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. ‘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. ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ ”

This is the final promise that followed the final rebuke that Jesus spoke to the churches of Asia. It was directed at the “lukewarm” church of Laodicea. Laodicea apparently had wealth, influence, and potential that had been sacrificed on the altar of compromise. Because this church had been given much, much was expected. The most serious issue was that the believers in that city had finally shut Jesus out of their hearts. When we begin a life of compromise, the Spirit of Christ will release conviction in our hearts. At that point, there are only two options. We can respond to the prodding of the Spirit with repentance or we can push back against the Spirit until we begin to quench his fire and silence his voice. If we persist in our resistance, we will eventually push Jesus out of our hearts.

The good news is that he will not stomp out and slam the door never to return again. He will, in fact, continue to knock on the door of our hearts – at least for a season. The writer of Hebrews warns us that there may come a time when we will have hardened our own hearts to the point that we no longer have any sensibility to the Spirit and, therefore, can no longer repent (See Heb. 6:4-6). It is not that God will refuse to accept our repentance, but rather we will have gone past the point of caring and returning. Jesus will honor our choices and at some point stop knocking.

The first step to “overcoming” then, is to keep our hearts wide open to Jesus and his influence. Even if we have pushed him out for a season, the moment we respond to the knock, Jesus will re-establish fellowship with us. His Spirit will spring into action again and our passion for the King and his kingdom will be reignited. It is amazing how willing the Lord is to forgive immediately and to restore our relationship with him. “The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion” (Num.14:18). That truth is demonstrated in the parable of the prodigal son, in David’s restoration after his sin with Bathsheba, in Christ’s response to the denial of Peter and dozens of other places throughout scripture. We can expect the same.

Living a life that overcomes the enemy often requires faith to believe that God will gladly take us back when we have stumbled or drifted away for a season. The enemy would convince us that only anger and rebuke await us at the Father’s house but that is far from the truth. For those who wander and return and for those who never leave, for those who open their hearts to Jesus and stay in fellowship with his Spirit, the promise is simply that we will sit down with Jesus on his throne. “Sitting with Jesus,” promises rest, authority, and intimacy with the King. I am constantly amazed at how Jesus longs to be close to us, to share his glory, and even his authority with those who love him. Ultimately, the promise of enduring faith is Jesus himself. There is no greater prize, no greater treasure than to simply know him and to sit at his side.

In the meantime, we can remember that Jesus longs to share himself and his throne with us even now. An open heaven exists for those who believe. Fellowship with Jesus through his Spirit is offered now. Power, authority, and glory are ours now if we know who we already are in the Kingdom of Heaven. We are already seated in heavenly places, already citizens of heaven, already sons and daughters of the King. Eventually there will be an even greater experience of those truths but they are not just ours after the funeral or after the second coming – these treasures are ours now. The Book of Revelation was written to encourage the church in times of hardship and persecution.   The promises are for us as well. I’m pretty sure I don’t fully understand everything in this letter to the churches of Asia but I understand enough to know that we are on the winning team, that Jesus has already won the victory and that we are to walk in that victory by faith rather than sight. I know that great promises have been made so that we might not only finish the race but also run the race run like champions – and then glory. Do not give up, do not step off the track, do not compromise, and do not push Jesus out. Whatever it takes, the promises for now and for later make any hardship and any cost in this world worth it. Be blessed.