I Never Knew You

I Never Knew You

May 29, 2022 Morning Service

Immanuel Baptist Church, Wagoner, OK

Rick Boyne

Message Point: In Christianity, it isn’t as much about “what you do” as it is “who you know.”

Focus Passage: Matthew 7:21-23

Introduction: I was traveling in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, with a fellow missionary who had lived there for many years. We were driving a mission vehicle that said, “Mission Baptiste” on the door. As we got out of the vehicle, a man came up to my colleague and greeted him with something like, “Hello pastor; it is good to see you.” My friend asked him who he was and the man gave a name. He asked where did they know each other from and the man did not give a specific answer, only a vague response like “at the church.” My colleague then said, “I don’t know you.” The man started to argue, but my friend stated again, much firmer, “I don’t know you,” and he turned away from him. The man was likely a scammer, just trying to get some money from the missionary. I was amazed at the forcefulness of his answer to the man. The man left without a little money. It will be far worse for the person to whom Jesus says, “I don’t know you.”

I. Mere Recognition

a. “Lord, Lord”

b. 'THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. (Matthew 15:8 NASB)

c. You believe that "God is one"? Good for you! The demons believe it too—the thought makes them shudder with fear! James 2:19 CJB

II. Meager Religion

a. “I did all this stuff for you”

b. “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things. (Matthew 23:23 NLT)

c. “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness. (Matthew 23:27-28 NLT)

d. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:3 NASB)

e. "But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; (Matthew 23:5a NASB)

III. Missing Relationship

a. “I never knew you”

b. “Depart from me you who practice lawlessness.”

c. Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” (John 3:3 NLT)

d. "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. (John 14:15 NASB)

Application/Call to Obedience: that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. (Romans 10:9-10 NASB)