Be Known

In our world, it seems like everyone wants to be known. Everyone wants to be a movie star or a rock star. We want to be liked, worshiped and on everyone’s lips. I mean, with TV shows like “American Idol” and half-baked viral videos drawing millions upon millions of views, who can blame us? The masses cater to the famous. Everyone wants the world to read their posts, tweets and check out their selfies. Everyone – it seems – wants to be known. But the truth is, in the long run, it makes no difference if we ever get our 15 minutes of fame or that we become a household name. It doesn’t matter if we’re known by men. What matters is if we are known by God. In Matthew chapter 7 verses 21 through 23 Jesus says:

"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. 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?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoer.'"

For me, this is a very difficult portion of scripture to read. I mean, these guys were prophesying in the name of Jesus, casting out demons and performing miracles! Surely they were known by God. Well, Jesus explains that even if we do all of these things and are not known by God, he will cast us out. So, it seems that it all comes down to a relationship with Jesus. It may sound strange, but we can work our hands raw for the kingdom of God, and still not be known by him. So I encourage you, don’t worry about being known by men, and don’t spend so much time doing the work of the Lord that you forget about the Lord of the work. Concentrate first on your relationship with God. Work on your heart before you work on your deeds. As Jesus explains earlier in Matthew, we are to seek him first. And if we do, all the lesser things will take care of themselves.

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When we die and face the judgment seat of Christ, worse than NOT hearing the words “well done my good and faithful servant,” is hearing the words, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoer.” I encourage you to get to know God. Don’t find yourself clamoring for people to know you, and don’t be like Martha in the bible who was so busy working that she didn’t take the time to spend with Jesus. Be like King David, a man after God’s heart. He prayed often, followed the will of God, and loved God with all of his heart. He knew God and God knew him. God knew him, because David pursued a relationship with him. And we should do that as well.

First Importance

Have you ever considered how big the body of Christ is? I’m not just talking about your local church where you worship, or even the believers in our nation as a whole. I’m talking about the global body of Christ. You may find that your church is run differently than others, that your church subscribes to a different denomination than others, or that your church’s racial make up is different than others, but we all have one thing in common… Our belief in Jesus as our savior. 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verses 3 through 5 reminds us:

"For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance; that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve."

This belief binds us all together as one global church – one global body. So when you meet a fellow believer, I encourage you to remember this truth. If they believe in the truth of the word as of first importance to their faith, and do not try and change and alter it to fit in with society but rather use it as the guiding light for their lives, then they are in fact true brothers and sisters in Christ. And like family, your love for them as brothers and sisters should be evident in whichever way you choose to express it. Yes, we are to love everyone, but I believe that our love for our brothers and sisters should be at an even higher level.

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Paul tells the church in Corinth that their belief in Christ is of first importance. And I believe that every believer who believes in the truth of the Holy Bible is our spiritual brother and sister. If you’re struggling with that concept, I encourage you to find a way to come to terms with it now, because ultimately, we all will be spending eternity in heaven together. So let this truth bind us together, and not let any petty differences that don’t matter in the grand scheme of God’s plan separate us.

Conviction

When we sin we are to ask God for forgiveness, repent (turn away from our sin), then realign our lives in obedience to God. But at times sin can be difficult to repent from. Paul tells us that our flesh wants us to do what our Spirit doesn’t want us to do. But the very thing we don’t want to do, we keep on doing. So how do we know if we have truly repented and are not just saying that we have, all the while, biding our time for the next opportunity to sin? In second Corinthians 7:9 Paul says:

"Yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us."

This is in reference to a letter Paul sent to the Corinthians. A letter that convicted them of their sin. He says that their sorrow led them to repentance. When you sin, how sorry are you about your actions? Does it lead you to repentance? Paul suggests that God intends for us to become sorrowful because of our sinful actions. Through the Holy Spirit we are convicted, and through our sorrow, we repent. So I challenge you to consider how sorry you really are when you realizeyou’ve sinned. Is it your sorrow that leads you to repentance? Or is your heart disconnected from the Spirit where true conviction takes place?

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Repentance is a tricky thing. Jesus tells the woman who was about to be stoned, to go and sin no more. But when we repent do we follow that example? If you do, then great. God wants our sorrow to lead us to true repentance. But if you still struggle with a certain area of sin, remember that you can’t free yourself on your own, it is the Holy Spirit who aids us in the fight. If your sorrow leads you to repentance – even if you have to confess over and over again, I believe God is still working his plan in you. But if you are not truly sorry and are not really brought to the point of true repentance, then I encourage you to examine your heart. Ask God to give you eyes to see your sin the way that he sees it. When that happens, I’m confident that you will find a sorrow that leads to repentance.

Do Not Gloat

Do you ever find that you’re happy, or get some kind of pleasure out of seeing bad things happen to those you don’t like? The feeling can be even more satisfying if you consider the person your enemy. I confess, I’ve been there before. I’ve taken pleasure in seeing something bad happen to someone I didn’t like or respect. Nothing seriously bad mind you, just something to show that they’re “getting what they deserve” when they act in a way that displeases me. When I did, I had to later repent because the bible warns us against that way of thinking. Proverbs 24:17 says:

"Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice."

Even if you think a person deserves what they got, we are not to be happy when something bad happens to them. Actually, when we begin to gloat, I believe that we are exhibiting a form of pride. And pride is never a Godly attribute. Proverbs goes on to say, that if we do gloat when our enemy falls, the Lord will see and disapprove and turn his wrath away from him. So again, let God deal with or enemies or the people who rub us wrong. Our hearts should not rejoice, because that isn’t what pleases God. And as I’ve shared, there is a consequence if we do.

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“Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice.” Even if they are someone who persecutes you, we are not to rejoice when something bad happens to them. This even applies to the persecuted church - Christians who are put in prison or beaten because they believe in Jesus. In spite of what happens to us, or our feelings about another person and their behavior, we are not to gloat when something bad happens to them.

Get Serious

Lately I’ve been feeling a bit discouraged at where our country is headed – and I’m not talking about unbelievers. I’m talking about those who call themselves Christians. I watched a video that Christian minister Ray Comfort made where he interviewed random people on the street. I was amazed at the un-Christian-like comments and behavior of many who call themselves believers. I’m also reading books that I bought at my recent visit to the creation museum, and it is shocking how many believers don’t believe in the authority of the bible. Even in light of this, I challenge you not to become discouraged, but to use this as fuel to examine your life with Christ and wherever you are in your walk with him and take it to the next level. Paul recounts words from our God in second Corinthians 6:17 which says:

"Therefore come out and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you."

This comes after Paul challenges us not to be yoked (or shackled) to an unbeliever. He is challenging us to be separate and holy unto God. God tells us to come out and be separate and he will receive us. So again, I challenge you to take a look at your walk with God. How separate are you from the world? As things get worse we need to get serious about our faith and press in - pursuing our God more, not less. 

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God calls us to come out and be separate from the world. We’re not called to ride the current of the world by looking more and more like them. We are to fight the current, and fervently pursue our God. As it says in Matthew 6:33, “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness…” So again, wherever you are in your walk with God, I challenge you to take it to the next level. Get alone with God more for prayer and deep study of the bible. Try fasting - denying your flesh while pressing in to Christ. Give more of your time to serving and loving others. Seek God more deeply than you ever have before. Get serious about the faith you say you have and let God shake your world.