Daily Bread 3-19-18
The Sermon on the mount(cont'd)
Matthew 7:22,23
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: Depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
ref. - Ps 5:5 - The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: Thou hatest all workers of iniquity.
Ps 6:8 - Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity; for the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping.
No amount of works, no amount of deeds, will carry us through if we do not hold on to what God has given us in Jesus Christ. As the previous lesson told us, be ye doers and not hearers only, we must become obedient. It is not the things that we have done yesterday that will give us the invitation into God's courts as there are many that have done many things in God's name with false intentions and for their own purpose. No, we must be performing the things that we do for God and God alone. We are allowed and given the talents to perform these things through the Holy Ghost and in Jesus Christ but the end goal is to please God. In order for our minds and hearts to be focused in the right direction they must be driven by the right Spirit. Our worldly desires to be acknowledged and to flourish on this earth must be overshadowed by the grace and mercy that is given to us in Jesus Christ. We did not die on that cross, we did not pave the way for millions, we will not be sitting on the right hand of the throne of God. We have not been called to be the savior, that job is already being fulfilled and will be until the end of time. What we have been given is a great opportunity to become obedient to something that will eventually get us the reward of eternal life. We must suffer(endure) with him, but never try to step in front of him. We must perform any of the things that he performed through the power of the Holy Ghost, but never take any of the credit. We must be doers of his instructions and his commandments, and not expect payment until the very end. We must also endure to the end as humble, faithful, and obedient servants to Jesus Christ our Lord. You see, it is one thing for us to say we know the Lord, but it is quite another to say that we are known of the Lord. Take for example, the President of the United States. We know him and we know of many of the things that he does, but if asked, he will surely say that he does not know us. There is no comparison between the President of the United States and God but we use this because he is a powerful man in authority. In this we would never be acknowledged with a medal or reward from the President unless we did something pretty big. Then, before the reward was given us there would be a background check to make sure that we are not criminals or against the government. At least, this is how it is supposed to go. So, if we can see that it takes obedience and action to be acknowledged by powerful men, why would it not be more important for a Christian to receive the acknowledgment of God? So today lets pray for the strength and wisdom to not only know God's will but to also be living within God's will. Let us strive to be found as doers and not only hearers so that, one day, we will not only know him, but he will know us too! Jesus loves us and wants nothing more than to see the lambs that he has been given accepted in through the gates of eternal life!! It is for us, now let's go and get it!! Have a great day!!!