Where Do You Stand

Every now and again this subject will come up and it is a very important topic because we will all stand before the Lord someday and give an account of our lives and, if we knew Jesus or not, the books will be opened and the names will be read and only if your name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life will you remain with the Lord.  If your name isn’t there you will be ushered from God’s presence into a horrible place where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, which is called the second death.  

There are going to be some people shocked at that time, being asked to depart.  There are some people that think they are going to remain with Jesus, but will not be invited, because Jesus will say this, as found in Matthew 7:21-23, “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.  On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’  But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’”

It is not enough to ‘know’ about Jesus you need to have a personal relationship with Him which means to be born-again.  There are many people you know about but you don‘t know them personally, they may be acquaintances but not close personal friends.  Jesus wants to be your close personal friend and your personal Savior.  Jesus will expose the people that are just full of religion, going to church and keeping man’s traditions and man-made laws, full of self-righteousness, pride and arrogance, teaching purposely what shouldn’t be taught.

These are the kind of people who build their house on the sand spoken of in Matthew 7:26-27, “But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”

When you have a personal relationship with Jesus, you will listen to His words and try hard to do them, then you will be like the man in verses 24-25 in this same chapter, this is what it says about him, “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.”

To build your house upon a rock means not only to hear the Word but also to put it into practice in your life and to practice obedience to what the Word says.  When you practice this and the storms come, you will be still standing when it is all said and done, your house with not crumble like the house built on sand will.

So, on the final Day of Judgment, where will you be standing, by Jesus’ right hand or on His left hand hearing these words found in Luke 13:27, “But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from.  Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’” and then be ushered away with the rest of the un-believers?

Jesus talked to His disciples also about repentance in Luke 13:1-5, “About this time Jesus was informed that Pilate had murdered some people from Galilee as they were offering sacrifices at the Temple.  ‘Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other people from Galilee?’  Jesus asked.  ‘Is that why they suffered?  Not at all!  And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God.  And what about the eighteen people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them?  Were they the worst sinners in Jerusalem?  No, and I tell you again that unless you repent, you will perish, too.’”

Someday everyone will die, maybe a prolonged death or a swift one, but there is life after death, for the believer if you have faith and believe.  When the Holy Spirit convicts, it is important to repent and turn from your sins. 

God’s Word says in Romans 3:23, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.”  And in Romans 3:10, “As the Scriptures say, ‘No one is righteous—not even one.”  It also says in Isaiah 64:6, “We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind.”

So we are all in the same dilemma, and we all need a savior and that is Jesus.  Jesus was here on our behalf, to give His life a ransom for whosoever would believe in Him and receive Him as their Lord and Savior, repent and turn from their wicked ways.  So where do you stand today, forgiven of your sins or still lost in your sins?  This is very important and something you need to think hard about and I hope you will, if you are not sure.  

Jesus said this in Revelations 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”  This is talking about the door of your heart.  So the choice is yours, I hope you make the right one and repent and ask Jesus to come into your heart.  Like I said before, this is something very important to think about, may God bless you and yours and may you have a super day!!