Matthew 7:21-27 - “Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he that does the will of my Father. Many will say to Me, in that day: Lord, Lord, didn't we prophesy in Your name? We cast out demons in Your name. We did many wonders in Your name, and I will declare to them, I never knew you, depart from Me you who practice lawlessness.
Therefore, whoever hears these sayings of Mine and does them, I liken him to a wise man who builds his house on the rock: the rain descended, the floods came, the winds blew and beat on the house. It didn't fall, it was founded on a rock.
Everyone who hears these sayings of Mine and doesn't do them, is like the foolish man built his house on sand; the rain descended, the floods came, the winds blew, beat the house and it fell down. It was a great fall.”
Firstly, the context of the teaching… this is the Sermon on the Mount. He's teaching the heart required to operate in the kingdom. He's teaching the core heart values, and lifestyle, of the kingdom. He's teaching about the heart of the kingdom.
All His teaching there, in the beatitudes, are about the kind of heart you cultivate: a hungry heart, a humble heart, a meek heart, a pure heart… Then at the end of the sermon, He finishes it off, and He starts to talk about the coming millennial kingdom.
Part of God's kingdom is present with us now. In the millennium all of it will come in its fullness, and in great power, that will be irresistible. So now, He's talking about the entrance. Notice what He said, He uses these words:
“On that day, many will say”. When the Bible uses the term ‘that day’, it's referring to the second coming of the Lord to establish His kingdom. It's also called ‘the Day of the Lord’. It's also called ‘the Great and Terrible Day’ - it's great for some; and terrible for others.
The Day of the Lord is a period of time, not just a 24-hour day. When it says ‘that day’, it's talking about the coming of the Lord; and it refers to the period of time just before the millennial reign of Christ, when He'll shake the nations, and then His kingdom will manifest. Notice what Jesus warned His disciples: He said ‘many’!
“Not everyone who says: Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom, he who does the will of my Father.”
What He's saying is: there's something required of you; and not everyone who does things in the church is going to qualify. He said: many will say, in that day... many, many... “Whoa! We did miracles! We prophesied, cast out demons! He's saying: no, you don't qualify. I'll tell you why they didn't qualify, in a moment.
Notice then, that we're all builders, of some kind of house. Every one of us is a builder. The word ‘son’, and the word ‘daughter’, both come from the root ‘to build the Father's house’. Whenever God calls us ‘sons and daughters’, He's saying: we are builders.
The first house you build is your own life - your character, your heart. You are responsible for your heart attitudes, your heart values, for your character, and the development of your life. No one can do it for you.
We are builders of marriage. Marriages must be built, families must be built, finances must be built, business must be built, churches built... Nothing just happens. Ministries are built.
Jesus says then, the wise man and the foolish man - which are you? Both were building; and both, on the exterior, looked similar. They had similar materials, but it was the foundation was different. The exterior is what you can see; and the foundation is what you can't see - it's only seen by God. God looks at your heart. You may look successful, but He sees what it really is all made of.
In 1 Samuel 16:7, Jesus (the Lord) said to Samuel: don't look at the appearance, or the physical stature, for I have refused him. The Lord doesn't see like man sees - Man looks on the outward appearance; but God looks on the heart. God always looks on the heart.
No matter what you've built with your life, it's your heart God is interested in. Your exterior success is not nearly as important to God as what motivated it; or what was in your heart, as you did it.