Who Gets The Final Say?

Opening Scripture

Proverbs 3:5–6 NIV

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

We can all probably agree that it appears much easier to receive Jesus as Savior than it is to surrender to Him as Lord over every area of our lives.

The struggle with Lordship often comes down to TRUST. For some of us, there are certain areas of our lives that we struggle to trust God with. For others, the struggle may be trusting Him with the direction of our entire lives.

Lordship requires TRUST and SURRENDER. It requires us to trust God's ways even when we don't understand His ways and to surrender what we want for what He wants.

Too often, we lean on our own understanding instead of seeking God's wisdom and direction. We make the decision, choose the direction, create the plan—and then ask God to bless what we've already decided.

There are times when we experience unnecessary consequences because we moved without seeking God first. However, following God doesn't mean we will avoid every hardship. Sometimes His path will still be difficult, but we can trust WHO is leading us even when we don't understand WHERE He is leading us.

When we seek God first through prayer and His Word, we allow Him to shape our decisions, correct our direction, and give us the wisdom and discernment necessary to walk according to His will. Christ-centeredness means Jesus doesn't simply get consulted about our decisions—Jesus gets the final say.

Trust In God MORE!

Jeremiah 17:7–8 NIV

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

Verses 7–8 really begin with Jeremiah 17:5–6. Immediately before this, Jeremiah describes the person who trusts in human strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD.

Trust in humanity/self → barren existence Trust in Yahweh → rooted and fruitful existence

When trouble comes, our natural tendency is often to seek HUMAN solutions before seeking GOD'S direction. And when our security is rooted in people, circumstances, or our own ability to fix everything, our peace becomes dependent upon things that can change.

TRUE PEACE can NEVER ultimately come from man—it comes from GOD! People can encourage us, counsel us, and walk alongside us, but they were never designed to become the source of our peace.John 14:27 NIV: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives.”

When we continually choose SELF over CHRIST, we move away from the One who gives us wisdom, direction, and life. Following ourselves can lead us into confusion and unnecessary consequences because our understanding is limited—but God's wisdom is not.

Live By The Book!

Psalm 119:105 NIV

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.

In the '90s, people were so interested in knowing their future that they were willing to pay PSYCHICS to predict what was going to happen—and people are still searching for answers today. Everybody wants to know: What should I do? Where should I go? What's going to happen next?

God's Word provides us with the wisdom and truth necessary to live a CHRIST-CENTERED and GOD-HONORING life. We may not know everything that's coming tomorrow, but God has given us what we need to faithfully follow Him today.

When we choose to build our lives upon God's Word, it produces FOUNDATIONAL LIVING. Our foundation isn't our feelings, culture, circumstances, or opinions—our foundation is the truth of God.

When the storms come, those who have built their lives upon God's truth have a foundation that can withstand the storm. The presence of a storm doesn't determine whether your foundation is strong—the storm REVEALS what you built upon. (Matthew 7:24–27)

We can't LIVE BY THE BOOK if we don't KNOW THE BOOK! Biblical literacy matters because we cannot consistently apply truth that we don't know.

Scripture is part of our SPIRITUAL WEAPONRY. Paul calls the Word of God “the sword of the Spirit” in Ephesians 6:17. And Hebrews 4:12 tells us that God's Word is alive, active, and sharper than any double-edged sword.

The enemy can attempt to DISTORT Scripture—but deception becomes much harder when you actually KNOW what God has said. Satan even quoted Scripture while tempting Jesus, but Jesus recognized the distortion and responded with Scripture correctly understood and applied. (Matthew 4:1–11)

How Are You Loving God?

John 14:15 NIV

“If you love me, keep my commands.

We can never truly live out love for God while insisting upon living a SELF-CENTERED life. Loving God moves us away from living exclusively for ourselves and toward living for CHRIST.

A SELF-CENTERED life seeks to glorify SELF more than CHRIST. The question becomes: Am I building a life that makes much of ME, or one that makes much of JESUS?

A SELF-CENTERED life is ultimately an attempt to LORD over your own life instead of allowing JESUS to be LORD. We want Jesus to save us while still reserving the right to determine how we live.

There cannot be TWO KINGS sitting on the throne of your life. Eventually, you have to decide who gets the FINAL SAY—SELF or CHRIST.“No one can serve two masters...” — Matthew 6:24 NIV

It's actually very simple: LOVE leads to OBEDIENCE. Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commands.” — John 14:15 NIV Our obedience doesn't earn His love; rather, obedience becomes an expression of the love we already have for Him.

Think about the relationship between children and loving parents. Ideally, children learn to follow their parents' instruction because they TRUST them, recognize their authority, and understand that their instruction is intended for their good. In an even greater way, our obedience to God flows from trusting His character and recognizing His authority.

Biblical LOVE is more than an EMOTION—it produces ACTION, REVERENCE, COMMITMENT, and OBEDIENCE. If I genuinely love Jesus, that love should eventually become visible in the way I LIVE.

Your Next Steps

1. IDENTIFY WHAT YOU HAVEN'T SURRENDERED

Take an honest inventory of your life and ask:

“What area of my life am I still trying to control instead of trusting God with?”

It could be your finances, relationships, career, future, family, habits, or a decision you're currently facing.

Don't just ask Jesus to bless that area—SURRENDER it to Him.

“In all your ways submit to him...” — Proverbs 3:6 NIV

2. PRAY BEFORE YOU MOVE

Before making an important decision this week, make prayer your FIRST RESPONSE instead of your LAST RESORT.

Before you send it. Before you buy it. Before you accept it. Before you walk away from it. Before you make the decision.

PRAY ABOUT IT!

Ask: “Lord, what would YOU have me do?”

Christ-centeredness means we don't make our plans and then ask Jesus to approve them—we seek His direction before we move.

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” — Proverbs 3:5 NIV

3. GET IN THE BOOK EVERY DAY

You can't LIVE BY THE BOOK if you don't KNOW THE BOOK.

Commit to spending intentional time in Scripture every day this week—even if you begin with only 10–15 minutes a day.

Don't just ask, “What does this verse say?”

Ask:

“What is God revealing about Himself?” “What needs to change in me?” “How should I live differently because of what I just read?”

God's Word isn't merely information to KNOW—it's truth to LIVE.

“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” — Psalm 119:105 NIV

4. OBEY WHAT GOD HAS ALREADY SAID

Sometimes we're asking God for NEW DIRECTION while ignoring the direction He's ALREADY GIVEN.

Identify one area where Scripture has already made God's will clear, but you've struggled to obey.

Then take ONE ACT OF OBEDIENCE this week.

Forgive. Apologize. Serve. Give. Walk away from sin. Tell the truth. Love the difficult person. Do what God has already told you to do.

Don't ask God for another instruction while refusing to obey the last one.

“If you love me, keep my commands.” — John 14:15 NIV

5. GIVE JESUS THE FINAL SAY

Before making decisions this week, begin asking yourself:

“Is this what I WANT—or is this what CHRIST WANTS?”

There will be moments when your feelings say one thing, culture says another, people give you their opinions, and God's Word points you somewhere else.

That's where LORDSHIP becomes real.

Make the decision now:

If my desires conflict with His Word—HIS WORD WINS.

If my plans conflict with His direction—HIS DIRECTION WINS.

If my will conflicts with His will—HIS WILL WINS.

Because a Christ-centered life doesn't simply CONSULT Jesus.

A CHRIST-CENTERED LIFE GIVES JESUS THE FINAL SAY!