Many years ago, I started a Christian publication, a newsletter, called “The Christian Crier,” which announced upcoming Christian events in my region. As a result, I became somewhat well known in the area because of the publication.
One time I was at a meeting of Christian men and women, and during break-time, I was talking with a group of people. Now picture this, we were all wearing name tags identifying who we were. One of them heard that I was from a town called Hopewell Junction, and he responded by saying, “Do you know a friend of mine his name is Vic Torres he does the Christian Crier newsletter.” What struck me was that I did not know him, and yet he said I was his friend. I was so embarrassed for him that I put my hand over my name tag so that he wouldn’t realize who I was. You see, he knew of me, but I did not know him! He may have known about me, but we had no relationship.
As Christians, we often ask, “Do you know Jesus?” when in fact, a more important question should be, “does Jesus know you?”Show More
There is a major difference between knowing about someone and being known by that someone. The Apostle Paul knew the difference, listen to what he says in Galatians 4:9 [emphasis mine], “But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage?” in this verse Paul is admonishing the new Christians to not return to their old forms of worship, worshiping those things which are not god. He is speaking to Born-again Believers because he refers to them as being known by God! It is not enough to know God; our confidence should lie in knowing that he knows us!
I Never Knew You
Let’s look at a very powerful verse that speaks to the issue of being known by the Lord. Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 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?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” From these verses, the individuals Jesus speaks about are followers of Christ in name only. They approach their Christianity in a ritualistic way. They know how to “talk the talk.” They dress right, act right, but they really don’t know Jesus; they know about Him. So, what does a real Christian look like? The rest of Matthew 7 will give us some insight.
Matthew 7 – Known by God
Matthew chapter 7 has some very relevant instructions as it relates to being known by God.
1. Don’t Judge Others
The chapter begins with a warning that we should not judge others. What is especially important is that we do not judge others until we have judged ourselves. When we judge ourselves honestly, we often discover that we are in no position to judge others. Very much like the religious leaders who brought the women caught in adultery to Jesus in John 8. The hypocritical leaders expected Jesus to condemn the sinning woman to death by stoning as was prescribed by the Law. Instead, Jesus asked the simple question, “Whoever is without sin cast the first stone!” One by one, the accusers withdrew and left Jesus and the woman alone. In John 8:11, Jesus said to the woman, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” Instead of judgment, Jesus extended grace and mercy. As followers of Jesus Christ, we must do the same.
2. Keep Asking, Seeking, and Knocking
Then beginning in verse seven of Matthew 7, we’re told that we’re to “keep asking seeking and knocking.” This is speaking of the fact that we should never give up on the promises of God, especially when we are going through difficult times. You and I both know that God is never late He’s never early, but he is always on time. We struggle with the fact that there are times that God does not seem to move fast enough in our difficult situations or circumstance. However, we are to never lose heart; we must be persistent in coming before the Lord, making our petitions known to Him, and behaving as one who knows that the answer is coming.
3. The Narrow and Wide Gate
Then Matthew 7:13 tells us that the path to life, both in the present and future, is sometimes difficult. We are told to enter through the narrow gate, for the wide gate leads to destruction. There are no shortcuts in God. We must not abandon our righteous standing with the Lord. That means never resorting to lying, cheating, stealing, or any unrighteous act. We are called to be a people of integrity, at any cost.
4. False Prophets or Teachers
Then beginning in Matthew 7: 15, we are warned that there are false prophets in the world; this phrase means that there are those who are intentionally trying to deceive us or, for lack of knowledge, lead us in the wrong direction. We are told to observe their fruit and that we shall know them by their fruits. This means that we need to watch them not only when they are in public, because everyone behaves properly in public, but we need to find opportunities to observe them in private. Many people act righteously when in public but are unrighteous in their private lives. How a person treats their family will tell you much about that person.
5. I Never Knew You
Now we arrive at the relevant scriptures to the message today Matthew 7:21 and I quote, 21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 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?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ pay special attention to verse 23, Jesus says, “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!”
You see, it’s one thing to act like a Christian it’s another thing to be a Christian. A true Christian is one who has accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. That means he has surrendered his will to do the will of the Father just as Jesus did. To do the will of the Father means first and foremost to love the Lord God with all your heart with all your soul with all your strength, and here comes the hard part that you will love others as you would have them love you. This may seem difficult at times but remember you have the “Helper,” the Holy Spirit of God living in you!
6. Build on the Rock of Obedience
The key to being known by the Lord is found in the following section, which is Matthew 7:24, and it has to do with building on the rock. I’m sure you know the parable of the two builders; one builder built a house on the sand, the other built a house on the rock. Jesus said that the floods rose, the winds came, and the wind blew down the house built on sand, whereas the one built on the rock withstood the storm. We know that Jesus is the Rock that we need to build our lives upon Him, but the parable is really about hearing (knowing) and doing what Jesus taught and not just hearing(knowing) alone. We are called to be “doers” of the Word and not just hearers. Being a doer of the Word is the kind of believer Jesus knows. James says in James 1:22, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.”
Conclusion
The evidence that you are known by God is that you love God; this means that you are obedient to Him to the best of your ability. Listen to what Jesus says in the Gospel of John 14:15, “If you love Me, keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.” Loving God is the natural response of the Holy Spirit in you, and the Holy Spirit is the evidence that you are known by the Lord.
To love God means more than an emotional feeling of love, the kind of love that God is talking about is what the Greeks called “Agape.” Agape love is unconditional, it is the kind of love God has for us, and as followers and disciples of Jesus, this is the kind of unconditional love that God responds to. Someone defined love as “living your life for someone else’s good.” The Lord only has good for you, as we like to say in church, “God is good, He is good all of the time!” We demonstrate our love for the Lord by blessing and glorifying Him through our lives. Our words and deeds reflect the grateful heart that we know that the Lord knows us! As it says in 1 Corinthians 8:3, “But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him.”
Remember the following from Matthew 7:
- Don’t judge others because Jesus knows you.
- Keep asking, seeking, knocking in all your endeavors because Jesus knows you.
- Take the Narrow Way; you don’t need shortcuts to success because Jesus knows you.
- Recognize other Believers by their fruit, not just their words, because Jesus knows you.
- Build on the Rock of obedience to the Lord because Jesus knows you.
You will never have to worry that Jesus would say, “I Never Knew You!”, because you are His, and He is yours!