Sermon OTM – Matthew 7:21-23

Podcast

Welcome and Prayer: Jim Calhoun

Come Lord join us here today

Help us remember every good thing in our lives
Full of gratitude
And giving thanks from our hearts
Especially for the people we love and who love us too
Their kindness and care
Their affection and consideration
Show us how to love them well
Better than ever before
In our gratitude

And if we have caused pain in their lives
Or there are misunderstandings
Resentments
Help us to make repairs as needed
To make amends
To set things right
To bring peace into the world
And help us find ways to resolve our concerns
Our difficulties and problems
Without causing unnecessary hurt
So that as far as it depends upon us
We can be at peace with everyone
Especially those close to us

Make your life full in ours
Help us embody your way
Knowing our healing and wholeness comes
Through loving others
And help us become the sort of people
who have the capacity to love
As you have loved us
Amen

Morning Talk: chuck smith, jr.

“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

Intro: We’re nearing the end of Jesus’ Sermon

I think we must admit, there have been surprises along the way
– but it has been a journey of wonder, skirting the edges of the kingdom of God
• at the same time, the Lord has exposed us, to truth that is deep and difficult
• so, what does Jesus want to say to us this morning?
– though he’s never one to sugarcoat the hard things, Jesus is being rather blunt, don’t you think?
• maybe what we hear is a tone of voice that offends
◦ we ask, Where is God’s compassion and mercy?
• if Jesus must deliver this truth, couldn’t he at least be polite?
◦ but is there a polite way to shout, “The building’s on fire”? or “Run for your lives”?
◦ when Jesus is direct and rough, even then he loves us

in these verses, Jesus does not give us new information, but a clear application
– because, if we look closely, we find all the Sermon’s central themes
• the kingdom of heaven–from the Beatitudes on
• the heavenly Father–which like the kingdom, is in Lord’s Prayer
• the will of my Father–also in the Lord’s Prayer
• the Law (here: lawlessness)–and, by implication, true righteousness
– reiterating these themes, Jesus encloses them in a classic package:
“Actions speak louder than words”
• the scale is balanced between what one “says” and “does”
◦ after he makes his point, he illustrates it with a parable
◦ and again later in Matthew with another slightly different parable

“What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went. And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you” (Mt. 21:28-32)

• people can change their minds about what they’ve said
◦ but they cannot change what they’ve done or not done

V. 21, The message is simple

In fact, it shouldn’t take longer to explain than it is to read
But if some people are in for a dreadful surprise, we need to see why
– next week, Jesus tells parable about two men building houses
• he told almost the same parable another time
◦ we find that one in Luke’s gospel, where Jesus introduces his story with:
“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I tell you?” (Lk. 6:46)
◦ this is the heart of the problem; the huge inconsistency
• for now, Jesus is “Lord,” but only for those who do what he says
– entrance into the Father’s kingdom is contingent on doing what the Father says
• that is the one necessary qualification

V. 22, The credentials these people present are impressive

They do not look like your ordinary followers of Jesus
– in fact, that’s why the whole issue at the entrance to the kingdom of God is shocking
• if the miracle-workers are turned away, what hope is there for an average Christian like myself?
– I’m curious if this group will include preachers and evangelists,
• who think they’ve worked miracles in Jesus’ name
◦ and built multi-million dollar organizations with sprawling campuses and private jets
• do any of these famous, and infamous, people,
◦ assume amassing fortunes and building empires in Jesus’ name,
◦ is the sum total of what God expected of them?

Now, if you’re wondering, how a person who
– prophesied, cast out demons, and did many might works, “in Jesus’ name”
• would not make it into the kingdom of heaven, then you haven’t been paying attention!
• remember last week, “You will recognize them by their fruit” ?
◦ what fruit? — that’s the question we should be asking
– I try not to be hyper-critical – or even moderately critical,
• but there are many things people do in Jesus’ name, that have nothing to do with Jesus
◦ but everything to do with their own agenda, popularity, and profit
• they turn the name of Jesus into a banner,
◦ and wave it over their own projects and personal goals
◦ they use, and misuse, the name of Jesus to attract followers

I listen carefully to the words Jesus says,
– specifically, “On that day” – the effect those words provoke is chilling
• standing in the threshold of the kingdom of heaven,
◦ is not the place where you want to be surprised
◦ where you want to learn that you are not granted access
– what does Jesus say to these people who,
• use his name without his authorization?

V. 23, “And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you’”

Now we learn what it was they were doing wrong:
“depart from me, you workers of lawlessness”
– to appreciate the point Jesus is making,
• we have to turn back a couple of pages
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. . . . Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called the least in the kingdom of heaven . . . .For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mt. 5:17-20)
• is it staring to come together for you?
– how does Jesus “fulfill” the Law and Prophets?
• by taking us below the surface of the “words” of the Law down into their intent
“You have heard that it has been said . . . . But I say to you . . . .”
◦ there is a superficial righteousness practiced by scribes and Pharisees
• Jesus revealed a greater righteousness
◦ when sifted to its essence, the Law’s true form is love (cf. Rom. 13:8-10)
◦ a righteousness that is not merely ethical or moral, but relational
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 first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets (Mt. 22:37-40)

Repeatedly in the Sermon Jesus has brought us back to this revelation
– what is the “fruit” Jesus wants to see in us and for us to look for in others?
“the fruit of the Spirit is love” (Gal. 5:22)

One year, reading these verses left me feeling disturbed

Especially by Jesus words of rejection: “I never knew you; depart from me . . .”
– I’m sure that many of those people who hear Jesus tell them this, ask,
“How could he have never known me?”
• so I asked myself, “How can I get Jesus to know ME?”
◦ obviously, not by boasting “big” displays of power or even miracles
◦ not by making a name for myself
• the answer was right in front of me:
“do the will of my Father who is in heaven”
“Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love [them] and manifest myself to [them]” (Jn. 14:21)
“if anyone loves God, [they] are known by God” (1 Cor. 8:3)
– in Matthew chapter 12, Jesus redefined family
• his mother and brothers were outside wanting to speak to him
“Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” And stretching his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother” (Mt. 12:46-50)

Conclusion: Now you and I have all we need to know

No one is going to talk or argue their way into the kingdom of heaven
Jesus knows those whose love for others is like his own
He knows those who “hear the word of God and do it”
It is the people who bear his family resemblance
In Matthew 25 we learn that Jesus is especially fond of those who
Feed people when they are hungry and have nothing to eat
Give drink to people when they are thirsty
Welcome strangers who need assistance
Clothe others when what they wear is inadequate for their need
Visit the infirm, the elderly, the prisoner

Whatever else you and I will be doing this week,
Let’s be on the lookout for someone who needs love
Don’t worry about “who” or “how” or “where” or “when”
Just show love
Be creative