Matthew 7:21-25
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
As human beings we become the embodiment of the words we listen to, the concepts we we give heed to and ideas we give life to. Our actions, deeds, and experiences are shaped by the advice, teaching, guidance and instruction of people we trust. This morning let’s talk about the benefit of trusting the words of the Lord. Not simply positive outcomes or favorable results, but trusting in the Lord. Let’s make the words of Jesus truly ‘A thing’!
Today’s title is the theme of a social media challenge my daughter and I created. The challenge is to become the recipient of the Matthew 25:40 promise: And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ That verse compliments those that have heard and responded to the call of the king to serve others; and as you keep reading you discover the king will punish those that have not. The irony here is that following the Lord’s instructions is significantly easier than trying to do all the work of pleasing people. So it only makes sense to make what the Lord says your priority. In other words, Make the Words of Jesus not only ‘A Thing’ but your thing!
Our scripture this morning is without a doubt the most frightening text in New Testament writing to me. There’s nothing I can imagine more devastating than to hear the Lord say to me, “I never knew you”. Can you imagine that? After all your work and toil, sacrifice and giving, to learn that it was all for naught! That is unfathomable. But truly possible if we fail to heed the Lord’s instructions.
The part of our scripture that most intrigues me is the fact the Lord doesn’t deny or refute the claims made that many did incredible things in his name. He never argued it didn’t happen. He responded, ‘I never knew you’. I labored to understand how that is possible. How can I do amazing things in Jesus name and he tell me I never knew you? I was perplexed until it hit me. We see practical applications of that all the time on social media. In post after posts people use popular songs to attract folk to their feed and simply think texting ‘ I don’t own the rights to this song’ gives them permission to use it. That’s not how copyright works. That’s illegal unauthorized use. Well, the name of Jesus is powerful. Demons tremble at his name. So of course it works. But unless I’m using it to do his will, it too is illegal unauthorized use.
As Christians we spend an inordinate amount of time talking about Jesus. We preach, teach, sing, write, and even rap about Jesus and all the things he has done. We pray in his name. We seek his blessings, healing, comfort and joy. We attribute a lot to Jesus; I just wonder do we really do a lot for Jesus. Moreover, are we doing what he is asking us to do, or just what we want to do on his behalf? God can not be charmed. He can’t be persuaded to change His character. He can’t be impressed or surprised. The only thing you can do to get his blessing is to heed His Word. The instructions of God are simply to be obeyed.
There are a number of actionable items we can do to truly establish we are listening to the Lord and following his instructions and not our own. We don’t have to guess what he expects of us. For example, let’s review Matthew 25:35. It reads: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in… if you just commit yourself to those three things, and seek the Lord’s guidance, presence and help, you’ll find a partnership with the Lord that not only confirms your adherence to his word, but fellowship in his will.
Dearest Children of the King, you needn’t worry about your reception by the Lord when you dedicate your life to his word. You’ve already been called, appointed and anointed to do his will. Just got to do it his way.
God Bless
