Law of Lordship

HEAVEN'S FIXED LAWS

Ron Dunn

1 Peter 3:14-16

But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good behavior in Christ.

Now, let me read the fifteenth verse again. The King James Version reads like this: but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: The Greek text reads this way, and I think most of your translations read this way: but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.

But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts. When you buy a new automobile or a new television set, a new washing machine, dryer, or refrigerator, the manufacturer because he knows more about it than anyone else includes with that item a little booklet or pamphlet called "Owner's Manual" or "Operating Instructions." A great many of us have at times launched out with some new piece of equipment thinking we knew more than the manufacturer did, and we would just not humble ourselves and admit that we don't know anything. We tried to operate some of these things and had to go back to the operator's manual and admit that sure enough the man who made the machine knows the best way to operate it and to run it.

I hold in my hand operating instructions provided by the manufacturer of your life. I can assure you that when you have tried to operate your life without following the manufacturer's instructions, you have always ended up in a dead end. Time and time again it has been proven to me that the only time my life has ever derailed is when I get away from the operating instructions found in this book. There are certain laws and principles and rules for operation that God lays down in this book. A person ignores and violates these operating instructions to his own peril and to his own disaster.

The Bible says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of all wisdom. That word fear does not mean a cringing fear. It doesn't mean you are scared to death of the Lord; it means that you have a high and holy reverence for God. The beginning, the very ABCs of being smart and wise is to recognize that God is God and to have a reverential awe for him. That person who takes his life in his own hands and says, "I will do with it as I please and lean on my own understanding," is the person who does not have any reverence for God. When I come to the place that I reverence God and respect him and know that he is the Creator of life, the Lord of heaven and earth, I say, "Lord, I reverence you. I respect you. I know that you understand all about me. You made me. You know my thoughts even before I think them. You hear my words even before I speak them. So I am going to bow and submit to you and take your instructions and operate my life according to them." The fear of the Lord is the beginning of all wisdom. The person who takes the Word of God, those operating instructions, and lives his life accordingly is a wise man. For the person who ignores the Word of God, it makes no difference how many college degrees he has or how smart and intelligent he is, the Bible says that man is a fool.

We have been talking about some of heaven's fixed laws. I am going to speak to you this morning on what I consider to be the basic law of all human life. This law is woven into the fabric of every part of human existence. To me, it is the foundation of all that God is, and of all God does and of all God wants to do in your life. The person who gets right in this one area will be right clean across the board. The person who misses this one area will fail utterly in every area of his life. Heaven's fixed law is a law of Lordshipâ€”the Law of Lordship.

That law, as I said a moment ago, is woven into the fabric of every part of our lives. This is what God was trying to say to Adam and Eve at the very beginning of human history when he said of all the trees in the Garden you may eat. They are yours. Take care of them, till the ground, replenish the earth. I've made abundant provision for everything in your life. But that one tree you shall not eat of it. Now, what was God saying? God was saying that tree is a symbol of my sovereignty. As long as you acknowledge my Lordship over your life and over this garden, everything will be all right. But the day in which you eat of that tree, the day in which you violate the law of Lordship and sovereignty, that's the day you will die. That very day when Adam and Eve violated that basic law of Lordship, they died spiritually. As a result, physical death came upon them.

God has planned that every part of our lives be built around this law of Lordship. Where this law is not present, you have anarchy and chaos. Can you imagine what government would be like if there were not the principle of Lordship? If there was not the principle of sovereignty in government, can you imagine what it would be like? If every man could do as he pleased, if every man was able to do what was right in his own eyes, not one of us would be safe. We are not very safe as it is, but can you imagine what would happen if everybody was free to drive like they wanted to? They could drive up MacArthur Boulevard as fast as they wanted to. Nobody would say a word. If somebody wanted to break into your home, take your possessions, beat you up and kill you, nobody could say a word because the law of Lordship has been violated. If a government does not acknowledge the law of sovereignty and authority, you will have anarchy.

What about in the home? If the law of Lordship is not found in the home, you are going to have chaos and rebellion. God said the man, the husband, is the head and the parents are the head. I mentioned to someone the other day that nowadays it is the children who are bringing up the parents. And they are not doing a very good job of it either. I've seen some of these parents these children have raised, and they are not very fine specimens. They are not doing any better at raising the parents than the parents have done raising the children. In the home where the law of Lordship is not observed and yielded to, that home is going to be a breeding place of chaos and rebellion.

God has ordered it so. He has woven Lordship into the fabric of government. He has woven Lordship into the fabric of home life. I want you to know the only way your home can be as God intended it to be, to be blessed and happy and fruitful, is for that home to be acknowledging the law and principle of authority and Lordship.

What about in the school? You still have the principle of Lordship there. How much studying do you think would be done, and what would the grades be if the teacher said we are not going to tell you what to do or ever grade you. We are just going to let you do as you please. If you want to come up here every day and color cartoons, that's all right. Or if you want to stand up and throw spitballs at each other, that is all right. Or if you don't even want to come to school, do your own thing, that's all right too. Can you imagine what would happen in a high school or college classroom if everybody did what was right in their own eyes? The law of Lordship must be present in the school if it is going to be successful.

I'll tell you why we are having so many problems in the government, in homes, in schools, and in universities. It is because people are rebelling against authority. The one chief characteristic of Satan is rebellion against authority. He said, "I want to be like the Most High God." That meant he didn't want to be answerable to anyone except himself. If want you to know that it is distinguishing mark of our age. I don't want to be answerable to anybody but myself. I don't want to answer to the government. I don't want to answer to mom and dad. I don't want to answer to the teacher. I don't want to answer to anybody but to myself. The widespread rebellion that is sweeping across our country today is nothing more than a Satanic attack upon the laws of God. This is setting everything up for the anti-Christ to come in because he will set up a reign of lawlessness.

What about your business? Some of you men own businesses and you have employees. The principle of Lordship and authority must operate in a business. What if you said to your employees, "Whatever you want to do is all right. If you want to work on this, that's okay. I'm not going to tell you what to do. We are going to get rid of all the foremen. We are not going to have a work schedule. Nothing! You do anything you want to." You would be out of business before long.

You see, there is no possibility of success in any realm of life as long as the principle of Lordship and authority is violated. You need it in the government; you need it in the home; you need it in school; you need it in business; you need it in the military.

Most of all, you need it in your heart. Most of all, you must have this law of Lordship in effect in your heart. This is what Peter is writing in verse 15: but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts. Of all the places that Jesus needs to be Lord, in the heart is the most important place because the Bible says that out of the heart are the issues of life. When the Bible speaks of the heart, it doesn't refer to this little muscle inside here that pumps blood. It doesn't refer to that all. If you will read carefully the Word of God, you will discover that a man feels with his heart, thinks with his heart, wills with his heart, chooses with his heart. Jesus said out of a man's heart are the issues of life. Everything you are, everything you think, everything about you issues from your heart. That is the fountain. Your conduct, your language, your attitude, your philosophy are merely the stream that flows from the fountain of your heart. As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. You see, the heart is the control center of a man's life. The heart is the steering wheel of a man's life. That heart dictates to him, controls him. This is why the Bible says sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts. This is why in the Old Testament that God said when I bring salvation to you, this is the nature of that salvation. I will put within you a new heart. The basic problem with man is his heart. The Bible says the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked, and who can know it. That's why you need to have Jesus as Lord in your heart because you don't know your own heart.

Once in awhile someone says, "I believe you need to follow your own heart. Whatever your heart tells you to do, then you do it." That's all right if you have sanctified Christ as Lord in your heart. If you haven't, you are in dangerous trouble because the heart is deceitful. Do you know who your own worst enemy is? Your heart! The Bible says there is a way that seemeth right unto man but the end thereof is the way of death. That man who just follows his heart, and that heart is unregenerated and Jesus is not Lord in that heart, will always end up in trouble because the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked, and who can know it?

So Peter says I want you to sanctify Christ as Lord in your heart. What does it mean to sanctify Christ as Lord in your heart? What does that word sanctify mean? It simply means to set him apart, to treat him as he ought to be treated. We've been talking quite a bit the last couple years about this matter of Lordship--making Jesus Christ Lord. What does it really mean to sanctify, to treat Christ as Lord in your heart?

As I was reading through the New Testament this week, I again saw a very clear picture of what it really means for me to sanctify Christ as Lord in my heart. The word sanctify means that I am to treat as holy, or I am to set apart. I am no longer to be lord in my own heart. I am to no longer sit on the throne of my own heart. I am to take my hands off the steering wheel of my life, and in my place I am to set Jesus Christ. I am to let him put his hand on the steering wheel of my life, direct my life, control my life, and dictate to my life--absolute Lord and Master, undisputed Lord, unrivaled Lord. That means what he says, I do. That means where he sends, I go. That means I never question him; I give unhesitating and unquestioning obedience to him. He is Lord. To sanctify him as Lord is to treat him as he ought to be treated.

And to enthrone Jesus Christ as Lord means especially this: to treat Jesus the same way heaven treats him. We say, "Man, I wish we could have a heaven on earth." Wouldn't that be great? How would you like to have a heaven on earth this morning? Why do you suppose heaven is like heaven? What is it that makes heaven so great? I mean it's just another place, isn't it? The Garden of Eden was heaven on earth. Look what happened to it. What is to insure that heaven won't turn into another Garden of Eden? What's so great about heaven? What makes heaven heaven? I'll tell you what makes heaven heaven. It's the way they treat the Lord Jesus.

I read over in Revelation 5 that the Lamb sits upon the throne and that all the creatures bow down and worship and praise him and honor him. That's what makes heaven heaven. In heaven Jesus is on the throne, and he is worshiped as Lord. For me to make Jesus Lord is to treat him on earth as he is treated in heaven.

I think this is what Jesus meant when he was telling his disciples how to pray. He said this is the way to pray: Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. How can I create a heaven on earth for my own life? It is to treat Jesus in my life as he is treated in heaven. This is what it means to make Jesus Lord: to treat him as the Heavenly Father treated him.

Do you remember when Peter stood on the Day of Pentecost and preached that first sermon? He said you folks have taken Jesus and with your wicked hands you have slain and crucified him. In Acts 2:36 notice what he says:

Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.

What did the world think of Jesus? The world had a trial. The jury brought in the verdict. They said what should we do with Jesus? Should we enthrone him? Should we worship him? They said, "Well, we've analyzed him, investigated him. This is our decision. We don't think he is fit to live. So the best thing we can do with Jesus is just get rid of him. That's what we did." That's what the world thinks of Jesus.

What did God think of Jesus? He says that this same Jesus whom you crucified, your verdict was that he was worthy of death. I want you to know that a higher court has overruled your decision and this God hath made him both Lord and Christ. And they said, "What must we do?" Peter said, "Repent." Do you know what that word repent means? It means to change your mind, to change your attitude. He says your attitude about Jesus has been this: he's not worthy to live, to be worshiped, to be Lord. Peter says you change your attitude about Jesus, make him both Lord and Christ in your life. He says for me to make Jesus Christ Lord is for me to treat him in this life, in this earth, in my home, in my school, in government as he is treated in heaven. That's what makes heaven heaven. That's the introduction to the message.

Why is it so important that we sanctify Christ as Lord in our hearts? What happens when we sanctify Christ as Lord in our hearts? There are three things in this passage that Peter reveals to us that will come when we set Christ up as Lord in our hearts. Have you ever done that? Have you ever sanctified Christ as Lord in your heart? Have you had a coronation service and you brought the crown and placed it on the head of Jesus and said, "Jesus, I crown you Lord of all." Have you ever done that? You need to do that. You need to have a coronation service in your own heart and sanctify him as Lord.

1. A courageous calmness in the face of intimidation

When you do that, the first thing that will happen is that God will give you a courageous calmness in the face of intimidation. There will be a courageous calmness, a peace, a restfulness in the face of intimidation and fear. In verses 14-15 Peter says,

But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror (That word means intimidation. Don't let the world intimidate you.), neither be troubled; But (This word has the idea of a contrast. Instead of being intimidated, afraid of the things in this world, you sanctify Christ as Lord. The apostle is saying that the only alternative to intimidation and fear is Christ as Lord in your life. The only alternative to Christ being Lord in your life is fear and intimidation.)

Several years ago I was teaching a class on how to live the Christian life, and I asked that class, "What is the biggest problem, the main thing, that keeps you from witnessing and testifying and living as you know you ought to live in the world. I'm not talking about acting like you ought to in church or home. I mean as you are working, at school, as you move in and out of this world, what is the one thing that keeps you from being what you ought to be?" The consensus of opinion in that class was fear.

What is it that keeps you from witnessing? I'm afraid. When you are having lunch with your associates and all of a sudden there is an opportunity there to witness for Jesus, or to let them know of your convictions, what is it that keeps you silent? In your school life, what is that makes your keep your mouth closed in that circle of friends when you ought to be speaking and standing for Christ. It is intimidation, fear. For most of us, the world has flat scared us out of living for Jesus. I promise you that many of you are compromising your convictions in your home and in your school and in your business life and in your social life simply because you are intimidated by the world.

Just as Jesus stood on that ship when the storm was raging and said, "peace be still" and quieted down the waters, when Jesus Christ takes the throne of a person's heart, he can say to that person's heart, "peace be still." He can quiet the troubled heart and erase all that intimidation.

Sometimes we are not intimidated simply by people but we are intimidated by circumstances. Do you know why? Because, you see, if Jesus Christ is not Lord in heart, then something else is lord in your heart. If you are lord in your heart, then you are vulnerable because you are all the time worrying that people are (not?) going to treat you as you feel like you ought to be treated. Maybe in your business you are not going to get ahead. And maybe in your school you are not going to be as popular as you want. Maybe in this area of life you feel like you are going to be slighted. If you are living for yourself, then you are vulnerable. If possessions, worldly pleasures, worldly comforts, or worldly ease are sitting on the throne of your heart, you are vulnerable. You never know at what moment the thief may break through and steal, and lust may corrupt, and moth may eat it up. That person who is living with all soil and no sky in his life, bounded only by the things that happen in this material world, and knows nothing of the Lordship of Jesus Christ, that person is absolutely vulnerable to all the chances and changes of life.

But when I come to the place to that I say, "Self, you are getting out of the life running business. I'm putting you out of business. I am dethroning you. All these materials things that I have grasped for, loved, and sought, I am dethroning them from the heart of my life. Jesus, I am putting you on the throne of my heart. My heart now centers on you. You are the center of my affections. You have a treasure that is safe from the chances and changes of this life. You are no longer vulnerable because no matter what the world does to you, they can in no way rob you of that treasure that is setting on the throne of your heart.

I have discovered that when the devil does his worst, God does his best. The devil did his very worst when he slew Jesus on the cross. At that moment, God was doing his best. When the world does its worst in intimidating me, God is doing his best in making Jesus more precious and more real to me. There is only one way you are going to be able to live your life this next week without fear and intimidation. That is as you sanctify Christ as Lord in your heart.

2. A confident confession in the face of interrogation

Not only will he give you calmness in the face of intimidation. He will also give you a confident confession in the face of interrogation. He will give you something to say. Notice what Peter says:

and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you (and sooner or later they are) a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.

Peter says you ought to always be ready to give a confession in the face of interrogation. When somebody comes along (he is using a courtroom language here), and demands an accounting of the hope that is in you, (What is the change that has been wrought in your life? Why do you feel this way? Why do you believe like you do? Hey, tell me about this. Give me a reason.) you ought to always be ready to give an answer.

I cannot explain this but when Jesus becomes Lord in a person's life, all of a sudden their tongue is loosened. All of a sudden people could not before make a logical statement of what Jesus meant to them find themselves going everywhere gossiping about Jesus. I cannot explain that. But I think I can. When Jesus takes over as Lord of the heart, he has hold of the steering wheel of your life. Now he is in control of every part of your life, and he can loosen your mouth and loosen your tongue. He can quicken your mind. He can give you an answer for the hope that is within you. One of the marvelous miracles that God worked in the life of that Christian when he has that coronation service and kneels at the feet of Jesus and crowns him Lord of all is that suddenly he finds the ability to answer and to witness and to testify even though he has never had any training, even though he has never gone to a lay institute on how to win people to Jesus. I'll tell you the best lay institute for evangelism is the Lordship of Jesus Christ. When Jesus takes over as Lord in your life, suddenly something happens. The Spirit of God fills him, and that person is able to give an answer.

3. A clear conscience in the face of accusation and insinuation

It also gives you a clear conscience in the face of accusation and insinuation. I suppose that what people want more than anything else today is a clear conscience. Psychiatrists would be out of business today if everybody had a clear conscience. Manufacturers of tranquilizers would be out of business today if everybody had a clear conscience. Here again is something that I cannot really explain to you in a test formula explanation but when anybody comes and sanctifies Christ as Lord in their hearts, it produces within them a clear conscience.

This is what Peter says in verse 15:

Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good behavior in Christ.

When you sanctify Christ as Lord in your heart, the result is a clear conscience. I cannot really explain that excepting in this way: That is what God wanted us to have all along. What God wanted us to have all along is peace instead of fear. What God wanted us to have all along is a reason instead of doubt. What God wanted us to have along is a clear conscience instead of being plagued by guilt. What God has wanted us to have all along is love and joy and peace and meekness and longsuffering and goodness and gentleness. This is what God has wanted all along.

This is why he gave to us the operating instructions in this book. This is why he instituted the fixed laws of heaven because all along he wanted to be this. But when I turn my back on the lonely Lordship of Jesus and set myself up as my own lord and boss, then God is unable to give me all his blessings and what he wants to give me. So when I come and allow Jesus Christ to be enthroned as Lord, and he takes over and becomes not only the owner of my life but operator of my life, then he is able to do what he wanted to do all along. He is able to do what he wanted to do all along.

The indispensable condition for fullness of life is acknowledgement of and submission to his Lordship. Now, let me ask you a question. Do you have a clear conscience this morning? Do you? Do you have a clear conscience? Only Jesus Christ as Lord can give you a clear conscience. Are you intimidated by the world? They tell us that one of the characteristics that everybody has in common is fear and intimidation. That is the reason some of us are extroverts. We are trying to cover up the intimidation. Some of us are introverts because we've yielded to it. But the one thing that every man has in common is fear.

Do you know where fear came from? Do you know what the first mention of fear is in the Bible? The first time you will find fear in the Bible is after Adam and Eve sinned. Up to that time, there was no fear. There was no intimidation. There was no anxiety. Then they sinned against God. They violated the law of Lordship. God came looking for them, and they hid themselves. God said, "Why are you hiding?" They said, "We heard thy voice, and we were afraid." This is the first time fear is ever mentioned in the book. It was a result of violating the law of Lordship.

Are you intimidated by circumstances, by the world? You need to sanctify Christ as Lord in your heart. Have you ever had a coronation service like that? Have you? You need to obey the book that says to do it.

Some of you have never been saved; therefore, Jesus Christ isn't even in your heart, much less Lord of your heart. The first thing you need to do this morning is to yield yourself to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and I receive him into my life to forgive me of my sins, to cleanse me, to save me, and to set him up as Lord in my life. Some of you have been saved but you have never yielded yourself to the Lordship of Jesus. You need to do that today.

If God speaks to you about church membership, if you believe it is God's will for you to unite with the fellowship of this church, we want you to come.

But the only thing we are really interested in right now is that Jesus Christ be Lord in your heart. If he is Lord in your heart, then he will be Lord in the decisions that you make.

Let's bow together . . .

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