A few months ago, God had a conversation with me that really blew my mind. Through this conversation He gave me a revelation and insight into the depth of the conversation which is why it blew my mind. God spoke to me and said “Jesse, my people don’t know me. They have forsaken relationship for religion. They claim to be my own but I don’t know them. They would rather perform church work than the work I have put their hands to do. They would rather hear the voice of the Pastor that I am speaking to then learn to hear me for themselves.” It was then that he asked me a question and started to give to me a revelation that completely changed the way I not only deal with Him but how I operate in general. He asked me if I were to want people to know about me would I rather they read a book about me or would I rather them talk with me? My answer was I’d rather have them talk with me. Then He asked me why. My answer was simple, even if there is a book about me it is still not going to contain everything about me. There will be things that unless you talk with me you won’t fully understand. Not only that, but there is insight into why I operate as opposed to just how I operate. And here’s the revelation He gave me. God spoke and said “then why are my people choosing to only read about me and not to talk to me?” That question, that revelation is the essence of this entry today. Some of you all probably won’t agree but honestly I don’t care whether you do or not. Some of you will read this and continue with business as usual, some will think I am waging and ungodly attack on the bible, but hopefully there will be some that just like me will catch this and change the way they operate in order to get a true and deep relationship with God.
We’ve all heard and or quoted the statement everyone that is in church ain’t saved. Some even say it this way, everyone who say they are saved ain’t going to heaven. But do you ever stop to think about where that statement comes from and what it actually means. Well biblically it comes from Matthew 7:22 & 23 which reads:
22.) Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord have we not prophesied in Your name, and done many wonders in your name? 23.) And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; depart from Me, you who work iniquity.
Wow, please note that these people on judgment day are proclaiming to Jesus what great works that they did in His name and yet they still could not enter in. How is that possible? If they were workers of iniquity (iniquity meaning sin) how can they then still have done these works? You’ll find the answer in Romans 11:29 which will let you know that when God gives a gift or places a call on your life He doesn’t take it back. He may render the anointing on your life dormant as He did Samson for his disobedience but He never takes it back. It’s irrevocable. These people who stood before Jesus operated in their gifts and callings but operated in them through the flesh. The most telling thing about that scripture is that Jesus said depart from me for I never knew you. That statement shows they had no relationship with Him. Now we all have had someone who we say that we know but we just really know of. By that I mean you know the vital stats, i.e. name, stature, possibly their address, and maybe a favorite hangout or two but you really don’t know them.
What you know is superficial and a lot of it is probably based off of what someone told you about that person which is exactly how we do Jesus. We sit and listen to our pastors Sunday after Sunday and hear them talk about this great man called Jesus and they use terms for Him like “Lilly of the Valley” that they heard someone else use who heard it from someone else that if you look biblically that is a term used in the book of Song of Solomon with Solomon referring to one of his concubines. This has nothing to with Jesus but yet we say it as if this is a reference to Him. We hear preachers say He is our healer but yet we don’t know Him as that for ourselves, proof of that is everytime we get sick rather than pray being our first reaction, go to the doctor is our first reaction. Don’t get me wrong I thank God for doctors, there is a great reason why they are here but they are not to be my first resort. But that comes only from having a relationship with Him. We have a religion with Jesus but not a relationship. We do things out of ritual, tradition, and habit which is why it’s religion. One of the alternate definitions of religion is continued practiced of a ritual i.e. going to church every Sunday morning.
We have practiced something for so long and taught our kids to practice something for so long we have no idea why we do half the things we do. I heard a story that is so appropriate for this entry. A mother and daughter were preparing thanksgiving dinner when the daughter of the daughter comes in the room and sees her mom cut a ham in half put one half in a pan to roast it in the oven and the other half she throws away. The daughter perplexed by this asks her mother, mom why do you do that? The mother (who is the daughter cooking with her mom) says I don’t know ask your grandmother. She goes over to her grandmother who is cleaning the vegetables in the sink and asks her. Grandma, why do you cut the ham in half, cook half and throw the other half away. The grandma says to the little girl, I don’t know I got it from my mom; go ask your great grandma she is in the living room watching t.v. The little girl goes in and says nana, I asked my mom and my grandma and no one can tell me, why do we cut a ham in half cook half and throw the other half away they say they got it from watching you. The great grandma looks at her great granddaughter and says I did it because I didn’t have a pan big enough to hold the entire ham so I had to cut it in half and had to throw the other half away, I’m not sure why they still do it.
Do you see the point of that? We have done somethings for so long that we have no clue as to why we do them. People are operating under a spirit of religion as opposed to the spirit of God. You’ll hear them say things like that’s the way it’s been and that’s the way it’s going to stay. You’ll hear them buck against things they think aren’t of God not because those things aren’t anointed or are truly not of God but because they don’t like them. Seasoned and younger Christians do this. They do it because they don’t have a true relationship with Jesus Christ. They have a relationship with their bibles and read them on a daily basis even (some of them). But they still aren’t doing what that Holy Bible says to do: “Study to show yourself approved unto God” (II Timothy 2:5) Studying is more than just reading the bible. You’ve got to take what you read and ask God to give you a revelation on what you read, you’ve got to put what you’ve read into practice so that you can see if it works. Reading your bible alone won’t get you into heaven that’s the equivalent of the question God asked me. All you are doing is reading about Him instead of getting to know Him. How much time do you spend in prayer and meditation with him throughout the week? How much of your prayer time is you talking and not listening. Remember prayer is a conversation if you do all the talking and no of the listening you didn’t pray, you didn’t converse with God you vented. Get away from strictly religious practice and get to a place where you begin to get a relationship with Him. Don’t allow yourself to be one of those who on judgment day will say all of the things you did in His name and He still say but I never knew you. Wouldn’t it be a shame to have given up all that you have and gone through all that you did just to be like Moses and not enter into the promised land to dwell with Jesus forever? Put down your denominational doctrine, I don’t care if your Baptist, COGIC, Apostolic, A.M.E, Methodist, Non-Denominational or whatever you claim to be. Stop claiming to be it and start claiming to be a child of the King, a Christian, a member of the body of Christ. That’s what you need to be but the only way you get that is to get a relationship with Him for yourself. No one of you have a relationship with someone through someone else. Someone else may have introduced you to that person but you don’t only know them because of whomever introduced you to them. You don’t go that person’s house and hear them talk to you about them. No, if you do you have lost your mind. Well if that won’t work in the natural then why would you think that would work in the spiritual? He longs to have a one on one relationship with you not a 3 way with you, your pastor, and Him. Don’t forsake your relationship for religion leave your religion and walk toward a relationship with Him. It’s the only way you’ll hear Him say, “Well done my good and faithful servant, you’ve been faithful over a few things, now I’ll make you ruler over many, enter into the joy of the Lord!” (Matthew 25:21) Remember as always Grow in God’s Grace and Abide in His Love!
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