The Entertainer Will Not Enter The Kingdom Of God

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the Kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven.” Matthew 7:21 Notice that he is speaking to religious people here. No one else would be calling him "Lord, Lord." vs 22: “Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name, cast out demons in your name, and done many wonders in your name?’” These are religious people who are prophesying and casting out demons, and working wonders. So why on earth would the Lord go so far as to say that they will not enter his Kingdom? What are they doing wrong? Think televangelists. Think pastors of mega-churches. Think those who are seemingly doing signs and wonders before the people, to draw the crowds ...TO THEMSELVES. Think money, think fame. Think lavish homes, jet planes, and thousands of people sitting in their services hearing a message encouraging them to think positive and have their best lives now. Jesus answers this way: vs 23: “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you;'” He never knew them. They have had no encounter with him. They are not born again. They are doing their own will, not the will of the Father. Who, then, are they who the Lord does know? It is those who have recognized their pitiful state, those who are only too aware of their falleness and who have come broken before the Lord in repentance, surrendering their lives to him. Those who are willing to take up their cross, not their jet plane, and follow him. Those who would be martyred for him, as every one of the apostles of Jesus Christ were. These are they whom the Lord receives and brings into his Kingdom. There will be no one there who has not fallen on their knees in repentance before him. It all comes down to the state of the heart. Those who are putting on a show in order to fill the pews are not going to be found in the Kingdom of heaven. They draw people with false prophecy and the many will hungrily fall for that. Having “itching ears,” the crowds flock to places where they might get "a personal word" from these charlatans who will perform on cue. These manicured professionals make a show, knowing it will bring the people and the dollars. These are they who defile the sanctuary with music from hell, which is identical to what you’d hear in a bar room, not humbling the people in reverence but stirring them up in the flesh. They might have sound effects, smoke, flashing lights, all manner of entertainment. These will not be found in the Kingdom of heaven. The sanctuary where people assemble is not to be a place of entertainment. When it becomes entertainment, the Spirit of God will leave. He will let these rake in the money and the following, but HE will not be there. Those who WILL be received into the Kingdom of God are those who live in repentance, seeking only to do the will of the Father. They will not be entertainers, God forbid. Their message will be, “come broken before the Lord, pick up your cross, and follow him.” They have no interest in the money and the following. Their only care is to do the will of the Father. And sometimes the Father will lead them into places that are not comfortable to the flesh. But even then, the joy of their lives is doing the will of the Father, growing in the knowledge of him through daily TIME SPENT WITH HIM, in prayer and in daily reading in his Word with all the heart. These are those who will hear the voice of the Lord and obey whatever he says to them. It’s all about God, not about themselves. These will be passionate, because in the born-again experience they’ve learned how desperate are the times and how close to hell are the people, and all they think about is allowing God to use them to reach out to the lost. These are they who will be found in the Kingdom of heaven. “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” Matthew 16:24-26 Come to the Lord in heartfelt repentance, surrender your life to him and he will receive you and begin a work in you that will transform you. It will become the joy of your heart and your only regret will be not having come sooner.