IS JESUS STANDING OUTSIDE YOUR CHURCH?

And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:18 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 mayest see.19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. — Revelation 3:14-22

This is one of the most alarming warnings in all of scripture: The hour before Christ’s return to catch away His Bride, He is standing outside the door of His church looking in! He is knocking on the door but they seem to be having trouble hearing him because they are in the middle of a service that is being carried to the world with the latest cutting edge technology. The music is simply too loud and the atmosphere to “juiced” for anyone to be heard knocking on this door: After all, IT IS A HOLY GHOST PARTY! Or better yet, as someone recently described an “unbelievable” move of God: It is a “night club atmosphere.”

Jesus is knocking on the door of this church looking for faith: “… Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth” (Luke 18:8)? What He found was a confession of faith but no possession of His presence—He was not there. What he found was a faith that had begun right but at some point had swerved into error: “ Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm” (1 Timothy 1:5-7). Notice this church is lukewarm which is halfway between hot and cold: They were majoring on half truths.

All of this was a fulfillment of what Jesus had prophesied in Matthew 13:33: “The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.” Leaven speaks of false doctrine and its twin sister pride. It is “hot air” that puffs up and makes something look big but in reality it is grounded on smallness and has no weight of glory. It is also something that lightens the weight or mood of something. Is this not much of the Charismatic church of America, the majority of what is seen on Christian television?

Truly it is time to repent. Jesus does not stand at this door and knock forever: He moves “outside the camp” and calls out to the halt and maimed: “Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind” (Luke 14:21). He leaves those who are blind and don’t know it to go to those who realize their deep need of Him!

Is Jesus standing outside your church?