Thank you, you may be seated. If you have your Bibles this morning, I invite you to turn to the Gospel according to Matthew once again. Our reading was in Matthew 23, and our Lord said some scathing remarks to the scribes and the Pharisees, hypocrites. But I do believe in chapter 7, where we're looking at this morning, Down in verses 21 through 23 what we have is the most terrifying words that one could experience and that they will hear one day directed right to certain people. We live in a cancel culture society, if you did not know. Someone does something you don't like, what many people will do, just cancel them out, not have anything to do with them. Somebody don't like something a church does, all of a sudden they cancel them out, they disassociate themselves with them, don't have anything to do with them. If a church member has a grievance or a problem, sometimes they just cancel the church out and don't have anything to do with them. This passage of scripture, many churches and many pulpits, many pastors have canceled this passage of scripture out simply because it's a very harsh saying. But I want you to notice the harsh saying is coming from the Lord of love. In other words, if there are scathing remarks and harsh remarks, The Lord is doing it in love because of his concern for people. Don't discard that which the Lord has said here. We preach the Word of God. We preach through the Word of God. We go line upon line, precept upon precept. Try to go word for word. Really slow down if you notice in Ephesians chapter one as we're preaching tonight, we go verse by verse and we don't want to skip over anything or run over anything too quick. We must learn to discern and when it comes to the word of God, we gotta accept all the word of God. Don't skip it. There is a day coming that is a day of reckoning. It is a day of judgment. which is mentioned in this passage of scripture that we're gonna look at. And what our Lord has done, he has warned that we are to enter into the straight gate. We are to enter and go the narrow way. He has warned of false prophets who deceive and distort the truth. And what he says in verse 21, he is warning of self-deception. Verse 21, the Word of God, we read there, not everyone that says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father, which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied your name? and in your name have cast out devils or demons, and in your name done many wonderful works." Then our Lord responds, he says, then I will profess unto them, I never knew you, depart from me, you workers of iniquity. Listen to the warning of our Lord. John MacArthur, I believe I posted a quote of his this past week, he said, we read the Word of God not for knowledge, but for increased holiness and Christ-likeness. There are those who do not read the Word of God for holiness and Christ-likeness, and there are those that read it just for knowledge. God has given us his word that we might be conformed into the image of his son. It is a scary thought to think that so many people could be deceived. And what our Lord says, many, in verse 21 or 22, many will say, to me in that day, There will be many saying, Lord, Lord, didn't we prophesy in your name? Didn't we do many wondrous works and cast out demons, Lord? And our Lord's gonna come back with, depart from me. I never knew you. This is saying very simply there are many people who are self-deceived. They believe they're on their way to heaven. They believe in a false security. How can we not be deceived? How can we avoid that self-deception? I want you to notice in this first verse of Scripture that we read in verse 21, it's kind of shocking because they have a correct belief. In verse 21 he says, not everybody who says unto me, Lord, Lord. Notice they call Jesus Christ Lord and they emphasize that, Lord, Lord. Jesus says, just because you call me Lord does not mean you're going to enter into the kingdom of heaven. They are right concerning the nature of our Lord Jesus Christ. They are right concerning who the person is of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is Lord! And they're acknowledging him as Lord. In other words, they believe and they can say the right things. But just because you believe the right things and say the right things does not mean you enter into the kingdom of heaven. It's what our Lord Jesus is saying. Now I will boldly say, you cannot enter the kingdom of God unless you acknowledge him as Lord. But there are some who call him Lord that will not be able to enter. This is something we must look at a lot more closely. We must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. The only way of salvation is through Jesus Christ. We must acknowledge him as Lord to enter into the kingdom. But not all that say Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. It almost sounds contradictory. If we believe, we have eternal life, is what the Word of God says. But even if you believe the right things, Jesus is saying, some will not enter. So how do we discern this? How do we rightly divide the Word of God? Listen to what it says over in the book of James, chapter two. In James, the second chapter, James says in verse 17, even so faith if it hath not works is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, you have faith, I have works, show me your faith, without your works I'll show you my faith by my works. And then he says, by inspiration of the Spirit, you believe that there is one God and you do well. The devils also believe and tremble. Demons believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. They profess that while he was here upon earth. But demons are not redeemed. Their heart is not changed. We can look beyond that and look at one of our Lord's apostles, Judas. Was he not sent out with the 72 that went out? And when they went out, they went casting out demons, speaking the good news. And Judas is the one who betrayed our Lord. What I believe our Lord is teaching us here is that those who say, Lord, Lord, they're living a life where their life denies what they say they believe. They're denying the truth of what they're talking about. You can say, Lord, Lord, but just because you say, Lord, Lord, does not get you automatically into heaven. There has got to be a change of heart. In other words, there are many people who make a false profession of faith. Many people, many, maybe even in the congregation here today, maybe made a profession of faith when you were very young. I was probably around 12, 13 when I made a profession of faith. These passages of scripture here are given to us for warning. We are to be cautious because we can grow up in church hearing the right things, hearing the Word of God, saying we believe it, and yet denied by the way we live. That's a false profession, which gives a false hope. and there are many people who preach. All you gotta do is walk the aisle, shake the preacher's hand, follow the Lord in baptism, and you are going to heaven. Repeat this prayer after me, and then you know you're going to heaven. Let me tell you something, that is not scriptural. You must be born again. In other words, there must be a conviction of sin that you deserve God's wrath because of your sinfulness, your sinful nature that you were born in this world with. You're alienated from God. And because you're alienated from God, you must be reconciled to God. And the only way you can be reconciled to God is through the finished work of Jesus Christ. And you must be convicted of your sin. If there is no turning from sin, you are yet in your sins. You have never repented of them if you've not repented of them, right? Many people have a false peace. with that false hope that goes with a false profession. I say to you according to the word of God, you must be born again. You can have the correct belief, you can say the right words, but if the heart has not been affected by the truth, you are yet in your sins. Here's part of self-deception. There are some people who may appear very zealous. If you notice here, he mentions how people will say in that day, Lord, Lord. In other words, there is a passion. They have zeal. They have a desire. I was looking up last night to someone who used to sing in a gospel group, and I remember seeing him in concert The group he sang with, and the guy was very hyper. He was running around, you know, greeting people. I mean, running around, literally. It was an outdoor event. Seemed to be very excited for the Lord. They sang. A short while later, the group broke up. This one that seemed so zealous divorced his wife because of an affair. which killed the group. The affair he had was with a man. The man who left that group has kids and grandkids, is now supposedly married to a man. I'm telling you that is a contradiction to the Word of God. This one calls himself a preacher or a pastor now. To me, that's blasphemy. You see what Jesus says, not everyone that says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. You can say all you want and you can talk all you want, but the Lord is the revealer of the hearts. He looks at the heart. He don't just look at the outward appearance like we see people. He sees your heart And where you're at, I have heard people preach from the pulpit. It seemed like a fire in their belly. And yet they live like the devil. Some of y'all probably know what I'm talking about. It's not just about zeal and excitement. It's not about saying the right words. You can have a lot of excitement in the flesh. Lost people can get very excited. You may have good works, like the Lord says. Notice what he says in verse 22. or 23, many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? The word for prophesy there, there are people who take that two different ways. It could be foretelling something that's coming in the future, or it could be forth telling the truth, or telling forth the truth. And notice here, there are some who's saying, Lord, didn't we speak truth and we did it in your name. In the name of Jesus is what they spoke. There's a man I met just this past year, actually I met him before, but came up to me with a piece of paper and he told me how he had pastored for, I think it was 40, 50 years, and how the Lord just saved him. I'm going like, whoa, what? You see, a lot of times we can deceive ourselves. Was not Balaam deceived? Listen to what the Word of God says over in the book of Philippians. Philippians chapter 2, or Philippians chapter 1, down in verse 15. The Apostle Paul said, some preach Christ, even of envy and strife, and some also of goodwill. In other words, some people will preach out of the wrong motive, but God sees the heart. The Lord knows my motive and your motives, many will say they have good works. Many will say in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied your name? Lord, have we not cast out demons? And they did that in the name of the Lord Jesus also. Judas did that. You remember over in the book of Acts, I think it's around chapter 19, the seven sons of Seba, the cast out demons, the demons turned around and attacked the seven sons of Seba. These with a false hope that our Lord is warning us about. It says they've done many wonderful works. They've done wondrous things. And they did it in the name of the Lord. Look over in Matthew 24. In Matthew 24, down in verse 24, the word of God says, as Jesus is telling about the end times, for there shall arise false Christ. and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch that if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." In other words, there are some people that can do some wondrous things. Great signs and great wonders. The Word of God says over in 2 Thessalonians, in chapter 2 and down in verse 8, And then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming. Even him whose coming is after the working of Satan, with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness, of unrighteousness in them that perish, because they receive not the love of truth, that they might be saved. And because of that, God's gonna send a strong delusion that they should believe a lie, that they all might be damned who believe not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. Jesus says, many Not a few, many will say in that day, what day? The day of judgment. There is coming a day where we're gonna have to give an account for the things we've done in this life. For the child of God is before the judgment seat of Christ. If you have genuinely believed and the Lord has convicted your heart of sins and you've turned from your sin and by faith looked to Christ, and there's been a drastic change in your life, you will appear before the judgment seat of Christ to either gain rewards or you'll have loss of rewards. Your sin is paid for. That's not brought up at the judgment seat of Christ. But there's also another judgment and it is great white throne judgment found over in the book of Revelation where all the lost are brought before the Lord. And here is where those will appear. And they're gonna say, many of them are gonna say, Lord, Lord, We prophesied in your name. Lord, we've cast out demons in your name. Lord, we've done many wonderful works and we all did it in your name. The word of God says in verse 23, here's the Lord's profession. He says, then while I profess unto them, I never knew you. You can use the name of the Lord, but Jesus says, I never knew you. That word knew, root word know, know so, it simply means an intimate knowledge, a relationship knowledge. Jesus said he knows all things, but he's saying in a special way, I have never known you, never. And then he tells them to depart from me, you workers of iniquity. In other words, it's in your heart to sin and to do evil. That's our Lord's profession. How can we use discernment when it comes to self-deception? I believe we must understand while our Lord is giving us this warning in this passage of Scripture, just three verses, He's given us this warning because it's a caution. Don't have a false hope. Don't have false assurance. The Word of God tells us for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life. That's the truth of God's word. You can say that, but you know what? You can also say it and not experience that. Knowing truth does not give assurance. Even the demons believe. We can say the right things, but have an evil heart. That's why you hear of preachers falling into sin. Because they can say the right things, but their hearts not right with the Lord. Your trust must not be in your faith. Hear me well. Your trust must not be in your faith, it must be in the Lord Jesus Christ. You must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. We are, listen to what it says over in 1 Corinthians chapter 13, we are to examine ourselves. Here's something in verse five, it says in chapter 13, examine yourselves, whether you be in the faith. Prove your own self, test your own self, know you're not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except you be a reprobate. Is Christ in you? Listen to what the Apostle John said over in the first epistle of John, in first John chapter one, and there's quite a few evidences of scripture where he gives whereby we can know that we're God's child. First John chapter one, down in verse seven, the word of God says this, but if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his son cleanses us from all sin. The previous verse says, if we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth. Notice verse eight. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. And the truth is not in us. Chapter two in verse four, he that says I know him and keeps not his commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him. Notice how the word of God cuts to the quick whether one's really a believer or not. Down in verse nine in chapter two, he that says he's in the light and hates his brother is in darkness even until now. Look down in verse 15. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. In verse 22, who is a liar but he that denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is Antichrist that denies the Father and the Son. Chapter three, look at a couple other verses. In verse four, Whosoever commits sin transgresses also the law, for sin is the transgression of the law. And you know that he was manifested to take away our sins, and in him is no sin. Whosoever abides in him sins not, or does not continue to practice sin. Whosoever sins, that means continues to practice sin, has not seen him, neither hath known him. So you can say you know him, but here the word of God says you don't know him if you're continuing in sin. It is the Lord who looks at our motives. Jesus sees the heart. He says in Matthew 7, I never, I never knew you. How can we be cautioned? According to this passage, we examine ourselves. Don't have a false hope. Don't have a false profession. But I believe we need to take heed to the word of God. Jesus said in verse 18 and 19 in Matthew 7, every tree that brings not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. I'll pause there for a moment and here I brought it out last Sunday I do believe. Here's where the Inquisition and the Catholic inquisitors who questioned the faith of heretics which would be people like me, according to the Catholic faith. And when they found them that they were not Catholic, they burn them to the stake because what it says here, every tree that brings not forth good fruit is soon down and cast into the fire. In other words, they had scriptural grounds to burn the heretic. In other words, what they're saying, the end justifies the means. To keep the word of God, rightly divide the word of truth. As we look at this passage of scripture, we come to a close of this passage of scripture. It's a very solemn portion. Because the day of judgment is coming. And Jesus is gonna say to some, I never knew you. Depart from me. That departure is in a bottomless pit. It's in a place where the fire is not quenched and the worm does not die. It's a place of eternal torture. Some people might say, how could a loving God do that? It's because a sinful man rejects the love of God and the truth of God, and he sins against an eternal God. Hell is real, and it's not something I rejoice in talking about. But here in this passage of scripture, because our Lord is love, He speaks the truth. And if I did not love you, I would not speak the truth. I'd skip this passage of scripture. My simple question to you this morning, I would ask, do you know the Lord? But if I would go to a deeper question, I would ask, does the Lord know you? God does not want our wondrous works. God does not want our preaching and proclaiming. God does not want us casting out demons. That's not what he's looking for. He's not looking for sacrifices. What the Lord is looking for is your heart. He knows right where you are. He's looking for a surrendered life. One that is surrendered to His will. Jesus said in the latter part of verse 21, there are certain ones that are not entering into the kingdom of heaven. but the ones that are are the ones who are doing the will of the Father which is in heaven. In other words, it's a desire to do his commandments. There is a desire to do his will. If you love me, keep my commandments. How does one love the Lord? Let me tell you the Lord loved us first. And it's because he set his love upon us. We hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. We realize we're alienated from God and therefore we confess our sins. We've sinned against the holy God. We agree with him, we've sinned. We cry out to mercy. Mercy from him. And only he can save you. And if you, by faith, you turn from your sins and trust in Christ, whoever comes to Him, the Word of God says he will not cast out. I preach on that false profession, and there's a lot of people that falsely profess Christ, and they got a false hope. My heart's desire is that you know Him, that there's been a change in your heart, And how do you know there's been that change in your heart? You desire to do His will. He that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven is who is entering into the kingdom of heaven. Because they've been born again, they desire to do the will of the Father. Is that your heart's desire this morning? We're gonna give a hymn of invitation. Very somber passage of scripture. We rejoice not, knowing certain people are going to hear, depart from me, you workers of iniquity. But we can rejoice in the gospel of Jesus Christ. And if we're God's children, we should rejoice in the gospel. Do you have a desire to do His will? His grace is truly greater than all of our sins. Would you by faith trust in him? As we stand and go to the Lord in prayer. Our Father in heaven, what you say in your word we know is true. Lord, this speaks to my heart as well as to every person within the sound of my voice. I pray you would help each and every one of us examine ourselves in the light of your Word. I ask, O Lord, that your Spirit would cut through the false professions and false hope, the false assurance that some might have. Convict of sin because there's coming a day where there will be judgment. Lord we ask that you work effectually and mightily and wondrously in our midst whereby you get the glory in lives being changed We will praise you for that, for Christ's sake. Amen. The hymn of invitation we're gonna sing this morning is grace that is greater than all of our sins.