Luke 13:23 – Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them,

Luke 13:24 – Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.

Luke 13:25 – When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:

Luke 13:26 – Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.

Luke 13:27 – But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.

Luke 13:28 – There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.

Luke 13:29 – And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.

Luke 13:30 – And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.

Hello readers, new blog today, hoping (trying!) to keep blogs a bit shorter from now on… writing tends to beget writing, but they’ve become quite exhaustive! Today’s blog is once again to do with “Lord, Lorders”. People who say Lord, Lord, and yet are rejected. It’d be a real shame if I also was a “Lord, Lord” case. In Matthew, the people saying Lord, Lord say this … have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? Of course we think we won’t be them! We are never in the bad categories! We are not like Samson, we aren’t like David with Bathsheba… we’d never do that, we know far better! We’re getting through life quite nicely in fact! But don’t think these guys saying Lord, Lord aren’t sincere… they sincerely think they’re getting in… these guys are sincere… the Pharisees were so convinced and sure of themselves that they went about trying to kill Jesus! We can have plenty of good attributes, we can be sincere, but sincerely wrong. We can be well meaning, but well meaning don’t get it done. We can even be good and moral… doesn’t matter. These guys think they’ve got in, they demand to be let in, they justify themselves, they make their case. But Jesus says no. He says I don’t know you, he says depart from me ye cursed, ye workers of iniquity, into hell forever and ever! Everlasting fire. Scary stuff.

Here’s a scary verse. Isaiah 33:14 – The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings? Who among us? Good question. Who among us? Because those among us are going to hell. The “many” aren’t people somewhere out there… they’re right in among us, just like Judas Iscariot was amongst the twelve. It could be you. The disciples asked… Is it I? And… Is it I? And it is a surprise. Surprise is the theme of the day. Jesus said watch and pray… Why? Because otherwise we will enter into temptation. Satan will get us, he does a good job devouring our lives, he could even devour your very soul. Are you a devoured person today? Has your life has been simply DEVOURED? Instead of watching and praying… we sleep, just as the disciples did. So we are not ready for … SURPRISE. The Bible says the day of the Lord cometh as a thief. Because here we all are, plain sailing along, going about our busy little lives, having a good old time, ticking our  bucket list, getting our designated portion of fun and the experiences and feelings that we feel we are entitled to… and then … SURPRISE! Death strikes. Life gets real. Because the real world is the spirit world, this physical world is temporary. It’s all going to vanish, the lust will pass away, the glories will fade to nothing, the achievements and even the memory will be forgotten. They won’t mean squat to you in hell. And then what’s left is what people really were. Did they get saved or not. People are going to hell left, right and center. MANY Jesus said take the broad road, MANY Jesus said will say Lord, Lord.

Lord, Lorders haven’t actually received Christ. They’ve done all BUT receive Jesus Christ… Him as a person and what he’s done personally for them. Does Jesus know you? You may think you know him… but does he KNOW you? Has he come into your heart, and lives there, are you a temple of his Holy Spirit? Is this thing a reality? Not self effort not self energy, but the Spirit of the living God in you by faith? Are you alive, or a dead worker? And this is how deceived we are, and how deceptive we are… not just dead works as in bad works, but dead “good”works. These guys saying Lord, Lord were doing good! A moral person and immoral person go to hell alike. What matters is, did you repent and get saved and got born again… it’s not enough to be “good”. There is ONE good… God … anyway… and Jesus calls them workers of iniquity. Because that’s what these “good” people really are anyway. Deceived and BEING deceived! And don’t think the flesh just does wrong, the flesh can want to do “good”, many people live “Christian” lives in the energy of their dead spirit and flesh. And that’s why it’s tired, jaded, dead, lifeless. The Spirit of God ABSENT. Just like carnal, worldly Christians… doing whatever they want, following their lusts, trampling the grace and blood of Jesus and expecting to stroll into heaven at the end. Rude awakening coming. It’s time to … DUMMY UP Christians.

1 Corinthians 8:3 – But if any man love God, the same is known of him. God knows you, you can have everyone fooled, EVEN YOURSELF just as these guys have actually fooled themselves. That’s why we need the light… because WE are our own worst enemy. We positively DESTROY our own lives, we deceive and fool ourselves. You can immerse yourself in religion, in good works, in a good moral life… but lost. I myself haven’t done as much good as these guys were professing, they built up quite a dossier! All I do is a few blogs, and I could do a few blogs and not live any of this out myself. And to be honest I struggle to live up to what I write. I could be a Lord, Lorder. Balaam was… Balaam even blessed Israel, but he went straight to hell. And my life is far from squeaky clean. We are all sinners, we all sin, we aren’t perfect, but Jesus Christ in us (he dwells in us if we are born again!) is perfect. Let’s stop copping out, and start being doers of the word, not hearers only. Proverbs 24:16 – For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief. A just man is a man who has been justified by Christ, the just shall live by faith the Bible says.

What matters is… are you in the kingdom of God? You can’t see or enter the kingdom of God without being born again. We all start off spiritually dead, that’s why unsaved people are like what are you babbling on about, they don’t get it. You say this, they hear that. Two different kingdoms, both irreconcilable to each other. Two kingdoms here, the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light. One is Satan’s kingdom of darkness, the other is Jesus Christ’s kingdom of light. One kingdom going down (not Christ’s). Get off the sinking ship! What kingdom are you in? And unsaved people… they’re not in the kingdom of God. Get born again, get spiritually ALIVE to God, get QUICKENED, choose LIFE and GET LIFE, we who were once dead in our trespasses and sins, alienated from God, now made spiritually alive in Christ!  In the kingdom of God! The kingdom of God can’t be seen, it’s a spiritual kingdom. You need in to the kingdom of God. Right now. Colossians 1:13 – Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son. We don’t do it ourselves, it’s done to and for us. All we are required to do is repent and believe the gospel of Jesus Christ. His blood. Get washed, get clean, receive who is he and what he’s done for you. Come, sinner, come. You get in by being born again of the Spirit of God. There is no middle ground, the middle is excluded, many people try living in the middle… but you cannot. Those in the middle are just in Satan’s kingdom. Light and darkness are separate, you cannot serve God and mammon, love not the world… but we want Jesus PLUS something. We like a bit of world… I know… because I do too.

Lord, Lord happens four times in the Bible. Jesus said in Luke 6:46 – And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Masses of people confess Jesus today, and yet their lives do not show it. What does Jesus say? Read your Bible… that’s where you find what he says. There’s where you find his will for your life. But you show no desire even for his word… probably a sign you’re not saved. The problem also is, many people confess “a” Jesus that is not the Lord Jesus Christ of the Bible. An idol Jesus can’t save you folks. People show a lot of affection for Jesus, they even kiss him, they say they love him, they put on a good show, but they kiss him with a Judas Iscariot kiss. Luke 22:48 – But Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss? Their affection, their love for him is COLD. Dead. Lifeless. And that’s how Jesus said it would be in the last days, that the love of many would wax cold, that many false Christs would arise. Jesus said would he find faith on the earth when he comes? Proverbs 20:6 – Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find? How many Judas Iscariots are out there today? Noone had any clue Judas was a traitor, he was one of the twelve, and yet he had a devil, yet he was not clean. Because we’ve got to be cleansed in Jesus’ blood. That’s what we are getting to. Have you taken ownership of what Jesus has done for you. It’s not enough to be exposed to Jesus, to intellectually believe, to know it all, to have grown up in it, to go to church, to do the dead rituals, to follow the vain traditions. Jesus knew what Judas Iscariot really was… John 13:11 – For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean. And he betrayed Jesus with a kiss, of all things. A kiss is a sign of affection, a sign of love… and so we can profess Jesus, we can call him Lord, Lord, and yet our lives are one of BETRAYAL, we betray him in word and deed, and they betray the fact that we do not truly love him, that we are not genuine. The Bible says be ye doers of the word… many hear the word, few DO the word.

The door is going to be shut one day. Just like here, the master shuts the door, and once he shuts it… game, set match. The door is shut. God shut Noah in the ark, and sealed the door. Jesus is the door. And Jesus reserves the right to shut you out. You knock back his grace and mercy and longsuffering, and you’ll get judgement and wrath instead. The 5 virgins who were foolish, who were not ready… they also said Lord, Lord. But they got shut out. Because they SLEPT. Are you SLEEPING? SLEEPING? Christians in zzZZZzzZZzzzZZzzZZZzzzZZ land. Romans 13:11 – And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. In one of Jesus’ parables, Jesus said that WHILE MEN SLEPT the enemy came in and sowed tares. It’s time to wake up. Right now. Wake up. Right now. Wake up. Right now. Wake up. Right now. Christians today who don’t KNOW anything. Those in Noah’s day KNEW not until the flood came and destroyed them all. Is the only time you going to KNOW anything, when it’s too late? Does it take things being TOO LATE in your life before you realize. Is it going to take you dying and going to hell, to finally wake up? The rich man only WOKE UP in hell. He finally started to see sense, but too late. He’s in hell still today. He’s not getting out. Stop not knowing anything. It’s going to be horrible for the MANY that are shut out. They’re saying Lord, Lord, a bit like those in Noah’s day probably were banging on the door of the ark saying Noah, Noah, let us in! … even as the rain was piling down.

Revelation 3… he that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches… you want to hear from the Spirit? well hear what the Spirit has to say… he’s talking right now… the letter to the final church… Laodicea… the sleeping church, the church that knows not it’s wretchedness, it’s blindness, it’s nakedness. More “knowing not”! And look what’s going on here. Jesus is OUTSIDE the door! He’s not in! He’s not in YOUR life. He’s outside. He’s knocking. Just like in Luke, he’s external to them. If Jesus is external to you… if he’s not IN you, if you haven’t personally received what he’s done for you, appropriating it by faith, grabbing hold of him and what he’s done, POSSESSING who he is and what he’s done… well he’s useless to you. He died for you, but you’ll not receive what he did for you, so his blood is useless to you. Revelation 3:20 – Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. We have church today, but just one absentee… The Lord Jesus Christ. Pretty big absentee. Lot’s of lights, music, action, lots of vigorous enthusiastic worship and singing, lots of socializing, lots of PRAISE GOD… but emptiness, but shallowness, but superficiality… but God’s not there. And hence the big song and dance… to make up for the fact, God is long gone… and judgement is coming.

I’m now going to focus on what’s scary… verse 26 – Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.  It’s not enough to be in his presence, it’s not enough to know of him, it’s not enough to be taught about him… you’ve got to KNOW him and RECEIVE him. You can have so much exposure to the truth of Jesus Christ… and never take ownership of him and what he’s done for you. It’s never become a reality. Think about what’s being said here. We have discussed that people know not… but at the same time people know. Because people are without excuse. They know about Jesus, they know OF Jesus, they’ve been in his presence, he’s been teaching in their streets, the gospels come to you, BUT YOU REJECT IT. To not do something with Jesus is to REJECT him, you CANNOT wash your hands of doing something with him. You, like Pilate, HAVE to make a choice to do something with him. Pilate caved… and crucified Jesus. Is peer pressure going to cost you your salvation? What or who is going to be the stumblingblock that trips you into hell? What will have been more precious to you than Jesus Christ… your pride? Your friends? Your family? Your favourite sin?

People are without excuse. Either God’s a liar or you are. The Bible says God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. And that’s the problem, there’s no repentance. Repentance missing! Repentance is the point at which you start personally doing something with the truth of Jesus Christ. He makes a change to your life… it goes from head to HEART belief. People intellectually assent to Jesus, they believe in him, but not a saving belief. They know OF him, but they don’t know him personally. James 2:19 – Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. And Jesus has made himself well known. How without excuse we are. We have easy access to Bibles, to truth if we want it. The gospel has gone out into the whole world. Truth is not far away, it’s right there, for the taking. Seek it, want it, you’ll find it, get it. Ignorance of truth is not an excuse. Acts 17:30 – And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent.

It’s not enough to be in the presence of Jesus. You can be in his presence, but be unsaved and go to hell. Cain was in the presence of God. He talked to God. He had a conversation with God. But he was bold and unrepentant. Exposure to truth is no guarantor of anything. You’ve heard the gospel a billion times, but doesn’t mean you’ve ever received it. It’s not Cain didn’t believe God existed, HE SURE DID! He was talking to God. It’s not he didn’t know it all… he did, but his hard was cold as ice, his heart was hard as stone. God was very longsuffering and merciful with Cain. Cain was unrepentant for what he did. But what do you know, Cain did complain about his punishment. We are so like Cain, we aren’t repentant for sin, but we sure are sorry for the consequences of our sin. We want to extricate ourselves from accountability and responsibility, from reaping what we sow. We do not repent, but we’ll come to God to try and ease the repercussions of our actions. Cain had zero repentance, but he was interested in having a conversation with God about easing off his punishment. Genesis 4:13 – And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear. And then Cain went OUT from the presence of the Lord. People sin, they reap the wages of sin, they go to God for a quick fix, and then they’re on their way again. Just like nine of the ten lepers, who got healed, and then boom, they went on their merry way.

But we have eaten and drunk in thy presence! And people eat and drink in the presence of Jesus, that’s what people are doing today. Eating and drinking, living life, partying away. Because we’ve got life good right now. We are like Belshazzar, having a party, while the enemy is at the very gates. Babylon had been breached, the Chaldeans were in the city, even as Belshazzar was drinking his life away. Belshazzar had no respect for holy things. He had no regard for the stories from his dad. He KNEW, and Daniel told him he knew … the finger on the wall pronounced his inescapable doom. Weighed in the balances, and FOUND WANTING. Living for today… but how useful is today for us once it’s gone? How foolish. What are memories, what are experiences… they are useless to us the moment they are done. Where’s our priorities at. Are we partying in Babylon? Are we fattening ourselves for the slaughter? The Bible says, Behold, the Judge standeth at the door. Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee. There was another generation that did some eating and drinking while judgement was coming down the pipe swift and sure. They did in the the days of Noah. Luke 17:27 – They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Destruction is coming, it’s not lingering, it’s not slumbering, it’s not a scare tactic… the day of the Lord is coming, as a thief in the night. Are we ready?

Thou has taught in our streets! We can hear it all. We can see it all. And yet we are not saved. In fact God said in Isaiah 6… Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes… that’s what the truth has done for you. God gives you so much truth it shuts you up. You become immune, numb, cold to it. So much truth has come to you, but you are shut fast to the gospel. It’s just words. You have chosen your way. You are long gone your own way. Matthew 13:16 – But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. And Jesus is teaching in the streets… it’s not enough… he’s got to be IN you, teaching you. It didn’t help so many of the Jews that they lived during Jesus’ lifetime… they lived as Jesus walked and talked in their streets, and they went to hell! REGRET! When you are born again, Jesus dwells in you via his Holy Spirit, and he teaches you all things. But instead here, he’s outside. It’s all external to you. The Bible says he that HATH the Son hath life, he that HATH NOT the Son of God hath not life. So this is the point of this blog. They know OF him, but they don’t know him personally. They intellectually assent to him, they haven’t RECEIVED him. We can be so immersed in religion, we can play the game, we can be exposed to all the truth in the world, we’ve heard the gospel, we know the name  Jesus… and furthermore… we may even be baptized, go to church, do this, do that, live a good life… and still go to hell. We can intellectually assent to God and Jesus. But never believe on him. Never repent. Never be convicted of sin. Never be pricked in the heart. Never get saved.

It is scary stuff. I’ve grown up in a godly home. I know the game, I know the talk, I know the cliches. I know the glazed look. I know the in one ear out the other. I know the familiarity. I know the hardening of the heart. I know the rebellion. I know being saved, but not being right with God. I know how fortunate I am, because I realize how far I could’ve gotten away from God. I know God’s goodness to me. His longsuffering is salvation the Bible says. I know the lure of sin, of lust, of the world. I know the temptations. I know the urge to live for here and now. I know being worldly. I know loving the world. I have been around all types of Christians. I recognize the game players, and there are many. Whether they think they are or not… but they are just playing the religious game. I see the deceitfulness of man’s heart, I see how true and right God’s word and his ways and his judgements are, I see those that are willingly deceived, those that choose a lie. Those that have not a love of the truth. I see long time Christians depart from the faith. I see Jesus sorting the sheep from the goats. I see Christians living on the edge. Living in the wilderness, never entering the promised land. Jesus said, the first shall be last, and the last shall be first. I have been first to information about God, I am without excuse. I have been given every chance. I have known the gospel of Jesus Christ a long time. I see people blowing like reeds in the wind, being tossed around by doctrines of devils, by the cunningness and sleight of men. I see how strong deception can be. I see how deep wickedness can run. In my own life. I see wolves amongst the sheep. I see the sheep astray, every one going his own way.

In a sense, it’s most dangerous for me, I am familiar with it all, and familiarity breeds contempt. Jesus said there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth… Jesus said, where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched… that is scary… and that’s an ETERNAL state… no getting out, no second chances. The Bible says… and the books were opened. The Bible says… and this is the record. God keeps good records, the Bible says the book of remembrance. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. I do have a holy fear of God. A fear that has driven my life. A fear of going to hell. A fear of the darkness, not the physical darkness, but spiritual darkness. A fear of outer darkness. The Bible says the blackness of darkness in Jude. I know having felt like I’ve pushed God too far. That I’ve gone beyond him, exceeded some line past the point of no return. Imagine the pain, the torment, the regret, missing out. I ask God to open my eyes and ears, to be merciful to me a sinner, I confess my sins because he is faithful and just to forgive me my sins. I confess how utterly deceitful my heart is. How even my best righteousnesses are filthy rags, how deceitful my intentions are, how wicked my thoughts are. I realize how great and right God is, how precious his word is and only to be trusted. I become poor in spirit, I have ZERO to glory in, save the cross of Christ. I am nothing. I have nothing to offer anyone, other than what Christ in me has to offer.

And what does my life say? The Bible says we are living epistles, known and read of men. Who and what you are, how you behave… because after all… this thing is alive. We are not talking ink on paper… we are talking the Spirit of the living God. 2 Corinthians 3:3 – Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart. If his Holy Spirit lives in you, and flows through you to others… well, there should be some life and some unmistakable attributes to your life, how you live, how you have your being. The reality is there or it isn’t. There’s no counterfeiting… although many try. Form of godliness and denying the power thereof… or the real deal? What are you? It doesn’t matter in a sense what I say, how does my life line up with God’s word? What does my LIFE speak? It’s not about self righteousness, it’s just what does your LIFE say? Who, how, what you are. Is the Spirit in you? Are you a temple of the living God? Hello? Is anybody home? There are many infallible proofs of whether you are saved or not. The Bible was written so we might KNOW that we HAVE (present tense) eternal life. God does not leave us guessing. He gave us his Word… so that we KNOW things… and yet we are playing games even with his word. How do you line up to the Bible? Do you even know God’s word? Do you have any hunger for spiritual food at all? Is the fruit of repentance there? Is there a changed life? It’s not about perfection… it’s about the reality… is it there or not. Is Jesus in you? Because that’s only how we endure to the end, HIS FAITHFULNESS to us. Christ in us, the hope of glory. And we have this treasure in earthen vessels.

So what scares me? All of which I’ve discussed. But what scares me is myself. I am my own worst enemy. I have infinite capacity to be deceived, and even deceive myself, to fool myself, to ruin my own life, to get in my way of salvation. Because I am a sinner, and I only begin to see just HOW far short I have fallen of the glory of God. It is dizzying. 2 Timothy 2:25 – In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth. We oppose our own selves. How bad is that! I am my own worst enemy. Hosea 13:9 – O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help. I am also scared of living a whole life, and being a “Lord, Lorder”, I am not a Lord, Lorder though. I know I’m saved, I know I’m going to heaven, I have the witness of the Holy Spirit, I have the Word of God, the promises of God to me, which he won’t break. And my salvation does not hinge upon me, it hinges upon God’s faithfulness to me. He can be trusted, he is the faithful Creator. But true salvation does produce unmistakable birthmarks… my life should show it. Does it? Good question for all of us to ask ourselves. What are we… REALLY? Anyway… this blog has gone a long time again!! Sorry! Will you get in to heaven? It’s a narrow road, it’s a strait gate. Jesus is the door. That door is open to you today. But it will shut. Don’t miss out. Revelation 22:17 – And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

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