Give God Your Keys

Below is an excerpt of the sermon “Give God Your Keys” from Pastor Mike Ray at Hopewell Baptist Church on Wednesday Evening, 5/26/2021 during Hopewell Baptist Christian Academy’s Graduation and Awards Night.

If you have a Bible with you, we’re going to be reading one verse in Revelation chapter number 3. Revelation chapter three. A very famous verse. Many of you could quote it. If you don’t have a Bible with you, that’s fine. All of these chapters in Revelation one, two, and three are written to local churches. And so, this is the last church, the church at Laodicea. And all the print is in red, so we realize this is Jesus speaking. Notice this very famous verse here. It’s written to Christians, a local church. Here’s what it says in Revelation 3:20 “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.” And so, we hear that first phrase a lot — “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.” And that’s what I want to speak on just for a few moments tonight. I’ll explain the verse.

Father, would You bless this brief time we have. I pray that You would help us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Let me ask you: Has there ever been a time in your life where you got locked out? I wonder how many old-timers got locked out of a car, and you took that old coat hanger. You remember the old coat hanger? And you would go through the window, and you’re trying and you’re looking at the keys. The keys are in the ignition. You can see the keys, but you got the little coat hanger. I think I helped someone break into their car. I don’t even know if they were the owner. I may have helped them steal the car. I don’t know, but I remember that. How many coat hanger people — you’ve helped get into a car and get your keys by unlocking the car with a coat hanger?

How many of you have ever been locked out of your own house? I mean, you know, you started out the door, one of your kids helped you unlock the door, and… wait a minute… And then you’re walking around the house looking, pushing on windows until you find the open window. And then you took one of your children when child protection wasn’t looking and had them climb through the window and open the door. There’s nothing more embarrassing than locking yourself out of your own house or being locked out of your own car.

Now we’re going to talk to the married couples for a moment. Someone is angry if your mate is locking the bedroom door. “Hey! Hey! The door’s locked.” “I know.” “Hey, you accidentally… hey, the door’s locked.”

We’ve all heard different types of knocks at our door. If it’s UPS, it’s always urgent — “UPS!” Same with Amazon and some of those delivery people, sometimes. It might be a girl scout, and it’s just real sheepish and you can barely hear it. They’re selling cookies. Sometimes, maybe it’s a warrant: “Open up. Napa P.D.!”

So, we have this verse here. Jesus died on the cross, saved all these people, gave His blood, rose again, and paid the payment for sin. People accepted Him into their hearts as their Savior. A local church was formed in a city called Laodicea. Now here He is knocking at the door. He’s locked out of His own church, His people. They were still having church, they were still singing, they were still doing stuff, but Jesus wasn’t even there. He was saying, “Can I please come in? You know, I think you kind of forgot about Me. Can I come in?”

There’s a famous painting originally made famous by Holman Hunt. It’s Jesus knocking at that door. That’s where the verse comes from: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.” A little boy was at a museum looking at the original, and he studied the painting and looked really close. He said, “Dad, who is that? And what is he doing?” And the dad wisely said, “Son, that’s Jesus, and he’s knocking at everyone’s heart. He wants to come in.” And the little boy studied the painting. And after looking at it pretty closely, he said, “Dad, no wonder He can’t give in. There’s no doorknob. The painter forgot to paint a doorknob.” And the dad wisely said, “Son, it’s on the inside. Only you can let him in.” The little boy was very quiet all the way home, drove home with his dad in silence. They pulled into the driveway, and he just blurted out. The little boy said, “Dad, did He ever get in?” The dad wisely looked at his son and said, “You tell me, son. Did He ever get in?”

And folks here tonight, let me just encourage you — that’s what life is all about. Jesus loves you so much that He died on the cross to take your Hell because He didn’t make Hell for you. He made it for the devil and the demons. He wants you to go to Heaven with Him. So, He knocks and says can I come in? It’s so much better when I come in. I’ll bring peace. I’ll bring forgiveness. I’ll write your name up in heaven. I’ll build your mansion. I’ll take you home with Me one day. But you must let Me in. You’re not born with Jesus in your heart. No one can get Him in. It’s your choice. You’ve got to open the door, and only you can do that.

Let me ask you — Daddy, did He ever get in? Hey mama, did He ever get in? Young person, teenager, child, did Jesus ever get into your heart? That’s the greatest thing you could leave with tonight. Hey, I went to a graduation. I came to watch the graduates, and I did; but when I left, I was on my way to Heaven. That’d be good news. That’d be great news tonight.

But what I found out is this: once He comes in, he keeps knocking. We have a family in our church who recently bought a house. When you buy a house, they give you all the keys. Can you imagine buying a house, and the realtor says, “There you go.”? And you walk in the living room, and you start to walk to the bedroom, and it’s locked. The kitchen is locked. Closets are locked. Furnace rooms locked. “Hey, what’s going on?”

Jesus gets us, He says, “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price…” (1 Corinthians 6:19–20a) He wants all of us. And here’s what Jesus does once He comes in and saves us. He then says, “What’s behind that door?” He starts seeing all the doors in our life, and He starts knocking. “Hey what’s behind that door?”

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Hopewell Baptist Church is an Independent Baptist Church in Napa, California pastored by Mike Ray. It is Bible-based with a warm, friendly atmosphere. Hopewell is dedicated to bringing the water of life to the Napa Valley and beyond.