TODAYS BIBLE VERSE:
Matthew 7:22-23; “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness!”
ENCOURAGING WORD:
Most people in today’s world are very aware that there is a God, but that is quite different from actually knowing God personally. Every religion has a god or a religious figure whom they serve. Every god except for the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are false gods that are either made with human hands or they just exist in their minds. They do not exist, therefore, there is no way for those that follow these religions to know their god personally. Except for the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, every other god is perpetrated by Satan in one way or another. We read these two verses in;
2 Corinthians 11:13-14; "For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ." “And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.”
The verse that I just read is Satan’s way of distracting people from the one true God. Without mentioning any religion by name, there is one particular religion, that believes that their god is the real god when in reality, it is Satan Himself that indwells the evil minds of those that follow this religion. They claim to be a religion of peace, when in reality, they are the most evil and barbaric religion that exists. There are others that are equally as evil, but not on as large of a scale on this one..
So, without getting into more depth of these other gods, let me continue on with an example of what I mean by “Todays Title.” "Do You just Know about God, or do you Know God personally?"
Let’s first look at this from a human perspective. To know someone personally is much different than just knowing of someone. Let me use an example of someone that we all should have heard of. His name is Billy Graham, greatest evangelist during our times. Most likely, we all heard of him, and we know that he dwelt amongst us for quite a few years. Now, let’s say that Billy Graham had a huge gathering, such as a wedding or an anniversary, or maybe just a family picnic, would you have been invited. Most likely not, unless you were one of the few that knew him personally. And I'm not talking about His crusades, of course we are all invited to those gatherings, but not because he knew us personally. In the same way, God is going to have a huge celebration which we refer to as the “Marriage Supper of the Lamb.” But, if you do not know Jesus Christ personally, you will not be invited. Read todays Bible verse again. Will you be one of many that will hear these following words? ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness!” These will be the most frightening words that you will ever hear. Matter of fact, they will be the last words that you will ever hear.
Even though Jesus died for the sins of the world, only those who received and accepted His free gift of Grace will benefit from it. When you receive Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, and become Born-Again into the Holy Spirit, it is then that you can enjoy fellowship with Jesus Christ, and not until! When you become Born-Again, you can fellowship with Jesus just as if He were right next to you, which brings me to the following question that we should all consider. If Jesus Christ physical walked next to you every minute of every day, would you react differently to certain situations that you may be confronted with. For example, would you ever swear or use any vulgarity in your speaking? Would you walk into a bar with Jesus and start drinking alcoholic beverages, or better yet, would He even join you in that kind of establishment? Not a chance! Would you invite Jesus to join you at a casino to gamble? He wouldn't join you there either. A little word of wisdom, if you do go into a casino and you happen to win, don't thank God, He had nothing to do with it. Most likely it was Satan trying to drag you into a sinful life style. The best thing that can happen is for you to lose the shirt off your back so you never go there again. These are just a couple of examples of something to think about. I’m sure that we would all act differently in the presence of Jesus Christ if He were walking right beside us every minute of day. Keep this in mind, if you have confessed with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus Christ lived, died for your sins and rose again from the dead according to the scriptures, and then received Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, then He is right beside you every minute of every day. If you don’t feel His presence throughout your day, there is a good chance that your confession of faith was just lip serve and He most likely is not walking with you. That is an unsettling thought. Let me give you an example of what I’m saying. If we choose to walk through this world on our own and reject Gods propitiation for our sins, it would be like getting dropped into the middle of Vietnam during the war with thousands of enemies surrounding you. The only difference is; you can see the enemies in the jungle, but you can’t see the demonic enemies that are surrounding you every day that you walk outside of the protection of our God. The spiritual enemies are actually more dangerous than the enemies that you can see.
The enemies that you can see can kill the body, but can't destroy the soul. The spiritual enemies can't kill you, but they can destroy your soul. Which one of these two scares you the most?
Do you see where I am going with all this. It shouldn’t make a difference whether Jesus Christ is by your side in a physical form or a spiritual form. You should address each situation in your life as if Jesus is right beside you, because if you are Born-Again, He is with you always! And I mean, truly Born-Again, not just lip service. I’m sure, we are all guilty of this at times, but we need to consider everything that we do before we do it. We need to be sure that God would approve of what we are about to do. We need to think things through. Acting on impulse is dangerous! Now, I’m not saying that you are not saved if you go into these certain establishments that I just mention, but it certainly is an indication that you are probably not walking with Jesus, at least from the time you enter that building till the time you leave. The Holy Spirit is not going to escort you into this kind of establishment. We need to ask ourselves this question before we do something, Would Jesus join me in this activity? If you’re not sure, than you better get into the scriptures of the Bible and get to know Jesus personally, so you know what He approves of and what he despises. If we truly believe in Jesus Christ and take His word seriously, we wouldn’t do half the things that we do. If Jesus wouldn’t do it, then neither should we. But unfortunately, we all try to get away with as much as we can, as to not offend God. That is not a good mindset! We need to show our love, devotion and obedience to Jesus Christ every minute of every day. Once we get to the point where we feel His presence, we will become more and more acquainted with Him, and we can call Him Friend. When we get to the point where we, without a doubt know Him personally, you will hear the following words when you stand before Him at the Bema-Seat Judgement of Christ. I say the Bema-Seat Judgement of Christ because you won't appear at the "White Throne Judgment." Your sins will have been paid for by what Jesus did for you on the cross and you will have no sin charged against you. It will be as if you never sinned.
Matthew 25:23; “His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’
We will all stand before Jesus Christ at one of two judgements. We need to make sure that we don’t get confused when it comes to the “Bema-Seat Judgment of Christ” verses the “White Throne Judgment.” The “White Throne Judgment” is for the condemned. They will be judged and sentenced and will spend eternity in the lake of burning fire, because they did not receive the gift of grace offered by Jesus Christ when He hung on the cross. The Bema-Seat judgement is a rewards ceremony where all those that were Born-Again will receive rewards for what they did in the name of Christ after they became Born-Again. Two separate judgments, two separate destinations. Which one do you want to attend. It is your choice!
Now, as I said before, Jesus did pay for the sins of the world, but there is a condition to receiving this free gift that we need to understand. We read these next two verses where it clearly states what that condition is,
1 Corinthians 15: 1-2; “Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.”
We need to read this very carefully and understand what it is saying. These first two verses tell us that we are saved “IF” we hold fast to what the Apostle Paul preached. It also says that we can believe in vain, Ouch! Then it tells us in; 1 Corinthians 15: 3; what we need to believe and receive in out hearts to be saved.
1 Corinthians 15: 3; “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,”
This my friends, is the Gospel in a nut shell and this should be the foundation on which we stand. We read this truth in the following Bible verse.
1 John 2:4; “The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” (Jesus) and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;”
This is saying that if you confessed with your mouth that Jesus Chris is Lord and then do not keep His commands to the best of your ability, Your confession of faith is most likely lip service. Just so you understand, we are all sinners, I'm talking about those chose to live a style of sin. Once again, here we read a couple more alarming verses in the following scriptures;
Matthew 7:22-23; “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness!”;
Once you hear these words, depart from me; there is no more hope for you! Words mean nothing if your actions don’t support what you say you believe. See, God does not expect perfection from us, and that is why He died for our sins on the cross. But with that being said, we should do the best that we can to be a good witness for the Word of God. Keep this thought in mind. I know that many people have a hard time witnessing to people face to face, and that is normal, so what should we do? Witness by our walk. There is a saying that I like to share, “If you can’t talk, then witness by your walk.” Like I said, words mean nothing, actions speak much louder than words.
So, back to the original question, Do you just believe in God, or do you really know God personally? That is a determining question that one must ask themselves. It makes all the difference in the world where you stand, and a huge determining factor as to where you will spend eternity. Here is another verse worth sharing that makes this very clear.
James 2:9; “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!”
I’m going to read the following verses from the book of John.
John 16:5-15; “But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper (The Holy Spirit) will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; (Jesus) of righteousness, because I go to My Father (God) and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world (Satan) is judged. “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.”
John 14:25-26; “These things I (Jesus) have spoken to you while being present with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
Jesus is telling the disciples that He must go to the Father, so that the Holy Spirit will teach the Gospel to all those that believe. When Jesus walked the earth, He could not physically be in more than one place at a time, but the Holy Spirit can indwell every believer all at once regardless of where they are. While Jesus was on earth, He taught with an audible voice. For many of us, we find it hard to listen and maintain in our minds what we hear, therefore, when the Holy Spirit indwells each believer, He will teach us Spiritually. He can fill our heart and minds with all the knowledge in a matter of seconds. When, messengers of God’s Word speak, if they are indwelled by the Holy Spirit, it is then that the Holy Spirit is doing the teaching. This is how the Holy Spirit spoke to prophets of old. Even though men of God penned the Bible, it was all inspired by the Holy Spirit. And not just some of the time, but all of the time. Jesus taught all things, so when the Holy Spirit entered the disciples minds, He also would teach them all things, and bring to remembrance all things that Jesus taught them. He also said,
“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will tell you things to come,"
And that is a prophetic message for those that want to ignore what 30% of the Bible has to teach. This is further evidence that the only way for us to understand the Bible is for us to be Born-Again and be indwelled by the Holy Spirit. If you have not accepted the Holy Spirit into your heart and soul, there is no way for you to understand the Bible as it is written. That is why many church leaders of today don’t teach that you must be Born-Again. Because of their rejection of 30% of God’s Word, they have no idea how the Bible should be understood. We read this interesting verse in;
2 Peter 1:20-21; “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.”
These two verses are clearly saying that if you do not understand certain scriptures, you should not try to figure them out by allegorizing them or making them symbolic. If you are indwelled by the Holy Spirt, the scriptures become perfectly clear, no need to allegorize them, which is what most religious sects of Christianity do today.
2 Timothy 3:16-17; “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
My friends, when you say that you believe, that in and of itself will have no bearing as to where you will spend eternity, it is putting what you believe in into action that will make all the difference. As it clearly states in the message that I just read, Satan and all the fallen angels know Jesus personally, they even met Him, but they choose not to serve Him and therefore will spend eternity in the Lake of Burning Fire for all eternity along with all those that rejected Jesus Christ. Those that choose to serve Jesus Christ in this life will be with Him throughout all eternity. Now, I’m not saying that you have to be a pastor or teacher of the Word to be saved, you can serve Jesus by how you treat others as we read in the following verse.
Matthew 25:40; “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.’
Anything that you do in the name of Jesus Christ, you will be rewarded for when you get to heaven and stand before Jesus at the “Bema Seat of Jesus Christ.” This has nothing to do with good works before you knew the Lord. It is what you did in the name of Jesus after you became Born-Again.
Let me give you one more example that might make it a little clearer. Let’s say that you are one of a thousand people that got an invitation to a very high level party. You need to reply with an RSVP, or you will not be able to get in when you get to the doors of this celebration. The day finally comes, and you neglected to send in your RSVP. So, when you get to the door, you are not allowed in. Now, if you try to enter Gods Kingdom without submitting your RSVP, which is responding to Gods call to righteousness, you will not be permitted to enter. If you come to the door dressed in your own righteousness, (Which is good works) you will not be allowed in, but if you are clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, (Grace) you will be allowed to enter the gates of heaven. I am trying to make this as clear as possible because I personally do not want anybody to miss out on the greatest event ever, especially those that I know and love, which is entrance into the most glorious place imaginable, or should I say, unimaginable. Hear in the following verse what God has prepared for those that trust in Jesus Christ for their salvation.
1 Corinthians 2:9-10; “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. “But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, and the deep things of God.”
Jesus Christ has invited every soul that He created, to join Him throughout eternity, but we must accept His provision for our sins to be accepted into His kingdom. Do you want to miss out on this place that God has created for you? The sad truth is this, very few people will accept this gift of salvation through grace as we read in the following verse;
Matthew 7:14; “Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
We are all created in Gods image for a purpose. If we do not submit our lives over to His will, then we will travel through this world lost and we will go about our business serving our flesh and will never know the true beauty of what God created us for. To God, we are all valuable, but if we don't accept God's will for our life, He will give us over to what we want. That is why God has given us a free will, so we have the choice whether or not we choose to love Him or reject Him. God will not invade our sovereignty. God wants love...not robots. See, all other religions of the world require you to bow down and serve their God, whether you like it or not. Our God (The One and only God) gives us the choice to love Him or reject Him. Of course, there will be eternal consequences for the choice that you make. So, surrender your life over to the One that created you and experience the joy that life has to offer.
I’ll end with this well known benediction:
“The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.”
May God bless you in all you do, and take care!
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