- Being entertained by what God finds deplorable might not be a good use of our time. (Matt Chandler)
- The strongest evidence that you have been born again is the fruit of a changed life that only God can produce. (Steven Lawson)
- The church needs fewer leaders telling believers what they SHOULD do, and more leaders showing believers what they CAN do. (Matt Kimble)
- Private sin never stays private and that the enemy will use our failings as publicly as he can to damage as many people as he can. (Jim Denison)
- One of the greatest hindrances to internal peace that the Christian encounters is the common habit of dividing our lives into two areas—the sacred and the secular (A. W. Tozer).
Text: Matthew 7:21“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
If these words of Jesus Christ do not ‘wake us up’ then we have even more reason to rethink what the message is. The message is about desired destination; the response to the question of ‘where am I going’? Our mental posture is determined by our destination. You face where you are going and the activities in current. Looking at life as a journey, the understanding of what happens when the body and soul separate (death) is what I am referring to as destination. The understanding that the meanderings, twists and unexpected detours should not take one away from the intended desired end. There is a very strong relationship between the journey and the destination. Jesus is calling attention to unconscious detours that leave the people convinced that they are on the way, but they are actually lost. How does this happen and what can we do to be sure we are travelling on the right road?’
‘I never knew you’ from one whose name was used reminded me of Steve Samson’s book: I was Always on My Mind (2000), when he said that as pastor, he, not God was the centre of his everyday decisions. He says, ‘The root problem is that too many of us as pastors have exchanged God’s definition of success for our own. We have placed yokes on ourselves that Jesus did not place on us.’ As the saying goes “two princes cannot rule in one city”. You have to realize that saying yes to Jesus’ invitation is to dethrone yourself from the centre of your life. You cannot serve the Lord while your fears, need for fame, acceptance, and your flesh are also giving you instructions. To assume that you are fighting for God or depopulating hell, or winning souls could be based on the assumption that God is in a struggle with the devil. The call to improve the economic conditions is very good if the Lord who has the Big Picture has assigned you.
Observable facts about people described as evil doers:
- They identify Jesus as Lord and call him ‘Lord! Lord!’- Apostle Paul writing to the Romans said, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (10:13). After the outpouring of the Holy Spirit Peter told the people in Jerusalem’ And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’ (Acts 2:21).
- Prophesied in Jesus name.
- Drove out demons in Jesus’ name
- Performed many miracles in Jesus’ name.
What Jesus will tell the men and women of God who did great miracles:
- I never knew you.
- You workers of evil.
- Away from me.
Who then will enter the kingdom of God?
Jesus said it is those who do the will of the Father. How to know the Father’s will should be given highest priority. It is important to understand who one is in relation to God. To have a wrong view of self in relation to God leads to wrong expectations and playing a role that places one in the wrong path of life. What Jesus said in regard to the order of relationships:
- A believer or a Christian is one who has responded to Jesus’ call ‘You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.’ (John 15:16)
- It is important to recognise that only Christ can set one aside. It is not careful planning or reasoning but the word that comes from the Lord. ‘Sanctify them by] the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.’ (John 17: 27-29).
- To be chosen and set aside by God requires recognition of the fact that a Christian is a branch and Christ is the vine. That means you cannot have an assignment outside that order.
To have a real connection with God is the key issue. It is possible to be connected to the church or ministry and do very well but not be connected with God. Growing bigger, having converts and access to opportunities can be deceptive.
Exclusive love of God -The summary of the commandments as taught by Jesus Christ is “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’[31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12: 30-31) compare Mathew 22:37-40; Deuteronomy 6:5
The thin line between those who identify Jesus as Lord and are told ‘‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world’ (Matthew 25:34) and those who will be called workers of iniquity is their view of God and their role. Is it the love of God that makes you keep his commandment, or do you see God as loving you because you have kept his commandment? That is the key and the foundational belief that separates the lanes that could be facing the same direction but ending in different destinations. This must have been what Jesus meant when he said ‘whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life’ (John 4:14). Serving God is a result of an inside out relationship not outside in. It is not keeping commandments as a way of loving God.
The nutrients that feed the beliefs that guide our communication and relationships is the Holy Spirit who gives an understanding of the word of God. To follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit one has to learn to say no to people’s expectations. This understanding is what Jesus describes as the kingdom. “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.” (Matthew 13:44-45). To have the fellowship of the Holy Spirit connects us to that which is of God ‘God has shown these things to us through his Spirit. The Spirit understands all things. He understands even the deep things of God.’ (1 Corinthians 2:10)
There is an increase of evil and deception in the world today. Good intentions are not obedience to God. It is deceptive to assume that once the heart is right, one is right with God. It is so easy to edge God out and create space for worldly philosophy while assuming you are doing it in Jesus’ name. Spiritual crisis can be a result of intense enthusiasm for the gospel proclamation without matching scriptural nurture that ensures spiritual formation. What people normalize is what they act on. You cannot buy God’s favor with your actions. Just love the Lord who has called you.
Signs and actions that could reveal deception:
- Use people, tithes, attendance, and assignments as trophies to show off your effectiveness.
- Lack of gratitude; instead expecting to be rewarded for having worked for God.
- Trusting the rituals more than God’s word will hinder you from being known by the one who matters Jesus Christ.
To know the will of the Father results from resting in his bosom. Read the word of God in a living fellowship with the Holy Spirit, and do what He tells you to do excellently, having an awareness of being His representative. Please note that by the time the people discover that they had no relationship with Jesus Christ it is too late to change destination. That is why each one of us must take some time and carefully listen to yourself in the light of who Jesus Christ is to you. Saying one is born again may not be good enough or reciting the services one has done or what others think of you. A genuine authentic talk and walk with the risen saviour is needed. ‘So long as it is said, Today if ye hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation Hebrews 3:15) . Does your everyday life reveal that Jesus Christ is truly the vine from who you draw your nutrients?
John 11:25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”