Matthew 7:21-23

Pre-Intro

Good evening

Hard cover bible

Michael is gone because Taylor is giving birth to baby Eli today! So tonight we will be in the book of Matthew. If you have you bibles open turn to Matthew chapter 7. We will be in chapter 7 verses 21-23. Read with chapter 7 vv. 21-23.

Matthew 7:21–23 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”

Pray with me before we start

Introduction

Context

So before we can begin to understand our text tonight we have to understand a little bit about the book of Matthew. If we understand what the focus and emphasis is in the book of Matthew, then we will be able to get better grasp of our text. So the book of Matthew is one of the four gospels which record the events of the life of Jesus. And yet why do we have four gospels in the first place? Can anyone answer why they think we have four different gospels?

The authors of the gospels emphasize different aspects of Jesus’s divinity. A lot of the events which they record are the same and yet they are focusing to include details which highlight certain qualities and features of Jesus’s life.

Gospel of John -> Christ’s Divinity

Mark -> Jesus the servant

Luke -> the humanity of Jesus

Matthew: Ask the kids —> The Kingship of Jesus. So whereas in Luke, the genealogy points to Adam. Matthew’s genealogy makes a point to show that Jesus is the descendent of king David.

In Matthew chapter 3 John the Baptist is introduced and he is supposed to be the herald introducing and proclaiming the arrival of the king and his kingdom!

And in Matthew 5, Jesus as King, begins his sermon on the mount. Most of us have heard portions of the sermon on the mount read and some us have read all of the sermon on the mount. And one way for us to understand this sermon is that Jesus as the King, is showing us what it means to live as citizens of His kingdom. What does it mean to be faithful subjects of King Jesus. Chapters 5-7 of Matthew unpacks that.

To be a faithful citizen of the Kingdom is to resist lust. Not only external lust but the lust of the heart. It is to refuse to be unjustly angry as that anger is akin to murder in the heart. To be a citizen of the Kingdom is to give to the needy. It is to uphold and value the sacredness of marriage. To be a loyal subject of the king is to not judge others hypocritically. Take the log out of your own eye before you judge a brother who has a speck, a splinter, in his eye. And as Jesus is preaching this extended sermon he is taking all of the moral requirements that God gave Moses and the people of Israel at Mt. Sinai in the OT. He is taking all of those laws and showing how obeying them externally is not enough. God wants our hearts to be in alignment with His law and ultimately to love His law. Why? Because that law is a reflection of His good character.

In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus lays out the Kingdom code, revealing who will truly enter His kingdom. But what exactly does that mean? We are speaking of Christ’s eternal kingdom—life with Him forever. So how can we know if someone is a true citizen of His kingdom? Is it enough for them to simply claim they belong to Him, or are there specific requirements for entry?

Our passage tonight answers that question. In Matthew 7, Jesus gives us a sobering glimpse of Judgment Day. We are transported to the day in which Christ will judge alll men. And this vision of the judgement shows us that not all who profess His name will enter his kingdom. Let’s read our text again together.”

Matthew 7:21–23 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”

If you guys are taking notes tonight, we will have two points. Point one will be 1) Obey the Lord and point two will be 2) Know the Lord

1) Obey the Lord

Our first point comes from the text. Not everyone who on judgement day who calls Jesus Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven but only those who obey the Lord.

The text says that on the day of judgement there will be those who call out to Christ “Lord Lord”

Before we move on from that have to understand what that means to call someone Lord. We often tend to use the word Lord without really thinking about what it means. We use the word “Lord” in our prayers, we use the word “Lord” basically without thinking much about it to stand in for the word “God.” And yet, in the bible, this term “Lord” has a very specific meaning. Lord is used in the New Testament to indicate someone who is in a position of authority or power. One who is a master of someone or something else. So Lord in the book of Matthew is yes, speaking of Jesus as divine, but more narrowly, its speaking of how Jesus has the right to rule and reign everything. There is a quote from a theologian named Abraham Kuyper which explains what it means for Jesus to be Lord.

There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: ‘Mine!

Look at how Philippians 2 speaks of Jesus as Lord.

Philippians 2:9–11 “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Just one more, Colossians 1 also shows so vividly what it means for Jesus to be Lord

Colossians 1:16-18 – "For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy."

So, do you guys see how to proclaim Jesus as Lord is not a light thing? It’s not something to do casually. Do you see what it means? It means to say that Jesus owns everything. He deserves everything. Everything was made by him. The whole earth was made for him. And that he deserves the worship of every human being.

So as we look back at out text tonight. What is being said is even more startling in light of what Lord means. Not everyone who stands before Jesus on the day of judgement and says to him , “Jesus, I believe you are Lord”, will enter his kingdom. Not all who look at Jesus on the day of judgement and say to Him, “Jesus you are King and rule over everything”. Not all who proclaim that will have eternal life. Why? Because it is those who obey the will of God who will enter eternal life. And what is the will of God in heaven? It is the word that Jesus had just been preaching in throughout the sermon on the mount.

Jesus speaking in the Gospel of Luke 6:46 ““Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?”

What Jesus is saying here is not that keeping his commands is what EARN you heaven. We just spent the last several months working through the book of Romans. By now we should all know that what Jesus isn’t saying is that FAITH + WORKS saves us! What Jesus is saying is that it is IMPOSSIBLE to truly trust in Jesus as Lord and not obey him. Whether you keep his commands reveals whether you NOT ONLY think Jesus is the Lord, but whether you have ACTUALLY submitted your very life to him as Lord.

As D.A. Carson put it- “It’s not about whether we say nice things about Jesus but whether we do what he says”

Another theologian said it like this, “"One of the greatest tragedies in the church today is that we have many who profess Christ but do not possess Christ. They call Him ‘Lord’ with their lips, but their lives tell a different story. The greatest deception is thinking that agreeing with the gospel is the same as surrender to Christ."

Guys tonight as you examine your own life have you surrendered to Jesus as Lord. I’m not asking if you would raise your hand if I asked you all if you think Jesus is Lord. Do you actually believe it so much that you obey him as King?

Do you come back here to this youth group every two weeks, indulging in the same sins over and over again without any desire to change. WITHOUT ANY DESIRE conform your will to God’s? Does the word of God have no affect on your lust? Is it changing how you fight your anger? Does Jesus’s word impact your life to the extent that you’re willing to change the type of music you listen to? How about the way you talk? Whether you gossip about another girl in the group? Friends if you honestly look at your life this very moment. When you take a moment to think about it, can you say, honestly, my life shows no evidence that I truly believe Jesus is my Lord?

Of course none of this means that we are perfect. We are sinners. We will continue to sin until we die. Jesus even instructs us in Matt: 6 to confess our sins and ask for forgiveness every day. What that means is that Jesus knows those who obey him will still sin.What it means to do the will of the father as is stated here, is not to be perfect. It is to have a new heart which desires to kill sin. Which comes to the Lord in confession and asks him to help us kill our sin!

If you look at your own heart and don’t see that desire to follow the will of God tonight, perhaps you haven’t obeyed Jesus as Lord. Perhaps you are the one Jesus is warning with this passage. We must obey Christ.

NOT ONLY OBEY BUT KNOW HIM.

2) Know the Lord

Matthew 7:21–23 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”

As we read the rest of the verse, we see not only those who will say “Lord, Lord” who are trying to enter the Kingdom of heaven. But it is also those who “on that day” will attempt to enter into the kingdom of God by showing the deeds that they had done.

They prophesied in the name of Jesus, they cast out demons in Jesus’s names.

They did mighty works!

It as if they are pleading with Jesus. Look Jesus, all that we have done for you. Surely Jesus, this ought to be enough to demonstrate that we truly submit to you as Lord!

How does Jesus respond to this? What Jesus says next is one of the most sobering statements in the entire bible. He says “‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”

I NEVER KNEW YOU. Guys, if there is one sentence that you don’t want to hear, it is Jesus, on judgement day telling you that he never knew you.

What does he mean by this? Of course, the text is not saying that Jesus didn’t have any idea who they are. Jesus is the Son of God. Of course he knows who you are. He knows everything about you. It means that he doesn’t know them in a relational sense. He doesn’t know you as one who has come to him in repentance and faith to enjoy obedient fellowship with him/

I mean we all know there are different ways of knowing someone. Knowing about someone is different than knowing them. I can read a biography of someone and know of them. And yet that knowledge is completely different than actually having a relationship with that person. No matter how much I read about Donald Trump in the newspaper or even read his books I will never know as well as Melania.

Here in our verse Jesus is speaking in this relational way. He responds to those who present all of external religious works to him by saying he never knew them. The works that they parade in front of Jesus are merely external. There works aren’t flowing from a heart of obedience or else Jesus couldn’t call them workers of lawlessness. They were outwardly focused.

In contrast to those Jesus doesn’t know, think of how Jesus speaks of those who he does know.

John 10:14–15 “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.”

To know Jesus then is to have a relationship with HIM! Friends it is impossible to have truly turned from your sin in repentance and placed your faith in Jesus and NOT have a relationship with him. And how do you know you have a relationship with him? You follow him. You obey what he says.

John 10:27 “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”

John 14:15 ““If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

James 1:22 “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”

White board! So in case you are having a hard time understanding, I put it up on the white board.

Guys do you see what’s being said? Being a true believer in Christ is not about being able to rattle off facts about him. It’s not about how many questions you can answer correctly about what the Bible says ABOUT JESUS! Do you truly believe he is Lord. Have you placed your faith in Him as both Savior and Lord? Guys, me and Michael and all of the other leaders here want youth group to be fun. We want to enjoy our time together. We want this to be place where we can laugh. But most importantly, we want you to know God. We want you to love him. Out of that love we want you to obey him. This obedience is not burdensome but is about loving God. It produces joy.

John 15:10–11 “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”

As you consider this text ask yourself truly if you know Christ. Do you enjoy time in the word? Do you love to come to Jesus in prayer? Do you truly know him.

If you don’t know him like this, Jesus will say to you depart from me and what will await you is eternal suffering away from Christ. Sure on that day you might not say that you performed miracles or prophesied, but maybe you will say something like this,

Jesus you are Lord. Look at what I’ve done. I’ve gone to church all my life. I’ve been to so many bible studies. Look at how much I know about the bible. See how kind I’ve been to others. I go to youth group pretty regularly. Look how I obeyed my parents by quietly sitting through family devotions. And Jesus, unimpressed by your outward displays of religion will say to you, “I never knew you”

Friends if this is you tonight. If you do not know Jesus personally. If you have not bowed the knee to him as the Lord of your life today, there is hope! You can still know him.

Gospel presentation.

Know Christ by trusting in Him

Praise God you are his sheep who he knows.

Matthew 25:21 “‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’”