Opening Prayer - Heavenly Father, we thank you for the oppertunity to worship your Son this morning. We know that if He hadn't died on the cross for our sins and arose from the dead, we would have no way to have a future home in Heaven or the privilage of worshiping Him this morning. Please bless us indeed and give us the strength and wisdom to live the way the Bible says we should live. We pray that everyone who reads this sermon who are not saved will become saved before it is too late. We pray a special blessing on fathers today, and please help them to be the leaders you want them to be. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Worship music - Please click the links and sing along if you know the words (You can also click skip ad to go straight to the songs) -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIEEz9yaukA&index=1&list=RDkIEEz9yaukA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do1NUSPdgaM&list=RDkIEEz9yaukA&index=3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtjG3k6IiwY
Jesus Never Knew You
Jesus said in Matthew 7:21-23, “21Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Someone can call on the Lord to be saved, but if they “never” do God’s will (what God wants them to say, think, and do) “after” they pray or make a decision to get saved, they won’t go to heaven. Also, someone can do things that God would approve of (prophesy, cast out devils, and do many wonderful works in Jesus’ Name), but if they have sinful conversations, thoughts, and actions (1 Corinthians 13:1-13) and never repent of them (try to stop saying, thinking, and doing them, with God helping them change), they won’t go to heaven either (Luke 13:5). These kind of people possibly commit sins that are mentioned in chapter 18 of this website - http://www.areyousureyouaresaved.com, and they do not feel guilty when they sin or ask God to forgive them and try not to repeat those sins again. Hebrews 12:5–11 proves that these people aren't really Christians.
Another possibility is that these type of people try their best to avoid sinning and do many wonderful things for the Lord, but they are unhappy and misreable trying to live that way. When they try to live this lifestyle, they do it out of unwanted duty and don't do it because they are thankful for Jesus dying on the cross to erase their sins and love Him more than anything or anyone (Psalm 139:23,24).
While we're on this topic, the Lord revealed something else amazing to me. Many people may read that statement, "They do it out of unwanted duty and don't do it because they are thankful for Jesus dying on the cross to erase their sins and love Him more than anything or anyone (Psalm 139:23,24).", and still not be motivated to live the Christian life. So, how can we be motivated to live the Christian life (A summary of how to live the Christian life is explained in this website - http://chriswaug5.wix.com/chap39) without doing it out of unwanted duty? Stop for a second and think about this - What if a billionaire becomes your friend and decides to give you $50 million if you will help advertise his business and be on your best behavior while you advertise it. Like most people, you probably would be so excited about getting that much money, that advertising his business and being on your best behavior while you advertise it would be very enjoyable instead of doing it out of unwanted duty, You probably would thank him over and over, think good thoughts about him throughout each day, and go to work advertising for him everyday with a big smile on your face.
Alright, think about this, and this isn't make believe; this is reality - God wants to be your friend and will give you eternal life (which means forever) in heaven, and will make you an heir to His Son, Jesus. The Bible teaches us that heaven is more perfect than anything we have ever seen, heard, or imagined. In heaven, you will never have another problem, nothing will break or wear out, and everything about yourself will be perfect. There isn't any amount of money or scientifc break through that will come close to giving you any of those things that were just mentioned! So, like the billionaire in the previous example who gave you $50 million if you will help advertise his business and be on your best behavior while you advertise it, God wants something from you. This website tells you what God wants from you - http://chriswaug5.wix.com/chap39
Again, most people probably would be so excited about getting $50 million from a billionaire friend, that advertising his business and being on their best behavior while they advertise it would be very enjoyable instead of doing it out of unwanted duty. They probably would thank him over and over, think good thoughts about him throughout each day, and go to work advertising for him everyday with a big smile on their face.
How much more would most people enjoy waking up each day and basically doing the same job, but for a different boss (God) and looking forward to receiving far more than $50 million? The Christian life basically involves advertising Jesus by giving, witnessing, serving, doing acts of kindness (and when you feel that the Lord isn't leading you to do things such as those, you should think about things that involve Him) and being on your best behavior (see http://chriswaug5.wix.com/chap39)
When you realize these things, it is impossible to live the Christian life in unwanted duty.
If you have prayed or made a decision to become a Christian, but you haven't been saying, thinking, and doing what God wants you to do; you have been sinning on purpose; and/or you have been living the Christian life in unwated duty, please follow this website - http://chriswaug5.wix.com/makingsure
If you have never prayed or made a decision to trust Jesus' death on the cross and His shed blood to erase your sins and let you into Heaven, you must be willing to repent "from this moment on and for the rest of your life" before you trust Jesus to save you. This website will tell you how - http://chriswaug5.wix.com/howtogotoheaven
If you have prayed or made a decision to become a Christian, but you are not sure that you are really a Christian (Hebrews 11:6, Matthew 21:18-22, 1 John 5:14, and Hebrews 11:1), you need to be sure - please follow this website - http://chriswaug5.wix.com/howtogotoheaven