In the final analysis, relationship reveals what MASTERS our heart because relationship reveals what MATTERS to our heart.
DEPART FROM ME, I NEVER KNEW YOU
"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? And then will I profess unto them, I NEVER KNEW YOU: DEPART FROM ME ye that work iniquity. Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock." - MATTHEW 7:22-27
There is a world of difference between knowing OF someone, and actually really knowing them. Even those who operate in the gifts and cast out demons in Jesus name will be measured not for whether they know the gifts, and not for whether they know OF the Name of Jesus and its authority, but for whether they personally know the God behind the gifts and the Name. Nothing frightens me more than the prospect of hearing those words, for either my loved ones, or for myself. They are a constellation of words that fill me with utter dread. So it compels me to bruise my knees and pour out my heart in prayer for all of my household, and all of God's household, and for all of the lost, and for all of my personal enemies and the enemies of God, that NONE should perish, but come to richly know, with a genuine personal knowing, the wonderful person behind the hallowed name of Jesus.
Having said that, this is not a political statement, nor is this a platform for political persuasion, and nor will it ever be. This is simply a humble and gentle endeavour to use current world events as an object lesson in determining what "knowing" really means to God. I know OF Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. And many abound who know those things about both Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton that they choose to hear through second hand avenues. But only God really knows the heart of Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton. But does Donald Trump know me? Or Hillary Clinton? Have they even ever heard of you or me? So even though I know OF them, can it be said that there is a relationship between us? Can it be said that there has been any meeting of hearts and minds? Can it be said that I really know ANYTHING about either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton? I may know what others claim to know, but so did those who falsely accused Jesus too. They subscribed to the practice of "knowing OF" rather than the practice of knowing "in spirit and in truth".
Of the millions who call upon the privilege of claiming to know Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, such is the equal occasion that many may have likewise also HEARD of Jesus Christ, and have read ABOUT Him in the Bible and elsewhere. But can it be said that we actually really even KNOW Him? Head knowledge versus heart knowledge are separated at the great divide of real relationship. Head knowledge without relationship is akin to gossip. It is simply repeating the opinions of others without knowing first hand or personally for oneself. And even if you do know first hand, then may he who is guilty of no wrongdoing throw the first stone [JOHN 8:7]. Is it our place to do anything other than simply pray for God's will to be done on earth as it is in heaven? Is it not true that of all things that unfold before the chronicles of history that it is God alone who is always in control? “Who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness” - ISAIAH 40:23.
And is it furthermore not true that as with Jesus who came not to condemn but to save the world, is it not true that we are called by sovereign decree to love our brother and sister, and to pray for each other? For surely we believe that all things are possible through Christ? Besides, who are we to question the ways of God? For His ways are not our ways [ISAIAH 55:8]. Are we then God? Just like Jesus, who is the very Son of God, we are merely to pray that God's kingdom come, that God's will be done in earth as it is in heaven. If God is able to turn what are the ashes and ruin of yours and my life through sin into a new heart and a new spirit [EZEKIEL 36:26], is it not possible that God is equally able to do the same for anyone else? Even those running for president? And what better demonstration of loving just as God loves than to pray for each other, and for both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton? Are their souls not likewise precious before the sight of our Father?
Unless one's heart embraces Jesus in spirit and truth, there can be no claim to either knowing or loving Jesus, even if you are those who heal the sick or cast out demons in His name. For none are so foolish as those who will not hear [PROVERBS 33:9], and even more so for those who hear and do not do the things they hear. [MATTHEW 7:24]. And these are not my words, but those of the very font of all wisdom and love. For lo and behold I should deem it my place to call anyone but myself a fool (which I am), since we are told, "But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire." - MATTHEW 5:22
The invitation to genuine knowing is singularly accomplished only through the privilege of relationship. Relationship is a living, breathing, doing undertaking. It's a living exchange, not a collection of facts that are derived from someone's else's opinion of that person. For a similar logic applies for those who claim to know the God of all creation, and love the same God because they love and have relationship with the created. Those who rightly delight in the beauty of the heavens and the earth, but look not beyond the created to the Person behind that creation, are likened with those who look to the gift of God, and who do great things in the name of God, but do not know the God behind the gift, or the God behind the Name. They love God second hand, not first hand through a living relationship with Him. In holding relationship with creation as sovereign in one's heart, "the created" effectively becomes "the idol". "The gift" becomes in effect "the god". And verily, then, it cannot be said with verity that one therefore really knows God. We would simply know OF Him through our relationship with creation. We would simply know OF Him through the gifts.
When it comes to relationship with the "world", relationship with the world is effectively also just relationship with "creation". The evidence of increased wealth and possessions proves to man that his relationship with creation is healthy and flourishing. And the more man gets, the healthier that relationship is by definition. And it is possible for man to establish this relationship because right from the beginning, God gave Adam authority over the world. God gave man authority over creation. "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." - GENESIS 1:26. That is the relationship with the world. However, relationship is also the barometer of what is man's priority. It tells us where we can find one's heart. "For where one's treasure is, there one's heart will be also." - MATTHEW 6:21. Instead of relationship with the Creator, man in the multitudes inexplicably choose relationship with creation rather than choosing the relationship that can for all eternity leave of that person's life a long-lasting and unforgettable legacy.
God calls us all to be fishers of men. We use the gifts to get a fish on the end of the line. But unless that fish that is hooked by the gift is thereafter also reeled into the hands of the Fisherman who stands behind those multiplied gifts, to where the Potter may lovingly shape the lifeless clay into a living vessel of honour and glory, our gift has served no heavenly or earthly purpose. It is the same situation for all these words. Unless these words culminate in those who read them beginning to seek and have their own first-hand and living relationship with the author and finisher of all words, and all life, they have served no heavenly or earthly purpose.
It is in this sense that those who have prophesied in Jesus' name, and who have cast out demons in His name, and who have healed the lame in His name, will be asked to depart should Jesus not know them. For they are able to prophesy and to deliver and to heal simply because the gifts are WITHOUT REPENTANCE [ROMANS 11:29]. The gifts function by the unction and operation of the sovereign decree and authority of God, regardless of the relationship one may think they have with God. In fact, the gifts are not even for our own benefit. They are expressly provided unto us for the benefit of others. They are a gift in love from the Father to us to allow us all to personally participate in expressing and accomplishing the love of our Father in the lives of those around us. And in so doing, they help us personally fulfill the second greatest commandment which is to love our neighbour as ourselves. But unless we FIRST love God with all of our mind, and all of our heart, and all of our soul, and all of our strength, we are like those who God will declare to depart from Him, for He will know us not.
So when it comes to choosing with who or what you will have relationship, we would be wise to remember these wonderful words, "But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." - JOSHUA 24:15.
In the final analysis, relationship reveals what MASTERS our heart because relationship reveals what MATTERS to our heart.
- To God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit be all the glory. Forever and ever. Amen and amen.
- God's ever richest blessings