The Sermon on the Mount
Vs. 21-23, Lord, Lord ...
Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in Heaven will enter.
Many will say to Me on that Day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your Name, and in Your Name cast out demons, and in Your Name perform many miracles?
And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.
There are many who think they are Christians, who are doing all kinds of ministry-type things that they think should please God. But they never did actually avail themselves of the Salvation He offers through His Son.
Jesus came to be the Lamb of God to fulfill the Old Testament. The first thing God wanted the Levites (the Teachers of Israel) to teach them was the Personal Sacrifice (Leviticus chapter 1). When Jesus' Blood splattered the sides of His altar, the Cross, He fulfilled this Sacrifice. So He must be Your personal Sacrifice, dying in your stead; for His Blood to cleanse you, the Father to forgive you, and to receive the Holy Spirit permanently in your spirit. That is being "born again," receiving Life, similar to having received human life by being born of your mother.
This is the first thing that must be accomplished in order to have communication with God, and know what His will is for you to do.
Many preachers, pastors, priests, and religious leaders today have never realized that Jesus would have taken their place in death, so have never been "born" spiritually, and are doing things to try to earn their way to Heaven.
That's why Jesus will tell them that He never knew them, because they never knew Him, just of Him. And all the stuff they were doing were in their own, human power, and not acceptable to God, having never been cleansed from sin.
Jesus was asked:
What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that you believe on Him whom He has sent.To believe is to trust Jesus to have taken your death for you individually (because God saves people one-by-one). That's the first "work of God" He wants us to do. Then we will be alive spiritually, and able to do everything else He wants us to do.
Before we are alive we cannot do anything at all for God. Everything we do is for ourselves, or for our benefit, to earn something.
O my Father, please open the eyes, minds, and hearts of those who think they are Christians to realize their culpability before You and allow Your Son to be their Savior. I pray especially for my own loved ones, my family members and friends. And I also pray for all Your lost sheep who haven't been found yet.
Please send more workers into Your fields, the mission fields of the World, to reach all those who are seeking You; as I once sought You, not knowing that it was You I was seeking.
And help Your children to joyfully follow You in the narrow path You are leading us along. Continue to hold my hand firmly, never letting me pull away, or wander off; or turn to the right or left.
And Your Name will be praised and glorified for all You have done, my dear, wonderful, powerful, deserving God and King and Lord.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
