Matthew 7:21-23 21“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.

Matthew 7:21-23 22Many 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?’

Matthew 7:21-23 23Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”

What If Jesus Meant the Things He Said?

Do You Feel Overwhelmed? Life today is almost overwhelming Everyone is on edge. We want better, We deserve better, We demand better

Jesus’ Kingdom is Different Jesus has called us out from all of that. He has called us to be citizens of His Kingdom. His kingdom has a different set of cultural imperatives.

What Matters in Jesus’ Kingdom Love your enemies Don't worry Look after orphans and widows Forgive - regardless how we might have been wronged

Transformation Causes Different Things to be Important Holy Spirit transforms our minds We have a new cultural default Different things are important in the culture of our new Kingdom

Transformation Causes Different Things to be Important Loving one another Feeding the hungry Clothing the naked Caring for orphans and widows

Jesus’ Disciples Jesus' words become the pattern for our life and our primary concern. Jesus is our king. Jesus is our teacher. He is our Rabbi and we are His disciples.

What If Jesus Meant All the Things He Said? If we really believe that Jesus meant the things He said, would anything about our lives change?

Jesus Said Some Difficult and Scary Things Matthew 7:21-23 (NIV) 21"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22  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 perform many miracles?' 23  Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'

Jesus Said Some Difficult and Scary Things Did you catch the scary part? What is the scary part? "Lord, Lord" “Many will say to me...”

How could so many get it so wrong? How could so many who profess to be followers of Jesus get it so wrong? How do we measure up?

10 Bridesmaids  Matthew 25:1-13 (NIV) "At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them.

The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. "At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!' "Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps.

Matthew 25:8-13 The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.' "'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.' "But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived.

The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. "Later the others also came. 'Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Open the door for us!' "But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.' "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

The Unprepared Bridesmaids These girls are part of the wedding party of Christ and the church. They are professing Christians. Half of them were unprepared. They didn't have enough oil. They claimed to be following Jesus but were not His disciples. He did not know them.

Bars of Gold - Talents Matthew 25:14-30 (NIV)  "Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more.

So also, the one with the two talents gained two more So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money. "After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.'

Matthew 25:21-25 "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' "The man with the two talents also came. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.' "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'

"Then the man who had received the one talent came "Then the man who had received the one talent came. 'Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.'"

Matthew 25:26-30  "His master replied, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'"

The Lazy Servant  The first two servants are highly praised, but the third is condemned. He is condemned for doing nothing. He knew what his master wanted, but he didn't even try.

The third story – Sheep and Goats Matthew 25:31-35 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,

Matthew 25:36-40 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?

When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Matthew 25:41-46 "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

Why Were They Praised? I was hungry and you gave me something to eat I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink I was a stranger and you invited me in I needed clothes and you looked after me I was in prison and you came to visit me

Praised or Condemned Caring for others was a natural part of the life of the praised. The condemned people did none of these things.

Praised or Condemned From Jesus’ words there seem to be several ways of falling short – Not being prepared Not trying at all Not caring for others Trying to impress Jesus by our efforts All of these show a lack of trust in our Rabbi Jesus who we said we were going to follow.

Ask The Right Question The religious world today is asking the wrong question. The question is not -Do I know Jesus? The question is - Does He know me?

How About You? You call Him Teacher... Do you listen to what Jesus is telling you? Do you try to do what He tells you – no matter how imperfectly? Or do you do what you want to do – in His name?

How to Have a Good Final Conversation With Jesus Take the time to spend time with Jesus in the word. Talk with God in prayer. Practice doing the things that Jesus said. Be intentional about being a disciple of Jesus.

Colossians 3:17  And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Being Jesus’ Disciple Is… Our entire life, not just an hour on Sunday Letting God transform us so that our way of thinking starts to match the way Jesus thinks and our way of acting starts to match the way Jesus acts

A Word to the Wise Matthew 7:24-27 (NIV) 24 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.

A Word to the Wise 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."

More Words to the Wise Be like the wise man. Be like the five bridesmaids who were prepared. Be like the two and five talent people who tried and succeeded. Be like those on Jesus’ right who looked out for others and not just for me and mine.

Live in Christ’s Kingdom More is not Necessarily Better Follow Jesus in Whatever We Do Prioritize Fewer Things to God’s Glory

Final Thoughts Find a ministry that matches your talents and abilities. Ministering to others in some capacity is critical. This is God’s ministry, not ours. This is His world, not ours. Let His Spirit work in us and through us to accomplish His purpose.

Hebrews 10:39 39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.