Influencers Weekly Devotional

A Serious Perspective   by   Rocky Fleming       “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’  (Matthew 7:21-23 ESV)     Not to cast doubts or questions about the faith someone has in the Lord, but the above words of Jesus in this scripture have a serious tone and even cause serious concern.  Since it is a serious question that we must ask about someone's salvation, and even our own, it deserves a deeper look into what Jesus is saying.   Last week I shared that I am spending time during my day trying to see life through God's perspective, and not those perspectives I've been taught by this world and its people, even if those people are very good people in my life.  After all, Jesus was speaking to people who would be seen as good people and likely were trying to do good things.  It was based on this perspective of doing good things that they thought they were heaven bound, but in fact were missing the train to heaven.  So, we need to nail it down that Jesus was not saying that it is only those people doing good works who would get in.  No, He said it will be those people “doing the will of the Father” who will be in heaven.  Now, there is a serious concern that if our life is practicing sin, as opposed to stumbling in sin, that we even know the Lord.  We can say that we know Him, but based on our counterfeit condition and lack of remorse about it, there is a serious doubt that we really do.  So, do not deceive yourself, for it is a serious condition with an eternal consequence that you gamble with.  But again I say, Jesus was speaking to the so called “good people,” and you might be one of those guys.  Do I have your attention?   Who would “the good people” be today that Jesus would be speaking to?  Well, not only would that be me, but also everyone who calls themselves by His name.…Christian.  He is speaking to everyone who attends churches, everyone who does good or bad works, and everyone who plays the grace card and says they are in their relationship with Him without any responsibility to live a Christ honoring life.  They think their ticket is punched and there is nothing they can do that will change their “pre-destination.”  But, the question is, are these “grace irresponsible people” on the train, or simply standing at the station watching it pull away?  So, this becomes a serious question that even the Baptist, the Presbyterian, the Pentecostal, the Catholic, the Independents and everyone who takes on Christ's name must ask.  “Do I really know Him?”  But most of all, “Does He know Me??”   If it is not everything we have been taught about good works and God's grace, what is it we are missing?  This is where we must read carefully what Jesus said, and not make it more complex than the simplicity of what He said.  He said that those doing the will of God will make it in.  Therefore, if we want the assurance that we know, without a doubt, we will be taking the train to heaven, let's cut to the chase and concentrate on God's will for our life, for that is His clear guideline.   I've asked the question many times if someone knows God's will for their life.  Most people answer that they are insecure with the answer to that question.  Needless to say, most people cannot answer yes to the question as to if they are doing the will of the Father.  I ask why not, and I am often given the answer that they would like to know what God's will is before they commit to doing it.  This reveals the first problem in doing the will of the Father.  Look what Oswald Chambers said about God's will in our life and how we discover it:   God’s command is, “Take now,” not later. It is incredible how we debate! We know something is right, but we try to find excuses for not doing it immediately. If we are to climb to the height God reveals, it can never be done later— it must be done now. And the sacrifice must be worked through our will before we actually perform it.  Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest   What is Chambers saying here?  He is saying that our obedience to God's will in our life begins with our “Yes!” to Him before we know the question.  This is the foundation we lay to do God's will for our life.  It is as simple as that.  We do not have to know the will of the Father to do it.  Jesus would have made it clear if that was needed.  We are to do the will of the Father, and that comes by walking with Him in such close proximity with Him that there is a seamless connection with our being with Him and doing His will.  This is when we are doing the will of the Father and everything flows from this place.  We enter into a state of obedience to the Father and a high alert to His voice, and then we act when he says, “Go!”.  The good works that come from this is a fruit of our relationship with Him, rather than an attempt to win His favor.  We already have His favor when we have answered yes to Him, before He asks us to take a certain action that requires obedience.  Instead of trying to figure out God's will for our life, we concentrate on our close proximity with Him, because, it is the intimate abiding relationship with Him that creates the seamless fellowship with Him that causes us to hear Him clearly.  Then we know His will and the steps we should take.   The most important question we will ever ask will be, “What happens to me when I die?”  Don't play around with having the assurance you need.  You might avoid answering it for a while, and say that it will all work out in the end.  But, there will always be a nagging doubt that will linger until your death bed, and then it will rush on you like a lion.  Before that day however, the lion will be taking a lot of bites out of you, for the peace that God wants you to have concerning that question will be missing.  You will live your life and never know for sure.   Men, say yes to the Father to anything He will ever ask of you and make it your mission to abide in Him, and then you will find the peace that is missing in your life, for you will be doing the Father's will.  It is simple as that.  This is a serious question that needs to be answered.