Knock Knock Part 3
Knocking on Heaven’s Door

I Kings 18:41 “And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.” 42 So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees. 43 “Go and look toward the sea,” he told his servant. And he went up and looked. “There is nothing there,” he said. Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”44 The seventh time the servant reported, “A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.”So Elijah said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’”45 Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain started falling and Ahab rode off to Jezreel. 46 The power of the Lord came on Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.

Matthew 7:7 “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.”

3 things that happened when we pray these kind of persistent prayers.

1. Persistent prayer allows you to hear what others don’t hear.

verse 41 "And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.”

I Corinthians 2:9 "No eye has seen no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has in store for those who love him. But God has revealed it to us by his spirit."

2. Persistent prayer allows you to see what others don’t see.

verse 43 and 44 "43 “Go and look toward the sea,” he told his servant. And he went up and looked. “There is nothing there,” he said. Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”44 The seventh time the servant reported, “A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.”

Prayer is the difference between seeing with our physical eyes and seeing with our spiritual eyes.

3. Persistent prayer allows you to do what others cannot do.

Isaiah 18:46 “Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain started falling and Ahab rode off to Jezreel. 46 The power of the Lord came on Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.”

Verse 46 “the power of the Lord came upon Elijah.”

Isaiah 40:28-31 " Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. 29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 31 but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary,  they will walk and not be faint.

Luke 18:2-5 "One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. “There was a judge in a certain city,” he said, “who neither feared God nor cared about people. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’ The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’”

Knock Knock: What’s behind door #1


Revelations 3:7-8 “These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. 8 I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.”

3 things about walking through the right doors.

1. Don’t give up on unopened doors

Just because a door is not open doesn’t mean it is closed.

Luke 11:5 “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, 6 ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ 7 And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’ 8 But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.[d] 9 “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”

Opportunities usually come with lots of opposition.

I Corinthians 16:9 “There is a wide-open door for a great work here, although many oppose me.”

2. Don’t knock down closed doors

2 reasons God closes a door…

1. It’s not the right thing:

Proverbs 16:9 “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.”

b. Its not the right time:

Ecclesiastes 3:1-14 “For everything there is a season,
    a time for every activity under heaven.2 
A time to be born and a time to die.
    A time to plant and a time to harvest.3 
A time to kill and a time to heal.
    A time to tear down and a time to build up.4 
A time to cry and a time to laugh.
    A time to grieve and a time to dance.5 
A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
    A time to embrace and a time to turn away.6 
A time to search and a time to quit searching.
    A time to keep and a time to throw away.7 
A time to tear and a time to mend.
    A time to be quiet and a time to speak.8 
A time to love and a time to hate.
    A time for war and a time for peace.
9 What do people really get for all their hard work? 10 I have seen the burden God has placed on us all. 11 Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. 12 So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. 13 And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God. 14 And I know that whatever God does is final. Nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God’s purpose is that people should fear him.”

When God closes a door it’s for your protection.

Psalm 91:1 MSG “Yes, because God’s your refuge, the High God your very own home, Evil can’t get close to you, harm can’t get through the door. He ordered his angels to guard you wherever you go. “

3. Pray for wisdom to know the difference

Luke 10:38 “As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. 40 But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.” 41 But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! 42 There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”

The difficulty is not finding something to do, the real difficulty is in determining what are the most important things to do.

How do I know if something is a good decision?

2 things…

1. do my homework:

Proverbs 21:5 “The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.”

b. let the HS do His work

Acts 15:28 “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us”

Knock Knock
Part 1:
The Door

John 10:7-10 NCV “ So Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the door for the sheep. 8 All the people who came before me were thieves and robbers. The sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door, and the person who enters through me will be saved and will be able to come in and go out and find pasture. 10 A thief comes to steal and kill and destroy, but I came to give life—life in all its fullness.”

1. Jesus is the only door

verse 7 “I tell you the truth, I am the door for the sheep.

Acts 4:12 “ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

2. Jesus is the open door

Rev 3:7 “These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. 8 I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut.

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

Romans 6:23 “the wages of sin is death”

John 3:16 “for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life”

I John 1:9 “if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

a. Open doors provide entry.

“A Door is a direct contrast to a wall. It is hard to climb a wall. It is easy to go through a door. Anyone who wants to get to God doesn’t have to climb. He just takes a step.”

verse 9 “He who enters through this door will be saved and will be able to come in.”

verse 10 “A thief comes to steal and kill and destroy, but I came to give life—life in all its fullness.”

Nicholas Cage “I wonder if there is a hole in the soul of my generation. We have inherited the american dream but where do we take it? it’s not just about cars and wealth it has to do with freedom. We fight for freedom but are we free in our thoughts or are we paralyzed by our dreams of consumption?”

Jim Carrey “I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it's not the answer.”

I Peter 1:18-19 “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.”

Romans 8:11 (MSG) “It stands to reason, doesn’t it, that if the alive-and-present God who raised Jesus from the dead moves into your life, he’ll do the same thing in you that he did in Jesus, bringing you alive to himself? When God lives and breathes in you (and he does, as surely as he did in Jesus), you are delivered from that dead life. With his Spirit living in you, your body will be as alive as Christ’s!”

b. Open doors provide exit.

verse 9 “I am the door, and the person who enters through me will be saved and will be able to come in and go out”

I Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”

Luke 13:24-25 Jesus said to them…  “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. 25 Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’ “But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.”

Matthew 24:37-39 “When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. 38 In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. 39 People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes.”

Romans 5:1-2 MSG “By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us… we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. And that’s not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God’s grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.”