Do
you know Jesus or you know about Jesus —would this matter in eternity?
"I Never Knew You"
“21 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.22 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?’ 23 And
then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you
workers of lawlessness.’“ Matthew 7:21 English Standard Version (ESV)
Fans of movie characters, TV, music, or sports stars
buy thousands of dollars’ worth of information, photos, and juicy tidbits about
their heroes. After poring for
They know certain facts about their chosen heroes, may be
able to cite birth dates, favorite colors, pets, like and dislikes but, if they
were to meet those persons face to face, what would their heroes say?
Jesus reacted to this question in Matthew 7:23: “… I never
knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. “
Some people in Jesus' day assumed that they were friends of Jesus
because they had mastered the Old Testament Law. They applied the principles of
the Torah by implementing strict rules for themselves, imposed these rules on
others, and listened to His teaching.
They followed Him, praised Him for the miracles, and told Him
what they have done for the Lord (verse 22):”…
Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy
in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works
in your name?”
But Jesus calls them “workers of lawlessness” and shocked them with these words: “ … I never knew you; depart from me…”
Millions have been doing good works in the Name of the Lord, have
known about Him from the pulpit, from various media outlets, from books, Bible
studies and can recite powerful Bible verses in various translations.
Perhaps they
attend church regularly, they have become even sturdy pillars of their church
and commit substantial portions of their material resources for the gospel. But
do they know the Lord? Have they allowed the facts of the incarnation of the
Son of God and the new life of His resurrection to become a reality in their
personal lives?
They hold knowledge in their heads without allowing the truth
to penetrate their hearts. Jesus explained the problem: “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from
me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules" (Matthew
15:8-9; Mark 7:6; Mark 7:6).
It is always an easy thing to do to substitute religion for the personal and real relationship with the Lord.
It is always an easy thing to do to substitute religion for the personal and real relationship with the Lord.
It is always the assumption that if we do so-called “religious
activities” or “Christian things” or devote much time in church that we are
credited with merits for heaven and the Christian life.
We appreciate the facts of Jesus' death and resurrection, even
preach and give witness of the power of God. But until we have repented of our
past life and made Him our Lord, and declares Him as our Savior, the facts of
the Bible do us no good (John 3:16-18; Acts 10:43; Romans 10:9).
It is only when we acknowledge that the saving faith of the
Savior comes by grace alone, by faith alone.
Knowing Jesus means to accept His atoning sacrifice on the
shameful cross on our behalf (2 Corinthians 5:21).
We ask Him to be the Lord of our lives (John 1:12; Acts 2:21).
We identify ourselves with Him in His suffering, in His death
and consider our old selves to have died with Him at the cross (Colossians 3:3;Romans
6:2,5; Galatians 6:14; 2:20).
We surrender unconditionally to Him, accept His forgiveness
and cleansing from sin and seek to know Him in intimate fellowship through His Holy Spirit (John 17:3; Philippians 3:10; 1
John2:27).
Is then that Jesus gives us indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38; John 14:26; 16:13).
Is then that Jesus gives us indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38; John 14:26; 16:13).
The Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity, comes
As Jesus is a Person, we come now to a personal relationship
with Him. The greatest commandment to "love
the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength" comes
to us in a reality we have never experienced before (Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:30;
Luke 10:27).
We cannot love someone we do not know. Loving starts with a
personal encounter and unconditional surrender – and submission to His will –
and call Him Lord (Matthew 6:33; Romans 10:9-10; Psalm 16:8).
God is so great, so vast beyond our comprehension, so complex
beyond our understanding that we can never fathom everything about Him.
But he
left us His
Word – the Bible – to help us know Him, His attributes, His plans
for us and everything we need to know about life. 
But he
left us His
He has provided means to go on continually seeking Him, knowing more about Him, having
more of Him and enjoying His Presence (Jeremiah 29:13; Philippians 3:8).
Would you want to have a
deeper relationship with God?
God
has made it possible for you to know Him and experience an amazing change in your own life by
receiving His Son, Jesus Christ, and have eternal life.Say the following prayer:
“Father God, I
confess I am a sinner and my sins have separated me from You.
I am truly sorry.
I
now want to turn away from my past sinful life and live a new life pleasing to You.
Please forgive me,
and help me avoid sinning again.
I believe that Your
son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive,
and hears my prayer.
I invite Jesus to
become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day
forward. Thank You that according to your Word, I am now born again.
Please send Your
Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. I promise to study Your Word - the Bible.
Please use me for
Your glory.
In Jesus' Name I
pray. Amen.”
“Knowing You”
(All I once held dear)
(All I once held dear)
lyrics
All I once held dear,
built my life upon
All this world reveres, and wars to own
All I once thought gain I have counted loss
Spent and worthless now, compared to this
All this world reveres, and wars to own
All I once thought gain I have counted loss
Spent and worthless now, compared to this
Knowing
you, Jesus
Knowing you, there is no greater thing
You're my all, you're the best
You're my joy, my righteousness
And I love you, Lord
Knowing you, there is no greater thing
You're my all, you're the best
You're my joy, my righteousness
And I love you, Lord
Now my heart's desire is
to know you more
To be found in you and known as yours
To possess by faith what I could not earn
All-surpassing gift of righteousness
To be found in you and known as yours
To possess by faith what I could not earn
All-surpassing gift of righteousness
Oh, to know the power of
your risen life
And to know You in Your sufferings
To become like you in your death, my Lord
So with you to live and never die
And to know You in Your sufferings
To become like you in your death, my Lord
So with you to live and never die
No comments:
Post a Comment