I Never Knew You
“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)
Adoring 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
hours over such materials, they act as if they really know their heroes.
They know
certain facts about their chosen heroes, may be able to cite birth dates,
favorite colors, pets, likes 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 even become 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. Intellectual knowledge and assent would lead us nowhere.
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 John 2:27).
Is then that Jesus
gives us indwelling presence of His Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38;
John 14:26; 16:13).
The Holy
Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity, comes to dwell in us permanently, empowering
us and starts transforming us to the image of Jesus (1 Corinthians
6:19; 1 John 3:9).
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).
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.”
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“Knowing You”
(All I once held dear)
Graham Kendrick
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
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