repent. And he says, I'm knocking at the door. And his people say, oh Lord, come in, come in. And he said, I'll suck with you.

When he spoke to his disciples, when they came in from fishing after he had arisen, and he had seen them fishing, and he had laid out, he had made a fire. This is one of the most blessed passages of scripture and one of my favorites. And the Lord's standing there watching them fish. And over here to his side is a fire of coals and it's got fish on it, cooking and bread that he prepared.

I don't know how he did it. Did he gather up some sticks and make a fire and light it and sit there for a while and cook it and get his mama's recipe out how to do this? I don't know how he did that. I think he just did it. I mean, it just was. He said, you know, if he said, let there be light, I'm sure he could have made a fire, could he not?

But in any event, here's the fire with the fish and the bread already prepared, and the disciples are coming to the shores, they realize that it's the Lord. They weren't looking for him. They were fishing. But you see, he was looking for them. And he had already prepared exactly what they needed.

And he said to the children, come and dine. And that's what he's saying here. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man open the door and come to me. I will come in to Him. He fed His disciples. I don't imagine there was any of them stayed in the boat when He said, come and dine. They came and they dined. Why? Because they wanted to be with Him. Oh, that the Lord might give such a heart and mind today to know who our Savior is. He's that one that seeks and saves that which is lost. He'll lose none. None. There'll be none that upon whose door he knocks that he does not come in.

I Stand at the Door

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about being lukewarm in faith?

Why is repentance important for Christians?

How does the grace of God apply to our works?

What does it mean to be clothed in the righteousness of Christ?

How does God draw people to Himself?

Sermon Transcript

About Mike McInnis

Comments

Joshua

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Music

Recent Comments

About

Legal

Subscribe

Account

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Recent Comments

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Collections

Music

About

Legal

Subscribe

I Stand at the Door

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about being lukewarm in faith?

Why is repentance important for Christians?

How does the grace of God apply to our works?

What does it mean to be clothed in the righteousness of Christ?

How does God draw people to Himself?

Sermon Transcript

About Mike McInnis

Comments

More from Mike McInnis

Related Sermons

Same Scripture

Articles by Mike McInnis

Suggested for You

Joshua

Where this book stands in the tradition

Plato

Augustine

The Western Christian Tradition

This Book