The Notes

This coming Wednesday night, April 22, 2026, we begin a new series to study the 7 "I Am" statements of Jesus which highlight Jesus' divine roles in salvation and our access to God.  Join us for some mid-week encouragement for the soul as we look at the many roles of Jesus in our lives.  And remember - our in person worship time is now at 6:00 p.m.

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This past Wednesday night, April 15, 2026, we looked at Jesus' warning to us about false prophets, which led to  comments about false disciples and, ultimately, what God sees as the proof of our love for Him.  The context is from Matthew 7, verses 15-23.   

Focus on verse 21 - “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."

Point #1 - Not all people will go to heaven.  Jesus plainly says that heaven isn’t for everyone.  And notice why - our entrance depends on more than just believing there is a God or that Jesus was the Son of God.  Another scripture confirms that - James 2:19 – “You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.”  There’s a difference between acknowledging Jesus and having true discipleship . . . or put simply, being a follower of Jesus. 

Look at verse 22 -  "Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?"  But Jesus will turn them away saying, "I never knew You."  That tells us that false prophets will enter into the community of believers and interfere with those who want to be true followers of Jesus.  It's a warning to us to look at the fruit of their tree and be discerning of their words, because not everyone who claims to be prophesying in the name of God is speaking for God.   Some people - pastors included - proclaim themselves, using God as their pathway to be viewed with greatness and held in esteem.

False prophets and teachers follow their own leading; God is not their Shepherd and they don't follow in the footsteps of Jesus.

Maybe you are wondering what is a false prophet? Let's look at another scripture.  Jeremiah 23:16 says: "This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They are filling you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD.”

We can be sure that prophecies that aren’t from God won’t be fulfilled.  One example of that is Joseph Smith, founder of Mormon Church.  He gave many false prophecies, proving he spoke for himself and not God.  Jesus tells us in Matthew 7 to beware of people who claim to speak for God but are, instead, pushing themselves forward, not God.

Now Moses & Elijah did amazing signs and wonders. God worked through them, showing us His power.  But some try to do miracles, calling on the name of God, and they are false healers.  Jesus said to beware because not all supernatural acts are from God.  Those actions hurt the Gospel of Jesus and hurt the witness of followers of Jesus as people feel duped and start to believe "it's all fake."  But what God has done in parting the red sea, raising Jesus from the dead, and healing the leper is not fake.  Jesus is real, and God's power is real.  So even within the church - within the community believers - there are “false prophets.”

Jesus said in Mark 13:22 – “For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones.”  It's happening now, and it happened in Jesus' time.  Look at Acts 8:9-11 – “Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention & exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.”  They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery.”  And Peter warned us of this problem, too - 2 Peter 2:1 - “But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.”  The point we need to learn from Jesus is this - actions speak louder than words.  Beware of those who promote themselves, not Jesus.  What do their lives say more than than words?

Sadly, we have to acknowledge that some will use the name of Jesus to make a name for themselves.  So we must look at the fruit of their lives.  A good tree bears good fruit.  How we live matters even more than what we say.  Jesus told us, “Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.”  For heaven to be our home, we have to align our actions with God's will; we must do what pleases God and honors Him. 

True discipleship requires obedience in our actions, not just talking about God.  So the lesson from Jesus' words is to be followers, not just believers . . . live in step with God’s commandments and Jesus’ teachings.  Plain and simple - walk what we talk.  Jesus did.  He lived out what He taught.  He turned the other cheek; forgave from the cross.

I think most followers of Jesus do so because we recognize His sacrifice for us.  We come to love Jesus because He loved us first.  We come to love God when we know how much God loves us - that He would send Jesus to die for us so that we can have eternal life with Him in heaven.  But true love is more than words.  Jesus explained that the proof of our love was in our obedience.

Let's look at John 14; between verses 15 and  24, Jesus says three times that our love is demonstrated by our obedience . . . by our living out the words we proclaim.  

Verse 15 - “If you love me, keep my commands. . . ."  Verse 21 - "Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”  . . .   verse 23 - Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them." And verse 24 - "Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching.” 

Over and over Jesus emphasized that obedience is the proof of our love.  So if we love Him, our actions should be driven by knowledge of what pleases God and a desire to not disappoint Him.  And notice, too, that if we want to really feel the love of God, we have to walk in alignment with Him. 

God has universal love for all people, after all, "God is love." (1 Jn. 4:16).  But God also shows favor to the faithful.

2 Chronicles 16:9 – “For the eyes of the LORD roam to and fro over all the earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are fully devoted to Him.”

To really know more of Jesus, we need to live in loving obedience to Him.  Our sins create distance, and inhibit feeling the full love of God.  But when we are willing to walk in obedience to God - walk in the footsteps of Jesus and live out our faith consistently, daily - it's then that we prove the authenticity of our love for God.  And it is then that we will feel the love of God in our own lives more profoundly, more powerfully, and more precious.  Let's accept that our love is proven by what we do, and let's live as obedient followers of Jesus Christ.