“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord! ’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of My Father in heaven. On that day many will say to Me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in Your name, drive out demons in Your name, and do many miracles in Your name? ’ Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you! Depart from Me, you lawbreakers!’
Matthew 7:21-23
Someone has called these three verses the saddest words in all of scripture. Here is someone, in fact Jesus says it will be many people who think they are followers of Jesus and on good terms with Him, but Jesus tells them to "depart" because He never knew them!
Do you know Jesus, or do you simply hope you know Him? There is a big difference. You could be an expert on the facts of someone's life and even write a biography without ever meeting that person even once. And you can know all about Jesus Christ without ever meeting Him.
The goal of the Christian life is not to know more about Jesus than anyone else, the goal is simply to know Him and walk with Him every day. Here is why these words of Jesus are so very disturbing. Jesus says that you can prophesy or preach in His name, drive out demons in His name and even do miracles in His name without ever really knowing Him!
Are you known by others for your great preaching and awesome displays of God's power? Those things alone do not mean that you know Jesus! When you know Jesus, He is with you always and you talk to Him about everything. When you know Jesus you hear His voice every day and the Holy Spirit guides your steps and provides the comfort that you need. When you know Jesus you find your peace in Him and not in the world. When you know Jesus you embrace Him and His will for your life because you love Him and you know that He loves you.
"Lord Jesus, if You want me to preach in Your Name along with casting out demons and doing miracles then I am willing. But Lord I am not willing to live this life without knowing You. Help me Jesus to turn off the world around me today so I can see Your face and hear Your voice every step of way! Amen."
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