When They Don’t Receive You
There are times when we bring a message from God and it isn’t received. Sometimes it’s the world that turns away, but often it’s the church. We pray for revival, we ask for the Holy Spirit to move, we beg God for direction, but when the answer arrives, we hesitate. We question it. We close the door.
Jesus knew that feeling. He came to His own, yet His own did not receive Him. The Bible says in John 1:11 (NIV 1984), “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.” He brought heaven to earth, truth to religion, and light to darkness, but because He didn’t come wrapped in their expectations, they couldn’t see Him for who He was. The Light stood before them, but they preferred the comfort of familiar shadows.
Imagine this for a moment. You order food through Uber Eats or JustEat. You scroll the menu, choose what you want, pay for it, and wait. You even track the driver’s progress on the app. You know it’s coming. When the knock finally sounds, you open the door, look at the driver, and say, “No thanks, that’s not what I wanted.” You ordered it, you paid for it, you waited for it, but you turned it away because it didn’t look the way you imagined.
That’s what happens so often in the church today. We pray for revival, we cry out for Jesus to move, but when He does, we send Him away because the delivery didn’t look as we expected. The messenger wasn’t the right person, the package wasn’t wrapped in the right tradition, or the word that arrived challenged rather than comforted. And yet, the message was exactly what we prayed for.
Picture this. The preacher stands with a takeaway delivery bag and opens a large pizza box. Inside, there’s not food, but a Bible. It’s warm, glowing with light, as though heaven’s oven had just finished baking the truth fresh for this moment. The Word of God is right there, steaming with life and power, ready to feed the hungry heart. And yet, so many turn it away at the door.
Jesus said in Revelation 3:20 (NIV 1984), “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.” He doesn’t force His way in. He doesn’t shout through the letterbox. He simply knocks, offering the meal we’ve been praying for. But if the door stays shut, He moves on. He doesn’t stop loving. He doesn’t stop knocking elsewhere. But He does move on.
Sometimes the saddest thing in the Kingdom isn’t rebellion, it’s refusal. It’s praying for bread and then rejecting it because it was served by unfamiliar hands. It’s asking God for vision and then sending the delivery away because it came through someone we didn’t expect.
Jesus warned His disciples that not everyone would welcome their message. He said in Matthew 10:14 (NIV 1984), “If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town.” He didn’t say “if” they reject you, He said “when”. Rejection is not failure. It’s not proof that you missed God. It’s often proof that you obeyed Him. The seed has been planted even if the soil wasn’t ready. When they close the door, your job is not to argue or push your way in. It’s to walk away with peace in your heart and dust on your sandals.
Jesus knew rejection well. He wept over Jerusalem, longing to gather its people like a hen gathers her chicks, but they were not willing. Luke 13:34 (NIV 1984) says, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.” Still, He didn’t curse them. He carried the cross for them. That’s the love of God in motion. The love that delivers even when the order will be refused.
Paul and Barnabas faced the same thing. When the people of Antioch rejected their message, Acts 13:51 (NIV 1984) tells us, “They shook the dust from their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium.” The very next verse, Acts 13:52, says, “And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.” They didn’t leave angry. They didn’t leave discouraged. They left obedient. Because joy doesn’t come from being accepted. It comes from being faithful.
When Jesus said to shake the dust from your feet, He wasn’t teaching offence, He was teaching release. It’s a way of saying, “Lord, I’ve done what You asked. The rest is up to You.” It’s an act of trust, not pride. We don’t shake the love off, only the disappointment. We walk on, praying that those who rejected the message might one day welcome the Messenger.
Even if they trample the pearl, it doesn’t lose its worth. Jesus said in Matthew 7:6 (NIV 1984), “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.” Even if they reject the meal, it doesn’t lose its flavour. Even if they close the door, it doesn’t change the love that knocked. Our calling isn’t to make people eat. It’s to keep the food warm and ready.
One day, those who turned away may remember. They might recall the moment someone stood at their door holding the Bread of Life. And when they’re hungry enough, they’ll know where to find it.
You’ve prayed for Jesus to move. You’ve asked for His Spirit to lead. But when He knocks, will you recognise Him? Don’t send back the delivery you prayed for. Don’t reject the answer because of the packaging. Take what God sends, even when it challenges your appetite. Because it’s exactly what your soul ordered.
And if they don’t receive you, keep walking with love. Shake the dust, not your faith. Keep delivering the message. Because the next door you knock on might just open and invite Jesus in.
JESUS IS LORD