Now, there’s a great passage for a candidating sermon. "Beware of false prophets." Not a very good campaign slogan is it? "Come hear the candidate for pastor...and beware of false prophets." Not a great direction to focus your attention. However, it reminds us that Jesus is serious about our faith and wants us to be also. And, it leads Jesus to speak about a topic that is certainly before us today.

That topic is...knowledge. What can we know about each other in the short time we have today? Certainly, you came here today wondering about who I am and what you might get to know about me. And I have been wondering what I can possibly come to know about you in this short time. You at least have had the opportunity to read "The Top 10 Things About the Holmes Family." No "Top 10 Things About Shepherd of the Hills" for me. But, with the possible beginning of a relationship, a central question arises, What do we really know about each other?

As I thought about that topic and being here tonight, it occurred to me that this subject of beginning a relationship and knowing something about the other person has been the subject of many songs. My wife and I like to play a game called Encore. In Encore, the teams are given a word or topic and they alternate back and forth having to sing eight notes of a song that uses that word or has that topic in it. Kim is really good at it. Her father played in a big band so she knows the music of that era. She knows the music of our generation and knows some of the music of our children’s generation. She’s a real triple threat. Anyway, we enjoy playing the game and often find ourselves in daily life hearing a word and suddenly breaking into a song that has that word in it. It drives our kids nuts, so we like to do it as often as possible! So, in thinking about being here and the subject of knowing something about each other, I, naturally, began to think of some songs with that topic. Betty Graf and I were e-mailing each other about music for today’s service and I played a little Encore with her. I suggested, "But, I’d Like to Get to Know You" by Spanky and Our Gang. You know... "But, I’d like to get to know you; Yes, I would. But, I’d like to get to know you; If I could." Getting into the spirit of things, she e-mailed me back that she was thinking more along the lines of, "Getting to know you. Getting to know all about you." I believe that’s from The King and I, isn’t it? When I shared all of this with my wife, Kim, she—being the good Encore player that she is—immediately began to sing, "To know, know you, is to love, love you." By the way, when you go to vote you can take that as a recommendation from her if you’d like. But, exploring the beginning of relationships and knowing something about each other is the topic of many songs...and a topic of concern for us today.

It is also a topic of concern for Jesus in this passage, at the conclusion of his Sermon on the Mount. His concern about false prophets and relationships leads him to address this issue about knowing someone. But, Jesus’ concern involves a greater issue than our knowing each other on this occasion this day. In fact, as I thought about being here today I was drawn to this passage because of its topic about knowing. My approach to this time today was to not assume anything—concerning your vote and the future of our relationship. My approach was based on this: If this was my only chance to speak before you, what would be the one thing I would want to say? And that approach led me to this passage from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.

You see, I think the most important question before us is not, What can I know about you? It’s not, What can you know about me? The most important question is not even, Do you know Jesus? That’s an important question, but speaking to members of Shepherd of the Hills Presbyterian Church, I assume you would know Jesus as Savior and Lord. If you don’t, then the question, Do you know Jesus? is essential. But, speaking to fellow Christians, the most important question before us today is, interestingly, Does Jesus know you?

On the surface, that seems like a strange question, doesn’t it? Jesus—not knowing me? The one we call "Emmanuel"—God with us—not knowing me? Jesus knows us better than we know ourselves. What kind of question is this—Does Jesus know you? The Bible says Jesus knows the number of hairs on our heads—which for some of you is an easier task than others. How could it be possible that Jesus doesn’t know us?

Did you catch it in the Matthew passage? Jesus describes a scene of a day we all will face, a day of judgment when we will stand before the Lord. "Not everyone who calls me ‘Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven," Jesus says. "Many will say to me on that day," this day of judgment, "‘Lord, Lord did we not—and then they make an appeal to the great work that they have done. "...did we not prophesy in your name, and drive out demons in your name, and perform many miracles in your name. These are great works they are citing. Prophesying in Jesus’ name—that is, preaching, proclaiming God’s Word before others. Driving out demons. Performing many miracles, all in Jesus’ name. One could make a lot of money as a TV evangelists with such works. Yet, what is Jesus’ response? "Away from me you evildoers." He calls them evildoers! How can he do that? The work itself can’t be evil because Jesus does the same thing. Prophesying. Casting out demons. Performing many miracles. The work is not evil. Why does Jesus call them evildoers? The key is in his response, "I never knew you." Their work was done absent of a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Jesus tells this story, I believe, as a call to us to be in close relationship with him. Of course, Jesus knows us. It is his desire that our relationship be close, one of intimacy. The word "know" used here is one of intimacy. It is not knowledge that is casual, but knowledge that is intimate. It is the word used of Mary and Joseph after the angel visits Joseph and tells him of the events to come. Mary is with child from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a baby and you will name him Jesus. And Joseph took Mary as his wife, but did not "know" her until after Jesus was born. Of course, he knew Mary. But, they weren’t intimate until after Jesus’ birth. And Jesus tells this story as a call to us to be in a close, personal relationship with him. What made the work of these people evil was that it was done outside a close relationship with Christ. Jesus didn’t know them intimately.

Given one thing to tell you today, that is it. That Jesus himself desires a close, personal relationship with him. A relationship that is cultivated by spending time with Jesus in prayer, sharing with him our greatest joys and our deepest fears. Spending time with him in studying his word, that we might better know what his will is for our lives. And by spending time in quiet reflection with him, that we might hear his spirit’s call to us. It is, I believe, the greatest area of neglect in the lives of Christians today. Due to the hectic pace of our lives, the missplaced priorities, it is time spent in developing a relationship with Christ that is most neglected. Jesus tells this story for us, that we might seek this kind of intimate relationship with him.

There are several reasons why Jesus desires this relationship with us. For one thing, he enjoys fellowship with us. He benefits from such a relationship. Jesus calls his disciples "friends." Do we develop our relationship with Jesus as we would a friendship? He desires that. The Scriptures teach that we minister to God—imagine that, we ministering to God—by offering him a "sacrifice of praise." In setting aside time to be with God—in prayer, Bible study and quiet reflection—we let God know he is important to us. We minister to God in such times by offering a "sacrifice of praise."

Jesus also desires our developing a close relationship with him because he knows that it is in such time that our strength is renewed. From the Isaiah passage that was read this morning, one of my favorite passages: "They that wait upon the Lord," and that waiting is not a passive thing, but an active thing. More like serving someone, or ministering to someone like waiting on a table in a restaurant. Waiting upon God, ministering to God in quiet time relationship with him. "They that wait upon the Lord, shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not get weary, they shall walk and not faint." Jesus knows that time with him is important for us because it is in such time that our strength is renewed. When you feel the bone-weariness of burnout, or stress, it is a sign for us that we need time with God so our strength can be renewed.

A third reason Jesus desires we spend time in a close relationship with him because he knows that the more time we spend with him the more we will become like him. Think about your other relationships in your lives. The people you spend a lot of time with you become more and more like them. The best analogy I can think of is my wife, Kim. We’ve been married 27 years. We’ve spent a lot of time together. And I can promise you, I am more like Kim today than I was 27 years ago.

We’ve been house-hunting and Mona asked Kim and me to separately come up with a list of the top 10 things we wanted in a house. So we did that. And, while the two lists were not identical, much of it was. I can promise you that many of the items on my list would never have been there if I hadn’t been married to Kim. Over 27 years, her priorities in items for a house have become my priorities.

Time spent with Jesus is much like that. Jesus knows the more time we spend with him, the more we become like Jesus. His likes and dislikes become ours also.

Fourth, and finally, Jesus desires we spend time with him in a relationship of friendship because, in so doing, we are better able to discern God’s call for us in our lives. It’s related to the topic of discerning false prophets, asking the question, Is this God speaking or not?

Again, the example I can best relate to is my marriage with Kim. Kim and I have known each other a long time. We met in junior high school, started "going steady" in the eighth grade. That also drives our children crazy, so we like to refer to it as often as possible. When we were first getting to know each other we would—like all teenagers—spend a lot of time on the telephone. I remember early on in our relationship calling Kim’s house and getting, not Kim, but her sister, Claire, on the phone. Now, when you have an opportunity to meet Claire you will discover that they look alike and, to the undiscerning ear, they sound alike. On this particular occasion I’m remembering, I telephoned Kim’s house, got who I thought was Kim on the phone and proceeded to talk for about a half hour. About that time, Kim—or at least who I thought was Kim—said, "Do you want to speak to my sister?" And my first words were, "Why would I want to speak to...CLAIRE!" I’d been talking with Claire all that time. I couldn’t tell the difference in their voices. But now, after 27 years of spending time together in a close relationship—well, not too long ago Kim had an occasion to visit with Claire while I was somewhere else. While she was there, I called to speak with her. And Claire answered the phone and, for old times sake I guess, pretended to be Kim. Didn’t fool me for one second. Instantly, I knew I wasn’t speaking with Kim.

God desires that we develop the same discernment regarding His voice speaking to us, prompting us through His Spirit to hear and respond to His call in our lives. Discerning what is false and true, because we know God’s voice.

That is the important message Jesus wants us to take from this story he tells in his Sermon on the Mount. Jesus desires that we make spending time with him a priority in our lives, so that our good works would be supported by a close relationship with him. He wants that for us because he knows the benefits of such a relationship: his own enjoyment of such time spent with us; the renewal of our strength for ministry and mission that takes place in spending time with him; a place where we become more like Christ because of the time we spend together; and time spent where we learn to recognize and discern God’s voice prompting us through His Holy Spirit.

Today is an important day for all of us. It is the beginning, I hope, of a wonderful relationship between us—of me getting to know you better and you getting to know me better. Yet, with all of that, there is before us the more important question about our relationship with Jesus Christ. How well does Jesus know you? You might as well know about me that that question is a focus for my ministry. It is a focus for myself in ministry—the importance of my developing my own relationship with Jesus Christ—and for those with whom I minister. My goal will be to help you in developing your own relationship with Jesus Christ, that we will work together towards the goal of Jesus knowing us well. Building a relationship that Jesus desires, indeed, commands us to build. That we might build our lives and our ministries on solid rock, not sand.

My hope and prayer, the driving force in my ministry is that Jesus would never say of any one of us, "I’m sorry, I never knew you. Depart from me you evildoer." Rather, on that day all of us face when we will stand before our Lord, that we would hear him say, "You, I know! I know you and your good works. Welcome, good and faithful servant, good and faithful friend."