I Never Knew You
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“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.’
The first thing we want to acknowledge here is no one makes it out alive. Everyone dies. Not only do we simple die, as some people will claim, but we stand before God, our Creator, when it is all said and done.
Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written,
“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall confess to God.”
So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.
As Christians, we will stand before God and give an account of what we have done. Were we good stewards of our gifts? Did we reach others like we should have? Did we treat others like we should have? How did we measure up as a Christian.
These are the Christians that die. They will give an account for how we lived.
Then there are those who when they stand before God they do not have a relationship with Him, and they will be cast out. But I want to draw your attention to something here. The people of the world act the way that they do because they are still in the world. Under the devils control. Look at who Jesus is addressing though. He is addressing someone who appears to be of a spiritual nature. “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name?”
These are people who go to church. These are people who tend to the sick. These are people who give to the needy. These are people who teach others about God. These are people that stand up and preach from God’s word.
People who look good on the outside, but on the inside they have nothing going on. Truthfully they do not have a relationship with God.
Jesus explains here that only those who do the will of the Father will enter into the kingdom of God. Now there is the question “well what is the will of God?” The will of God in your life, what you should be doing is not necessarily a cut and dry answer. A light will not beam down from Heaven telling you which cereal to buy, which college to go to, which job you should get. But scripture does tell us that God’s word is a lamp unto our feet, it will guide us in the immediate choices in life, and it is a light unto our path, it will illuminate the directions we are supposed to head in.
The Will of God.
The first will of God is the advancement of His kingdom. God will at one point set up an eternal kingdom that will never be destroyed, but in the mean time He is adding citizens to that future eternal kingdom. The will of God is that we aid in the adding to the kingdom.
Second, the will of God is the glorification of God.
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
It is God’s will that in all that we do, we bring honor to Him. This means in your classrooms, on the streets, on the ball field or on the court, at your friends house, out with that special someone that you like. Whatever we do, in all that we do, we are to bring God glory.
3. Lastly, it is God’s will that you are saved and sanctified.
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
God wants. With the advancement of His kingdom to all of those around, He wants you specifically just as badly. He wants you to place your trust in Jesus Christ for the cancellation of your sins, and your ticket into Heaven. Then He wants you to walk in the manner of Christ. We know that it is a long process, but the process must begin nonetheless.
These people that Jesus was talking about went to church all the time. They got out in their community's, they helped, they served, but they did not have a relationship with God.
All of the good deeds that you do should come from a relationship that you have with God, wanting to do His works, and not in a way trying to make up for a relationship with Him.
Many people have a superficial, or fake, relationship with God. They do what they do in order to look as if they have it, but deep down they have nothing. I want to ask you here tonight, do you have a relationship with God that causes you to serve Him and others, or do you try to serve Him and others in an attempt to gain His favor?
Do you have a relationship, or are you going through the motions? Is there really change on the inside, or is everything happening on the outside?
Even celebrities do good things, but the vast majority of them are spiritually unchanged.
If you need a personal, your own, relationship with Christ, come talk to me. Many people will stand before God someday and say “did I not give you my time and do good things?” and Jesus will tell them that they had no relationship with Him, and He will turn them away. Into a place of utter darkness and torment.