And, another important question,
how will you be sure God acknowledges you?
“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.
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!’
Matthew 7:21-23
None of us wants to hear that He never knew us
Let’s make sure we understand what Jesus is saying
to those who heard those words
Those He is speaking to had done things their own way
They had done works in His name without honoring Him
“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.”
So, find out what that means
Someone else can only explain part of it
It is up to each of us to seek the Lord and follow the Holy Spirit
so He can lead us into all truth, so we don’t get deceived
Follow no human, ever, no matter how great they seem
The first thing is to read about Him
The Holy Bible tells all about Jesus
Start by accepting Him as He is
Don’t try to change God or make Him into your own image
People who do that are worshiping another Christ
You can find Jesus in the New Testament and the Old
and you can find God the Father In the Old Testament and the New
They are One
God has given Jesus the ultimate position: Jesus is Lord
Jesus was sent to Earth to walk amongst us, to let us relate to Him,
to offer Himself as the sacrifice to bring us close to Him and God the Father
There is always a spiritual element to whatever God does
Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him,
and given Him a name which is above every name:
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
And that every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:9-11
Once you allow, God to indwell you, you have become a new creature,
little by little, God removes the dross, He purifies you
and makes you new
Don’t assume you know what He wants from you
Check in with Him, often, make sure you’re on the right track
It seems we just go with what we think is best
instead of remembering that Jesus is a Living God
who teaches us and shares with us things He wants us to know
It is often not an easy process
It can be difficult to understand why He wants us to be purified and tried
It is because He is Holy
In those moments, humbling yourself will allow Him to speak
and make the spiritual realm more clear to you
The fear of God must be present, for if you walk in your own strength,
there is nothing that can be accomplished for the Lord
The parable of the Ten Virgins is a good example we all should recognize:
The wise virgins filled their lamps with oil,
the oil represents the things of God, His Holy Spirit,
His word and all of the attributes of Jesus
We are responsible not to waste our time on Earth,
seeking after money or fame
or filling our lives only with things that bring us temporary pleasure
That cannot be counted toward the kingdom
All flesh is wood, hay and stubble
The foolish virgins spent their time doing other things,
that is the moral of the story,
they did not keep their lives filled with the things of God
They wasted their time and waited until the last minute, when it was too late
They had lived their lives their own way
instead of seeking God about why they were put on the Earth
Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments
and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them,
the same shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. Matthew 5:19
Getting to know God and to learn to accept His ways is loving the truth
That means, every time you read His word and something is opened to you,
that you accept it
You cannot twist it or change it to suit your liking
Loving the truth is the only way you can be faithful to Him
and accept the truth whether it is something you agree with or not
God is very clear what happens to those who choose not to love the truth:
and with all the deceit of unrighteousness in those who perish,
because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion,
that they should believe a lie,
that they all might be damned who believed not the truth,
but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12
God will send on them a spirit of delusion
No thanks, it is best to not reject the truth
If you don’t agree with God’s word, the Truth, you can’t change it,
God’s Word still stands
It remains
If you don’t agree with it, clothe yourself with humility
Ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom and understanding
And let it rest
Wrestling with God is okay as long as it is not in pride
or to allow the pride to triumph
At that point, letting the subject rest for a time, might be best
Jacob wrestled with God and God didn’t have a problem with it
We have to be honest with God
We can tell Him how we feel
We can tell Him what we think
Not in arrogance, but by being honest and contrite
He will give us His outlook and help us to see why He said what He said
and why He feels the way He feels
Do you seek to know His ways?
Maybe that can make it more clear what it means for Him to know you
Spending time with Him to get to know Him
Seeking His understanding is a beautiful effort on our part
and we may still not completely understand,
but we know and acknowledge that He is God and we are not
Scriptural References:
“Then shall the Kingdom of Heaven be likened unto ten virgins, who took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
They that were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them,
but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
And at midnight there was a cry made: ‘Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.’
Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps.
And the foolish said unto the wise,
‘Give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out.’
But the wise answered, saying,
‘Not so, lest there be not enough for us and you;
but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.’
And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came,
and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage,
and the door was shut.
Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us!’
But he answered and said, ‘Verily I say unto you, I know you not.’
Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour
wherein the Son of Man cometh.
Matthew 25:1-13
And Jacob was left alone,
and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.
And when the man saw that he prevailed not against him,
he touched the hollow of his thigh;
and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint as he wrestled with him.
And the man said, “Let me go, for the day breaketh.”
And he said, “I will not let thee go, unless thou bless me.”
And he said unto him, “What is thy name?” And he said, “Jacob.”
And he said, “Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel;
for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.”
And Jacob asked him, and said, “Tell me, I pray thee, thy name.”
And he said, “Why is it that thou dost ask after my name?”
And he blessed him there.
And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel [that is, The face of God]:
“For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.”
And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him,
and he limped upon his thigh.
Genesis 32:24-31