Let Him In!

Introduction

We have sung some wonderful things about Jesus leading in our lives. Certainly applicable to this morning’s lesson. I appreciate so much Jerry’s comments from Romans 5 about the nature of Jesus’ sacrifice. And even Jared’s comments about the purpose of our giving, that we might advance the Lord’s cause and understanding of salvation. And I want to contribute to that this morning as I begin by asking this question what might be the most challenging biblical concept or teaching that will keep people out of heaven. Of course, if we don’t believe, we cannot be saved. And that is certainly an obstacle or a stumbling block that some folks can’t hurdle. They just never come to accept or embrace that Jesus is indeed the Savior who sits at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

And then there is the requirement that comes out of belief that we’ve been studying, where Saul of Tarsus was instructed to arise and be baptized and wash away his sins because of theology, because of religious tradition. Some people will reject this notion that baptism is essential to salvation despite what the scriptures say. Very clearly about the role it must play. But I believe there may be a greater reason, a concept that stands in the way of so many, pleasing the Lord and being ready for the last great day. And I can see your minds are turning. Where’s he going? So I want to talk to you about the subject of repentance. Some reject belief because they connect the dots very quickly, that belief in Jesus will require change.

I think that’s what happened to Felix in Acts 24 when Paul reasoned with him about righteousness and self-control and judgment to come. And he said, Go thy way. When I have a convenient season, I’ll call for you. Felix was putting connecting the dots, putting things together. This is going to require some significant change in my life. Some people don’t embrace baptism. Not because they don’t see what the scriptures are saying. You can have them read the scripture and you can ask them what the scripture say. But for some reason, they won’t embrace what it is saying about baptism because, again, I think their minds are going to other things that they see, and that is that if I embrace this truth, my whole theology has to change, what I’ve always believed, my tradition.

1. Repentance: To Think Again

And so when they start considering the changes that are going to be required, not just in their lives in regard to morality, perhaps, and it certainly involves that. But even the religious changes that will be involved, they begin to stumble over, well, I don’t think baptism is necessary for salvation. Again, repentance may be the most challenging of the three. Belief in Jesus. If we can convey what salvation means in your life, according to what the scriptures teach, I must convey to you that belief will demand change in your life. And it’s demonstrated in a story that Jesus told in Matthew chapter 21 about two sons, whom he told to go and work in the vineyard. The word repentance is not used in this parable, but it’s all over it.

When it says in verse 29, the first son said, I will, sir, I’ll go out into the vineyard, but he does not go. And he came to the second and said the same thing, but he said, I will not, but then this, yet afterward he regretted it. Afterward, he changes his mind, he regrets it, and he goes. And the question Jesus asked in this parable is which of the two did the will of his father? And they get it. The one who did the will of his father is the one who had the change of heart, who repented, who regretted the initial decision. They changed their course and they went. And what he says then is an application of this parable is the tax gatherers, the harlots that you think are unworthy of your time, they’re that second son.

They went out and listened to the preaching of John, and you rejected John and had no remorse over that. You didn’t change your mind in regard to him, even though he was sent by God. And so this story illustrates repentance. What does the English word mean? Let’s do a little English lesson. The word re means again or pent, and pent means to think. And so the idea is to think again. And that’s what Matthew 21 illustrated for us. You thought a certain direction, I will not, but as you think about that more, you say, No, I need to go, and you make the decision to go. You think again. Spyro Zodiates is the one who so often quoted. You do a search on repentance, and this quote comes up as he talks about the Greek term for repent that we see in the New Testament, metanoia.

2. Repentance Is Not a One-Time Step

Meta, denoting change of place or condition, and neo to the exercise of the mind. So the idea is to relent theologically. It means to change one’s mind or disposition toward God. And then I like this more specifically. To repent is to undergo a moral reorientation of the soul, in which one acknowledges the error of his ways and turns toward the divinely prescribed way of truth and righteousness. Well, here’s what I want you to know about this morning. And this is where this lesson is going. Repentance is not and will not be a one-time step in our lives. Obviously, on the day of Pentecost, those who were guilty of sin and were pierced in their heart and said, Men and brethren, what shall we do? We’re instructed clearly, as we should instruct anyone who’s wanting to be saved from their sins.

Repent. And don’t forget that first word that was spoken in verse 38 as we get to baptism and its meaning. Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, on the basis of all that he is. Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins. Repentance is essential to receiving forgiveness of our sins. And you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, all that God had promised through the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament. So repentance, then, done before one comes into Christ is not a one time step that will never have to be repeated. Do you get that? That’s the point I’m driving at here today. Poor thinking and subsequent poor behavior.

You know, we act out of the way we think. Mark 7 makes that very clear. Poor thinking, subsequent poor behavior. That’s what requires this to think again. This moral reorientation where we say, oh, I’ve been going this way. I’ve got to start going this way. We’re not done with that once we come into Christ. We will yet find ourselves at times out of step with the will of God. Wait a minute. The will of God is saying, I need to go this way, and I find myself going this way, much like Jonah on the ship to Tarshish that we read about in the story of Jonah. We find ourselves, though covenant people of God, going the wrong way again. And that’s why we need to sing songs like, Where He leads, I’ll follow.

Well, duh. It’s the Lord. Of course, where he. Why are we singing that? Because sometimes we find out we’re not following where he’s leading. We map out our own course and go a different way. And so we’re singing to encourage everybody. Where He leads, I need to be following. Now, let me demonstrate that this is so. Not a one-time step. Remember, that’s the point. 2 Corinthians 7 and verse 1. As he’s writing to those about fellowship with God, he shall be a father to you shall be his sons at the end of chapter 6. He says, look, be careful about your associations. What agreement has the temple of God have with idols? Understand this flows out of that context. And then he comes to chapter 7 and verse 1.

Listen to this very carefully. These are not people outside of Christ. These are people in Christ. He says, Therefore, having these promises. Okay, we came into Christ like those did in Acts 2. And we get these promises from the Holy Spirit. Therefore, having these promises that he talked about, we get these promises, beloved. Look at this. We’re not done. Let us cleanse ourselves. Now, if you know anything about what’s going on in 2 Corinthians got some problems. Well, they did in 1 Corinthians 2. But they do in 2 Corinthians because they’re estranged from God’s apostle. Cleanse ourselves, and they’ve come under the influence of people who are encouraging some bad things. Cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit. Wait a minute. We were done with that when we became Christians.

We got morally reoriented. They need to do that again. There’s still some things happening. Cleanse yourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. What does it mean to be set apart unto God to serve him to be holy? We’re still learning about that. That’s why we have all these Bible classes. That’s why we have these assemblies ongoing and meet every first day of the week. We’re still figuring it all out and plugging it in our hearts and lives. And 2 Corinthians 7 and verse 1 says it’s going to be an ongoing process. Cleansing ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Where he leads, I will follow. Okay, now where are you going?

3. Five of the Seven Churches Instructed: Repent

Not a one time step. Here’s something pretty interesting. And I knew this, but it just struck me very recently. Frank Walton helped me with this. I’d seen this over and over again, but I really not stopped to reflect upon it much. But when you get to Revelation chapter 2 and chapter 3, the letters to the seven churches that we talk about all the time. Five of the seven churches in Asia Minor that are addressed, the only two exceptions.

Most of you did. Five of the seven churches are instructed. The word is found. Repent. Let’s do the math. This isn’t hard. You only got seven here. Five out of seven. Wait a minute. That’s not that doesn’t come to a very good number. Yeah. 71%. To be exact. 71.43. Five out of seven. That’s a lot. That’s more than half. If Jesus was writing this letter today to churches, hey, here’s your spiritual condition. How many would be instructed to repent? They’re not done. If fellowship with God is going to continue, this is only a handful of decades since the establishment of these churches, significant spiritual problems have unfolded. And an ongoing relationship with the Lord is going to be dependent upon them following these instructions and making the changes.

Let’s just take a brief look at these before we get to the one I want to spend the rest of our time talking about. The first, of course, is Ephesus. We know what happened there, right? They left their first love. Verse 5. Remember, therefore, from where you have fallen. Where he leads, I’ll follow. Thanks for leading that song. Where he leads, I’ll follow. You’ve not been followed. Repent, therefore, from where you have fallen. Remember, therefore, from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds that you did at first. That’s sometimes where we find ourselves. We started well, we were going in the right direction, but now we’ve lost sense of some things. And we’ve got to get morally reoriented again and repent. And again, he speaks generally.

We’re talking about most of the congregation. This wasn’t just a handful of people, right? He’s addressing this to a congregation, and generally their state is they need to repent. Verse 16, the church at Pergamum. They were holding to the deeds of the Nicolaitans, and we don’t, and the teaching of the Nicolaitans, we don’t know what that was, but it wasn’t consistent with the will of God, that we do know. And so he says, this, these Nicolaitans who are influencing you, repent, therefore, or else I’m coming quickly to you. Two times in the message to Thyatirah in verses 21 and 22. Specifically, Jezebel needs to repent. And those who are following Jezebel need to repent of their deeds. She was encouraging immorality in verse 21 or 20.

And then we come to Sardis. We know about them, right? Chapter 3. They had a name that they were alive, but they were dead. He goes, I know your deeds. But in verse 3, he says, remember therefore what you have received and heard. Come back to the standard, get morally reoriented again. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard and keep it and repent. And if you don’t wake up, there’s going to be severe consequences. And again, we learned in verse 4 that a majority of the Christians there were affected. Only a few had not soiled their garments. Okay, but make a few observations before we get to the last one, the one we haven’t covered yet. Again, one that you may know really well. That’s where we’re headed.

4. Repentance Is a Challenge, but God Grants It

We’ll get there in a second. But when we talk about repentance, and this, whether we’re talking about initial repentance or the kind of repentance he is instructing here for these seven churches, you know why, you know why it’s distasteful to people, right? It’s a challenge. Nobody repents easily. Easy shmeezy. Repentance. Simple. It’s not going to be done without some difficulty. It’s going to require some effort. And that difficulty. Who wants to sign up for that? We’re all about ease in our culture. I mean, you mean be different than everybody else? You mean not just go with the flow? You mean I’ve actually got to change the way I think and my behavior and conduct. Are you serious? A lot of people want Christianity without the required conduct.

And that’s why repentance becomes optional. You can’t read the New Testament and get repentance optional. Jesus religion involves repentance. The people to go to heaven will be people who have repented. And so it’s a challenge, difficulty, work. Let me help you with this real quick. I’m not going to deny any of that. You’re going to have to work at this. But you need to change the way you look at it. Alright? Look at Acts 5, verse 31. This could be helpful. Acts 5, verse 31. Peter is talking about the nature of salvation in Christ. God has raised up Jesus. And he says in verse 31, he is the one whom God exalted to his right hand as a prince and a savior. And that’s where he is, our God.

Jesus, exalted prince, and Savior. And look at this. To grant repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. He’s granted, he granted repentance. It involves work. Notice how I made that disappear. Yes, it involves work, but it’s God granting us the privilege, the opportunity, the mode to salvation. We’ve got to change the way we look at it. Acts 11 and verse 18, when he’s talking about the conversion of Coronetus, he explains to the Jews, God has granted them. Granted it. Instead of seeing work, I’m being granted a gift.

The repentance that leads to life. Same thing is found in 2 Timothy 2, 24 and 26 about converting the sinner from the error of his ways and gentleness and meekness. He has escaped the snares of the devil. God has granted him release or repentance. Well, repent of what specifically? Okay, we need to talk about that just briefly. What am I being asked to repent of? Common pitfalls today include a variety of lusts, sexual material, covetousness, an unruly tongue. The Bible talks about that in great detail. Worldly affections, which we might call idolatry, and the scriptures do call it that. Pride, self-seeking, laziness, and neglect, to name a few. And let me show you how this plays out to a letter to the church in Thessalonica. Maybe some needed to repent of doing these things.

He says, Finally, then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus that as you have received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God, just as you actually do walk. He says, I want you to do even better. Excel still more. Verse 3 for this is the will of God, your sanctification. Okay, the idea of sanctification is you’ve been set apart unto God. You are now sacred to Him, and you’re to follow sacred things or holy things. And one thing that means, he goes on to say, he has to avoid sexual immorality. Alright, so that’s what this repentance involves. Again, things that the will of God does not condone. Alright, now. So you’re looking at your life. You say, I’ve got to make some changes.

This is what the will of God says. Following Jesus means this. There’s a challenge set before me. I’ve got to make these required changes. How am I going to do that?

5. Be Zealous, Therefore, and Repent

That’s where I’m going with this. Not a one-time thing. It’s going to be an ongoing thing as you see yourself out of step with the will of God. How am I going to do it? And that’s where the final situation in the letters to the seven churches is going to help us. Because I want to give you this morning the key to being able to repent when it is necessary in your life. Now we know what’s going on with Laodicea, right? Most of you are familiar with that. But if you’re not, they are in a lukewarm state. Jesus says, I wish that you were cold or hot. I wish there was some kind of intensity one way or the other, even. Would be better than the condition that you’re in.

You’re lukewarm. You don’t see it. They are saying, we’re great. Everything’s wonderful here in Laodicea. I’m rich and have become wealthy. I have need of nothing. But that’s not what was true spiritually at all. He says, you are wretched and miserable, poor, blind, and naked. And what we need to be able to do is to assess where we really are spiritually. Instead of saying, I’m rich, increase the increase in good. I don’t need either. Everything’s wonderful, but if it’s not, if Jesus’ assessment is you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked, some repentance is going to be necessary. And that’s where he goes with this. In verse 19, we’re coming back to 18 in a moment. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline. Sometimes in the instruction that is given in Bible class or sermons, the instruction reproves, it disciplines, it’s trying to channel me down the right path.

And so Jesus instructing them, you’re not where you need to be. I love you. I’m going to reprove and discipline you because this is in your best interest. And then this. Here’s the key. Be zealous, therefore. And repent. Never really pay much attention to that before. Be zealous. You know, if we can get zealous about the right things, repentance may not seem so hard after all. He says, you guys need to start feeling something. You lukewarm believers in Laodicea. You need to get intense about this. You need to be zealous. Kindle some passion in the direction of change. J.C. Ryle is another one who’s quoted all the time about zeal in religion. You do, sorry, zeal in religion, this JC Riley. I’ve used it many times.

I’ve always used to cut out the part in the middle, but I’m going to tell you what he says in the middle that I don’t agree with theologically. Okay? Zeal in religion is a burning desire to please God. Being a man of one thing, burning zeal. Zeal in religion is a burning desire to please God, to do his will, and to advance his glory in the world in every possible way. I like that. But then he says, and this is the part I don’t agree with, it is a desire which no man feels by nature, which the Spirit puts into the heart of every believer when he’s converted, but which some believers feel so much more strongly than others that they alone deserve to be called zealous men.

Okay. That’s just wrong. God doesn’t say, Tony, I’m going to give this the reason why he preaches so passionately. I’m giving you more zeal. Or somebody else gets less zeal because it’s just an endowment that comes directly. And it’s like a misunderstanding of Romans 5 and verse 5. Jared Bowman asked me about this week about the love of God being shed abroad in our hearts. The issue is not, does that happen? The issue is how that happens. And it’s not, I want to give you a little bit more endowment of love. That’s not the way that happens. The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts when we expose ourselves to the Spirit’s instruction and are moved by that. We’re filled with that, Ephesians 5 and verse 18.

And thus we love in our lives as a result of choice and dedication. That’s how it’s shed abroad in our hearts. It’s not God’s, I’m going to give you a little extra measure of love. Or I’m going to give you a little extra measure of zeal. But he is right as he goes on. This zeal that we have is so strong, it impels him to make any sacrifice, to go through any trouble, to deny himself to any amount, to suffer, to work, to labor, to toil, to spend himself and be spent, and even to die if he can only please God and honor Christ. But watch out, and the reason why I debunked that middle part of a great quote otherwise is that God is not saying, okay, Laodiceans, here’s some zeal.

Do with it. That’s not what he says. He says, You get it. You cultivate it. Be zealous and repent. Zeal is an outgrowth of our inclusion in God’s great plan. And when you realize that, hey, I’m involved in something incredible, the outgrowth of that is, Paul says in Romans 12, and that’s really the transition that’s taking place there from 11 to 12. What he said in the first 11 chapters, he’s saying, God’s had a great plan to save Jew and Gentile by grace through faith from him, through him, and to him are all things, he concludes in verse 36. Then he comes to chapter 12, and he says, Let me tell you about what that means in regard to your involvement. I beseech you by the mercies of God that you present your body as a living sacrifice.

There’s zeal written all over that. And don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. And how does that look specifically in a person’s life? Well, partly not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. Where does this come from? Where does this zeal, where’s this zeal generate? Now back to verse 18. The fact is, and I preach this in regard to the water of life. That’s the sermon where Julianne is taking the nesty plunge, and I’m preaching that at meetings, sometimes with or without that picture. But in Revelation chapter 3 and verse 18, what has he just said? Here, you’re wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked, he says, look, I advise you to buy from me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich, and white garments that you may clothe yourself.

You’re in a naked spiritual condition, and that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed. And Isav, that’s really seeing things. An isab to anoint your eyes that you may see. Don’t you understand that Jesus is providing the commodities that you need? When you see that, well, I really need to see things for how they are. I need white garments. Instead of being dressed without garments, the nakedness of our sin or unholy garments, I need the righteous garments that he provides and instructs for me to wear. And look, what Jesus provides, it’s gold compared to the worthless trinkets that the devil is offering in comparison. So let me talk to you about cultivating a zealous heart for just a second. The three things that Jesus provides are of inestimable, that’s hard to say, inestimable value.

And yet people will travel for miles and miles and spend hours to watch a game. And they won’t wake up and go search. It’s all about what you value. I know, but the football season isn’t long enough. I’ll grant you that. And it’s only twelve Saturdays of fall. This is fifty-two times a year. But when you understand the payoff for this, the reward of this, what Jesus is offering in comparison to our teams that are always disappointing. We rarely win the national championship. Maybe never. What Jesus is offering so far exceeds. People will camp out for days just to get a good deal on an item that’s going to wear out and disappoint and ultimately not survive. Because we value material things, and getting them is more is so important that we’ll camp out for days to get that great deal on that electronic item that we want so bad.

Black Friday.

And that’s what he’s telling the Laodiceans. A failure to generate zeal is the result of someone just not getting it. And here’s what they don’t get. That there is a very real spiritual realm. They’re not getting the purpose of their existence and what is at stake as we live and how we live. That’s what they’re not getting. You know, a commonly used verse in this regard is the two men on the road to Emmaus. And the statement that’s made about them when Jesus, but they suddenly realize they’re in the presence of the risen Savior. And when they realize that, he disappears. And what did they say? Did not our hearts burn within us as he talked to us on the road. That’s what we’re talking about.

6. Behold, I Stand at the Door and Knock

If you get it, if you get it, you’ll generate zeal. And by generating zeal, repentance then won’t seem so challenging anymore. Those two men on the road to Emmaus realized they were in the presence of greatness, and that this was an incredible moment. The essence and purpose of all history. They got it. Risen Jesus being in their midst. But this isn’t done. Be zealous, therefore, and repent. There’s one more thing here. He says, Behold, I stand at the door and knock. I’m here. Zeal is fueled by an understanding of fellowship with him. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him and will dine with him and he with me. See, a further motivation is not just what he can provide, but that we will come into relationship with him.

That’s the offer. An intimate, fulfilling relationship with the most awesome person that exists that’s going to exceed the best marriage that exists on the planet. Or the best friendship with any other person that exists on the planet. The idea of relationship with the Lord. You need to be zealous and repent because of what he can provide. What I can provide, he says. And I’m I want to come, I want to have this relationship with you. I stand at the door and knock. But are you going to let me in? Now, if you let me in, it’s going to be awesome. I know the writer of the song didn’t get it. I want to stay here longer than man’s allotted days. You know, to the guy’s credit.

I mean, he died several decades ago. I look, how old was in fact our books actually have it wrong. It’s not John Melvin Menson, but John Melvin Henson. But he died in 1972. So he didn’t know about terrorists wearing suicide vests or ISIS or Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. He didn’t know anything about that when he said, I’d like to stay here longer than man’s allotted days, to watch the fleeting changes of life’s uneven ways. Well, we’ve got some changes we could talk to him about. And you say, Well, maybe I don’t want to stay here longer than man’s allotted days. Remember where this guy lived. It was a better time in our country. So I’m going to cut in some slack. Also, he continues, but if my Savior calls me to that sweet home on high, I’ll live with him forever in glory by and by.

Conclusion

Oh, yes, I’ll live in glory, live in glory by and by. Now that shouldn’t be preference number two. I’d like to stay here longer than the man’s a lot of days. No. Preference number one is to depart and be with Christ, because that’s the treasure. But he gets that part. There with my dear Redeemer. There no more, no more to die. The final appeal. I stand at the door and knock. He who overcomes. And that’s what repentance involves. You’ve got to overcome the things that are challenging us to go the wrong direction. He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with me on my throne. Well, I don’t know how all that plays out in eternity, but that sounds pretty good. I sit down with Jesus on his throne.

As I also overcame, there were challenges in his path to lead us to victory, to die at Calvary. There were challenges, and I also overcame and sat down with my father on his throne. I want to tell you, if you open up the door and let him in.

That is rest. That is real accomplishment. And that’s a successful life. Those whom I love. He challenges. Be zealous. And repent. And if you’re not yet in a right relationship with the Lord, yes, he stands at the door and knocks. But this was actually written to those who are already in Christ, who needed some more moral reorientation, who needed to think again about their conduct. Where are you? Are you going to let the Savior in this morning? We stand and sing to encourage your response.