I never knew you…

There are many believers within the Body of Christ, including myself, who have been calling upon God to make Himself known to us and manifest His presence in our lives. We have been calling upon Him to release His glory into the earth with signs and wonders. There are many who are physically sick within the Church and need healing while others are seeking deliverance and a real encounter with the Holy Spirit. I have personally been asking Him to allow those of us who are seeking this encounter with Him to experience Him with all five of our senses. I believe the Father wants to share Himself this way with His children as well as those who are lost as the rain falls on the just and unjust alike. Both groups exist within the Church today, but false identities have caused some to fall into the enemy’s trap of deception. While I was praying this week about this deception within the Church, I heard the Spirit of Christ speak to me.

In Matthew 7:21-23, Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is 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.’” He let me feel the aching of His heart in that moment because of the many who will be so close to entering into His kingdom but will fall short because they did not seek the Father’s will while they were on this earth. Jesus said in Matthew 12:50, “For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother, and sister, and mother.” He will know His family, and they will know Him as it says in John 10:27, “My sheep listen to My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” He will say to all the others, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.”

 If we are opposing the will of the Father, we are practicing lawlessness because the Father’s will is the law. As it says in the scriptures, we must seek Him diligently if we want to find Him and know Him. Jesus said in Matthew 11:27, “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son determines to reveal Him.” To whom will Jesus reveal the Father? Jesus said in John 14:23, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words.” He will reveal the Father to those who keep His word by abiding in them with the Father. Jesus said in John 3:17, “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him.” Judgement will not be passed by Jesus in this world, but He will pass judgment from the great white throne mentioned in Revelation 20. This is where many will hear Him say, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.”  

Jesus was constantly seeking the will of the Father. The scripture says that He only spoke the words of the Father and only performed the works of the Father according to the Father’s will. In the Garden of Gethsemane before His death, Jesus was praying in all earnestness to the Father. He said in Luke 22:42, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” If Jesus pursued the Father’s will as intently and perfectly as He did even unto His death upon the cross, why shouldn’t we do the same?

Don’t be lulled into a false sense of security by following the narrative that you only have to believe to be saved. Believing in Jesus is the first step, but your relationship with Him must be developed on your journey down the narrow road. It will be fraught with danger and suffering requiring us to seek the Father’s will and obey Him at all times. We must hear the voice of Jesus and follow His word, so He might know us. Believing in Jesus is accepting the statements of Jesus as true. Knowing Jesus is having developed a relationship with Him by meeting Him and spending time with Him. You can work miracles in the name of Jesus, but that does not mean that Jesus will know you. “According to Jesus, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven will enter.” Remember, Jesus said in Matthew 22:37, “‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’  Upon these two commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets.” This is the will of the Father. As Jesus did, so must we.

You can read more about this and other truths by obtaining a copy of “Prodigal to Prince” by Beau Walsh at BarnesandNoble.com or Amazon.com.