Two doors, one's open, at the other one He's knocking.

Revelation 3:7-22 (NASB) from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

⁷ “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:

He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says this:

⁸ ‘I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name. ⁹ Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and make them know that I have loved you. ¹⁰ Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. ¹¹ I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown. ¹² He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name. ¹³ He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

¹⁴ “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this:

¹⁵ ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. ¹⁶ So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. ¹⁷ Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, ¹⁸ I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. ¹⁹ Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. ²⁰ Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. ²¹ He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. ²² He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”

In these last two letters to the churches we see a contrast, two churches that would appear in human terms to be very different. The church at Philadelphia was not a great thriving church by human standards, yet it is the only one of the seven which received no rebuke, only encouragement and exhortation. The church at Laodicea, on the other hand was a thriving church in a thriving commerce center. Of them Jesus says: ”¹⁷ Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked,”   He referred to them as lukewarm, neither hot or cold, saying because of that He would spit them out of His mouth.

Jesus says that He wishes that they were cold or hot. The lukewarm condition is worse even than being cold.  In Matthew 24:9-14, Jesus says this about the end times:      “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. ¹⁰ And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. ¹¹ Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. ¹² And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. ¹³ But he who endures to the end shall be saved. ¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.”       “Because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold”   This though, is not the condition of the lukewarm church. It is not lawlessness, sin abounding in its midst which is hindering it. Rather it is its own success, its own resources its own abilities. The lukewarm church has become comfortable doing things its own way, relying on its own plans and resources.  Jesus says”  ^“Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked,”   

When the church becomes comfortable and concerned with its own agenda and its own resources, it begins to lose its reliance on God and the Holy Spirit. A lukewarm church or a lukewarm Christian is, according to Jesus less desirable than even the cold one. Perhaps it is because of what Jesus says about the role of the Holy Spirit.    And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; ⁹ concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; ¹⁰ and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; ¹¹ and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. (John 16:8-11)             It is hard for the lukewarm, comfortable church or Christian to feel conviction. They do believe in Jesus. The key may be that as the verse says, they no longer see Jesus. They no longer see Him because they have lost their reliance on Him. Because they are self sustained and self reliant they forget the importance of fellowship with God. They forget that the restoration of fellowship with God the Father is the foremost reason Jesus came and dies on the cross. God doesn’t need our resources. He wants our heart, our soul and our mind.  

Jesus says: “ I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. ¹⁹ Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.”    Matthew 6:33 says:    "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”    If we will seek God, His kingdom and His righteousness rather than relying on our own resources, abilities and agendas, He will supply all that we need.  

There is another contrast, He says to the church at Philadelphia: “I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name.”        There is an open door before them. To the lukewarm church He says: “ Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.”     The compliment Jesus gives the church at Philadelphia doesn’t seem like much. “ because you have a little power, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name.”   What is a little power? Jesus says this about the power we have through a little faith. “For truly I say to you, if you have faith as of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. And nothing will be impossible for you." (Matthew 17:20) It is not the size of our faith that is important. Rather it is the object of our faith. Hebrews 12:1-2 says:  … let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith…     The lukewarm church and Christian is no longer fixed on,  no longer sees Jesus.  The church or Christian who does keep his/her, their eyes fixed on Jesus, “the author and perfecter of faith”, has a little power. It is though,  a little power that can move mountains!

If we will keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, seeking first the kingdom of God and God Himself, there will be an open door in front of us. “An open door which no one can shut”   “Nothing will be impossible for you”  

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ, the author, perfecter, the object of my faith, thank You that You provide all that I need. All You ask of me is that I love You with all my heart, soul and mind. I yield to You Holy Spirit and ask that You keep me in tune and aligned with the will of God, that You keep me facing and walking through the open door.    Amen.