“Listen! I stand at the door and knock; if any hear My voice and open the door, I will come into their house and eat with them, and they will eat with Me.” (Revelation 3:20)
John writes the words of Jesus to the Laodicean church. So, Jesus is speaking to those who have made Him Lord and Savior. Many use this Scripture to tell unbelievers of the readiness of Jesus to receive Him. While it’s true, Jesus is always ready for someone to believe in Him and become a child of God, this Scripture was written for believers.
The Laodicean church was deceived. They were lukewarm Christians. They didn’t know they were deceived. “You say, 'I am rich and well off; I have all I need.' But you do not know how miserable and pitiful you are! You are poor, naked, and blind.” (Revelation 3:17) Jesus uses temperature to communicate to them how revolting they were. The Laodiceans had aqueducts carrying hot water from the hot springs six miles away in Hierapolis and cold water twelve miles away from Colossae. Both hot and cold water are very useful, but not lukewarm water. They were familiar with lukewarm water and how useless it was.
They were comfortable Christians with no zeal and enthusiasm for the things of God. They were doing Christian things without Jesus (“...hear My voice and open the door...”) In the Good News version it reads, “...I will come into their house ...,” but in the King James Version, it reads, “...I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me...” (Rev 3:20) It changes the meaning a bit. So, depending on which version you read, Jesus is saying He will come into your life or come into your spirit (heart). Both mean the same things and assume complete surrender. When Jesus is in our lives, He rules. He will take you from victory to victory. When Jesus is in your spirit (heart), He takes you from glory to glory. He will eat with us and us with Him, implying we become part of the church and will have an invitation as part of the church to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, the wedding feast of Jesus with His bride the church. “Then the angel said to me, "Write this: Happy are those who have been invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb." And the angel added, "These are the true words of God." (Revelation 19:9)
Have you lost your enthusiasm and your zeal because of the hardship of this life? Daily trials and tribulations draw the life out of our enthusiasm and zeal. Our thoughts and desires begin to be more focused on our life and its problems than in the Lord. It’s easy to do because we deal with these hardships on a daily basis. To combat this world, we must fight those thoughts first of all. Make a decision to revive your soul. Paul writes the following to the Philippians: “In conclusion, my friends, fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honorable. Put into practice what you learned and received from me, both from my words and from my actions. And the God Who gives us peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:8-9)
Then we need to fill our hearts and soul (mind, will and emotions) with God’s Word. God’s Word is alive and powerful. It brings Truth, Life and understanding. “The word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. It cuts all the way through, to where soul and spirit meet, to where joints and marrow come together. It judges the desires and thoughts of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12) So we return to reading the Bible.
We made a decision to renew our relationship with the Lord. Do not let go of Him. Hold on to Him. Be sure to spend time with Him whenever you can. Being with Jesus is as essential to us as the air we breathe. “God created the heavens and stretched them out; He fashioned the earth and all that lives there; He gave life and breath to all its people....” (Isaiah 42:5)
Our next step is to go to the Cross. We need to review His passion, those days of His suffering for us and to worship Him, thank Him and ask for forgiveness for thinking only of ourselves. Then we need to pick up our cross and follow Him. We need to surrender our way to Him and say like Jesus said before going to the Cross, “not my will, but Your Will.” (Matthew 26:39) And the Holy Spirit will help us continue, not the same, but with an understanding and wisdom that He is with us, that if we follow Him, He will take care of the problems of this world.
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