Not Everyone Who Says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord

I have this message on my heart, it’s one that I’ve had for a long time. It has been a subtle theme in many of my messages but I’ve finally identified the root of it. It’s not a nice message; it’s one that I have spent many hours thinking about and studying. It’s based on Matthew which says,

“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 who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” Matthew 7:21-23

During our trip to California something happened to me. Spiritually, it was a very difficult time. For a long time I’ve always felt something inside of me that was in the way of God. I just felt that things were not right inside of me. I couldn’t identify where the feelings came from and so I didn’t deal with it. Perhaps the best word to define it was to say it was self. It was just a mixture of negative feelings and emotions that affected me in a lot of situations. During our trip, for whatever reason, these things all came to the surface. The feelings that came out were horrible; they included pride, anger, lust, and selfishness. On the way home we listened to the Affabel story by John Bevere, it struck deep fear into my heart. I realized that one day I will have to stand before God and give a reason for every action and every thought. After listening to that story I was left with one terrifying thought, if I die tonight I don’t know if I’m going to Heaven.

The Bend, Arizona by Brandon Peters

You see, it doesn’t matter what our life looks like on the outside, when it comes down to it we will be judged by what’s on the inside. Too often we take the verse Romans 10:9 too lightly, “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” My commentary says “Not a simple acknowledgement that He is God and the Lord of the universe, since even demons acknowledge that to be true (James 2:19). This is a deep personal conviction, without reservation, that Jesus is that person’s own master or sovereign. This phrase includes repenting from sin, trusting in Jesus for salvation, and submitting to Him as Lord.” It’s easy to fool everyone, I can always have a smile on my face, volunteer with different things, and write messages like this for God, but it’s all for nothing if my heart is wrong. I still end up in Hell.

I came home feeling so wrong, I knew that I had to change but I wasn’t sure how. I talked to my spiritual mentor and turned to God in prayer, day after day I prayed for my heart to change. It took a few long days but last Sunday I awoke with such joy and freedom. I can’t explain what happened but I know that I’m different inside; I’m filled with love. I can’t even begin to tell you how many problems in my life this solved. Before I felt overwhelmed, I was ready to give up on life because too much felt wrong. Now, I want to impact each and every person around me for good so that the world can be a better place.

The moral of the story is this, do whatever it takes to get your heart on track. This is your salvation we are talking about and nothing else matters. Everything that you think you have to take care of will fall in place. This may take hours of prayer, it may take some hard decisions, and it may mean making some difficult confessions. I promise you that it’s worth it because nothing else compares to freedom.

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23-24