Peoples Church of Montreal

Is Jesus at Home in Your Heart? – Rev. 3:20

Preached by Pastor Bryan, @ Peoples Church, November 14, 2004, AM


Scripture: Rev 3:15-22 with a focus on verse 20

Usually this verse is taken as a picture of Christ knocking at the door of an unbeliever’s heart. However, in the original context of the letter, believers in Jesus are addressed. The image is that our heart is Christ’s home. And that Christ wants to come into every room of our heart, every part of our lives. Jesus is knocking at the various doors in our lives – wanting to come in.

Note: The idea for this sermon comes from a little booklet called “My heart, Christ’s home” by Robert Munger.

  1. Office/Study

    2. It’s the place where we fill our minds with things. It’s an important room. In one sense it is the control room. It’s the room with your books, your magazines, your music collection, your movie collection, your TV. It’s everything and anything that feeds your mind. It’s the newspaper, it’s the computer and the internet. It’s the part of your life that shapes your thoughts, that molds your mind.

    Q. What is in this room of your house?

        · Phil. 4:8

    People often ask, but “How do I handle negative, or impure thoughts?”

        · Joshua 1:8

    Meditate on the message, words, verses of this book. In my experience, the more my mind and thoughts are centered around Christ and his Word, the awareness of his presence, purity, and his power cause the impure thoughts to back away. Whatever we feed our minds will grow in our minds. So, if we feed it predominately with the things that are pure, good, and right, if we feed it with the Word of God then that will grow our minds in the right way.

    Quote: "The point of having an open mind, like having an open mouth, is to close it on something solid.” – G.K. Chesterton

  2. The Dining Room

    3. It’s the room of our appetites and desires, our ambitions, our likes and our dislikes.

        · 1 John 2:15-18

    If our appetites, desires, and ambitions are not centered on the Lord Jesus and pleasing him, they get out of hand. The things that the world offers can be very luring and tempting.

    Illustration of Demas
        · Colossians 4:14
        · 2 Timothy 4:10

  3. The Living Room

    4. It represents your time, what you do most of the day. It’s where you live throughout the day. Maybe it’s at work, or maybe you’re a student, and most of your day is at school in class, doing labs, studying in the library. This room of the house represents a big chunk of your life.

    Q. Is Jesus welcome in the living room? Is he welcome at work? Is he welcome at school? Are you working for him? Are you studying for him?

    People say, “How can I possibly study for him?” I’m not at bible school or seminary, I’m studying law, I’m in management, I’m in medicine, Or How can I possibly work for him? I am in business? I am an engineer. I’m a teacher.”

        · Colossians 3:23-24

  4. The garage/workroom

    5. This room represents your skills, your talents, and your spiritual gifts.

    Q. What are you producing with your life for the kingdom of God?

        · 2 Cor. 5:16-20

    We are saved to serve. We are to use our abilities, gifts, and talents, to help people be reconciled to God. It doesn’t matter how much ability and talent we may think we have. It’s our availability that counts.

    It’s amazing what God can do through you with his skilled hands if you trust him and let him have his way with your life – with your skills, talents, and gifts. Whatever your skills, abilities, and gifts, in the Lord’s hands a little goes a long way. Like the little boy who gave 5 loaves and 2 fish to Jesus, and he multiplied it to feed 5000. Whatever seemingly little we give to the Lord he will multiply it for His kingdom. We grow in spiritual maturity in order to give out. It is not enough to learn more and more. We must act on what we claim to believe. I think that when Christians feel stagnant in their spiritual life it’s either because of sin or because they aren’t serving in some capacity.

    Illustration: Sea of Galilee vs. Dead Sea

    Do you know what the difference is between the Dead sea and the sea of Galilee? Galilee is full of life because it takes in water but also gives out. In contrast, nothing lives in the dead sea because there is no outflow, the lake is stagnant.

    Q. How are you giving out and serving?

  5. Rec Room

    6. It represents your leisure time, your fun time, your party time.

    Quote: My Heart, Christ’s Home p.19-21

    Jesus said: “I’ve come that you may have life, and have it abundantly”    · John 10:10

    There’s to be no distinction between our spiritual life and the rest of our life. If Christ is in you by his Holy Spirit, every part of your life has a spiritual value.

    Q. How’s your rec room?

  6. Bedroom

    7. It represents your relationships. In particular with your husband or your wife (if you’re married) or your boyfriend, girlfriend if you’re not married. The bedroom represents your sexuality.

    The Bible makes it clear that the place for sex is only in marriage between a husband and a wife. Any sexual expression outside of this context is sinful.

        · Heb. 13:4 Analogy: fireplace

    Fire in the fireplace is good, beautiful. Fire in our house outside the fireplace is dangerous and destructive.

    Objection: As long as two people love each other, it’s okay.

    Bible says: God’s word is standard, not our feelings.

  7. Closet

    8. Every apartment and home usually has a closet. The place where you put stuff that you don’t want people to see. Your clothes, your shoes, your dirty laundry. It’s not exactly the place that we want to show people when we give them a tour of our house.

    The closet represents the personal things that you don’t want anyone to know about. It’s the things that are rotten and left-over from your old sinful life. It’s the struggles that you cover up, the stuff you would rather not admit exists. And Jesus wants to come into the closets of our lives, he wants to come and clean them out. To deal with us at this deep level. Everyone has a closet.

    Quote: My Heart, Christ’s Home p.25-26

Conclusion

Rev. 3:20

Jesus stands at your door and knocks. Which room in your live needs to be opened up to HIM. Which door is he knocking at? He is knocking.

  1. Office/Study – what we fill our minds and thoughts with
  2. Dining Room - appetites, desires, ambitions, likes
  3. Living room – time, job, studies
  4. Garage/Workroom – skills, talents, gifts
  5. Rec. Room – free time, your “fun” time
  6. Bedroom – relationships, sexuality
  7. Closet – secrets

" Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. "

Revelation 3:20 (NIV)

 

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Peoples Church of Montreal
2097 Union Avenue
Montreal, Quebec H3A 2C3

http://www.PeoplesChurchOfMontreal.org/sermons/Jesus_home.html
last modified: 05/01/05 - 23:26:09 PM

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