THE LORDSHIP OF JESUS

THE LORDSHIP OF JESUS 2 Corinthians 4:5 March 5, 2000 Given by: Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] It was Pentecost Sunday, probably the year 30 AD. A band of 120 people had been causing a stir in downtown Jerusalem. They were speaking publicly about the wonders of God in languages they had never learned, and they were being understood by all the international crowd who had come as God-fearers to celebrate the feast. Then, when the excited buzz of the astonished crowd died down, one of them, Peter by name, stood and began to preach to the gathered crowd, probably in the common language of Aramaic or Greek. He announced with startling authority in his voice that the prophecy of Joel was beginning to be fulfilled, concerning the pouring out of God's Spirit on all flesh resulting in prophesying, visions and dreams, as well as wonders in heaven and earth--awesome things that would occur from then on until the great and glorious day of the Lord, when "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord would be saved." Then it was that He said something so alarming, so dramatic that it turned the hearts of those listening to butter, revolutionized the entire cosmological understanding of history, and put all the legions of hell on alert that there was a new sheriff in town and things were going to be very different from here on out. No one expected to hear what Peter said, and I suspect even he and his coterie of newly empowered apostles and rag-tag disciples were surprised by this inspired pronouncement. He said, "Jesus is Lord!" He declared that the Jesus who had been murdered fifty-nine days earlier not far from where they stood was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life...and exalted [Him] to the right hand of God...Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus whom you crucified, both LORD and CHRIST! (Acts 2:32-36) Please don't miss the import of that pronouncement--Jesus has been identified as not only Israel's long-awaited Messiah, but as almighty God, Adonai, LORD. Lord was the title reserved only for Father God, ADONAI in Hebrew, KURIOS in Greek. And now, here comes this arresting word of revelation that Jesus has been placed in position with the Father as "Lord", a position which was eternally His, but was now granted to Him publicly because of His obedience. And what was the response to this shocking word? Those who heard it were electrified and convicted by it immediately. So stunned were they by the suddenly-understood exalted nature of the one whom the Palestinian Jews had crucified, and so convicted in their guilt by association, they could not even wait until Peter finished speaking, but they interrupted him, crying out, Brothers, what shall we do? What is it that created human beings do when they suddenly realize that the one against whom they have shaken their fists in sinful rebellion is really the Lord and judge of human history? They come to their sobered senses and say, like Saul of Tarsus, LORD, what would you have me do? (Acts 22:10) Or like Isaiah, [Lord], you are the potter I am the clay and Lord, here I am, send me. May I solemnly suggest that when we see a disobedient church which is lackadaisical about serious commitment to the Word and will of Jesus Christ, when we wake up one day and find ourselves stiff-necked and lazy about our service to Jesus, more interested in our comfort and our amusements than His purpose in and through our lives, we have only one things to conclude--Jesus is not Lord in that situation. The one who understands the Lordship, the unchallenged mastery and kingship of the one who is called "Lord of all" by God, and who is Himself God, will bow as low as he can in humble submission and be pleased to do His bidding, whatever it costs. It is impossible to say these two words together, "No, Lord." If you say "No", He is not your Lord; and if He is your Lord, you cannot say "No". Deitrich Bonhoeffer, the German Martyr, wrote these powerful words while in a Nazi death camp, still carrying his faithful witness for Jesus into his dying months, "Only he who believes is obedient; only he who is obedient believes." Jesus said it this way, "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and not do the things which I say?" And He went on to describe the wise person as the one who hears His words and obeys them, like one who builds his house on rock and not on shifting sand. With this teaching on the Lordship of Jesus, we are beginning a series of teachings from the Word of God on the bedrock VALUES we hold to as a church. These are the values which we have published in the MECF Mission and Vision Statement. They are distilled straight from scripture and are the basic tenets of this congregation. I plan to be preaching through those 12 fundamental values over the course of the next few months. I won't be necessarily taking them in the order in which they appear in the Vision statement, but choosing the first one, "The Lordship of Jesus," for this inaugural message was no accident. Brothers and sisters, if Jesus is not Lord of this church, it's all a joke, and we have nothing but a fraternity. If Jesus is not Lord here in this place, we who reside here are playing games. If Jesus is not Lord in the lives of the people who gather and serve here, then this is no part of Christ's church. If Jesus is not being sought, worshipped, obeyed and respected as Lord of your life this morning, then your being here "in church" is a most absurd behavior, is it not? If Jesus were not his Lord, why would anyone "pretend" to devotion to Him? I want to ask you to make a confession with me. In the words of Value number one in our Mission and Vision Statement, let's make public our admission to this great truth. I will read it first, because I don't want to ask you to confess something with your lips that you do not assent to. {Place overhead slide} We hold tenaciously to the truth that God has appointed Jesus to be "Head over all things for the church." (Ephesians 1:22) It is of primary importance to us that we all corporately, and each individually, obey Christ in all things. He is the uncompromised "Chairman of the Board" at MECF, and, in all we do, we strive to do it according to His will and direction. We endeavor to practice, and encourage others to practice, living by the Spirit (Galatians 5:25) so we can please Him in what we think, say and do. That is our ADmission of the Lordship of Jesus over our collective and individual lives, but as we've already seen, that ADmission is no good without our SUBmission to Him as Lord. I want now to read a "Prayer of Submission to the Lordship of Jesus" written by Chuck Swindoll several years ago, and so appropriate to the truth of this message. Please let me just read it for now, and in a few moments, as we close this teaching with a time of commitment, I will ask you to read (and pray) it before the Lord and one another. Lord, I am willing To receive what you give, To lack what you withhold, To relinquish what you take, To suffer what you inflict, To be what you require. And, Lord, if others are to be Your messengers to me, I am willing to hear And heed what they have to say. Amen. If you really listen to the intent of that prayer, you will not be able to pray it lightly. Exposition of 2 Corinthians 4:5 - For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. While I understand we are stepping right into the middle of a well-developed context in Paul's letter to the Corinthians, I want us to just take from this short verse the full impact of what it means to this church. We must not simply "Play" church, and assume all is well because we "look the part." Once a couple years ago, I had gotten a late start on a Sunday morning and had to finish dressing in the car on the way to Celebration. At the traffic signal, I put on my tie. I tied a perfect knot with perfect length (on the first try!). Then I added the tie tac, attaching it to the middle button of my shirt. When I arrived in the parking lot and grabbed my Bible and my notes on the way out the car door and suddenly realized I had put my tie on around my seat belt. I nearly strangled myself when I stepped out of the car! It struck me then that I might have looked good but I was going nowhere. We must not be satisfied to have a church that looks good and is going nowhere! When Paul says, "we do not preach ourselves," he is saying that what we are as church members, church leaders and church representatives to the world around us is NOTHING. All that is important is getting the truth out to the needy world around us that Jesus is LORD. And that His Lordship means He has conquered every enemy, including death, and is inviting anyone who will respond into His kingdom. In a practical sense what does this mean to us? It means that the mission of presenting Jesus' Lordship and His invitation to people is to be our paramount concern. It must be the governing issue at every gathering of this church. As we worship Him during Celebration, in Cell groups and in our other corporate and private times of devotion, we praise Him not only for what He has done for us, but for what He is doing in the world and in human history. He is calling to Himself LOST PEOPLE who otherwise are bound for nothing but the "second death". But He not only welcomes them, He also cleanses them from the sin and guilt that holds them captive. He is announcing to the world of lost individuals that He has won the victory over evil for them and has paid for their entrance into fellowship with God. At every meeting, we must take deliberate time in prayer and acknowledgement of this great mission into which He has called us. The elders' Leadership Team must humbly admit to Him each time we meet to consider the spiritual and vital needs of this church, that it is HIS WILL that is paramount, and not our hopes an wishes and dreams. That getting HIS WILL accomplished is all that matters, and therefore must weigh more heavily than our comfort, our plans and our agendas. God's agenda is PEOPLE. People matter to God, and therefore people must matter more to us than property, politics or programs. Why? BECAUSE JESUS IS LORD, and there is nothing more important in the business of this church than introducing people to God's tender invitation through Jesus. Every time our Finance Ministry Team meets, there must be sincere and humble prayer that these funds we handle are not ours, they are His. And all of our resources are to be devoted to the mission of bringing others to Him through the church. Why? Because JESUS IS LORD. Every time our Facilities Ministry Team meets there must be collective agreement in prayer that our ownership means nothing, but His ownership means everything. Why? Because JESUS IS LORD and all that He permits us to handle is our stewardship for Him and His purposes in the community and world around us. Every time our Kingdom Expansion Team meets, there must be a holy acknowledgement that the kingdom agenda of Jesus is our only real agenda, and the only thing that truly, ultimately matters is what He is doing in the world, and how He wants us to be a part of it. And then to obediently follow. Why? Because JESUS IS LORD. Every time our Christian Education Ministry Team meets and plans activities it must be under the prayerful understanding that we are jars of clay handling God's treasure, responsible to deliver that treasure into the heart and mind of as many who will listen, and to do it the very best way we can. That every time Kids Club meets it is for the sole purpose of leading young lives to God. Why? Because JESUS IS LORD. Every time our Worship Ministry Team meets to rehearse or to play it is to the glory of God, and moving toward that grand purpose of God to bring all nations, tribes, people and languages to stand before the throne and in front of the Lamb in praise and adoration. Why? Because JESUS IS LORD. Every time a cell group meets, they must be instant to acknowledge their thanks to the Lord of their lives that He has written their names in His book of life. And that He longs to use them to bring others into that saving relationship. They must submit to His Lordship by treating every person as someone for whom Jesus died, and as someone whom He is longing to be conformed to His image. Our cell groups must commit to the high calling of evangelism, edification and multiplication, so that we can saturate the metro-east area with the Good News. Why? Because JESUS IS LORD. And every one of us must always acknowledge our humble dependence on God who has saved us. We must commit ourselves to his glorious purposes through us and be always mindful that everyone we meet is another opportunity to share our witness to His goodness in our lives and His desire to be their Savior. We are called to daily deny ourselves, take up our crosses and follow Him. He has reconciled us that we might be reconcilers of others to Himself. We must willingly die to our own comfort and respectability in order to win others to Him. We must acknowledge that we are "no longer our own, but we are bought with a price", that we are by his grace "a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that we may declare the praises of him who has called us out of darkness and into his wonderful light!" We must "be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks us to give the reason for the hope that we have, and to do so with gentleness and respect." Why? Because JESUS IS LORD. Brothers and sisters, we must die to our personal agendas and live for His purposes. We must see ourselves as instruments of His grace. We must stop being so selfishly concerned about being served, and dedicate to serve Him and others in His name. We must wake up more and more to the fact that we are not saved just for ourselves, but for the sake of others who are not yet saved. W should "do nothing out of vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than ourselves." We should dedicate ourselves to "look not only to our own interests, but also to the interests of others." "Our attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus"--one of humility, self-sacrifice and service. Why? Because JESUS IS LORD! **Colossians 2:6-10** Now, the Lordship of Jesus is two things: it is an ultimate reality and it is a present choice. The Bible is clear that Jesus IS the Lord of all, and that He must "reign until He puts all His enemies under his feet." And "at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow, in heaven, on earth and even under the earth, and every tongue WILL CONFESS that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." This is an ultimate reality--someday everyone and everything will acknowledge His Lordship. But for some, that confession will be too late. The Lordship of Jesus is an ultimate reality, and it is a present choice for you. Your decision to acknowledge Jesus is Lord doesn't determine whether or not Jesus really is Lord--but determines whether or not He is your Lord. Our challenge this morning is whether or not we will allow Him to be Lord of our lives; whether or not we are wholeheartedly His servants. Here is the stark truth: He is either Lord of your life or He is not. There is no middle ground. Jesus said you cannot call Him "Lord, Lord" and not do what He says. It is an ugly truth that even believers who have faithfully served Him for years may lose their first love, and quietly remove Jesus from the place of real Lordship in their lives. Others get themselves caught up in a kind of religious limbo, doing all kinds of religious things, looking, acting and sounding like they think Christians ought to be, but in actuality, they never really submitted to Jesus as Lord. They came face to face with the Lord's demands on their lives and simply said, "I don't think I want to serve Him badly enough to give up what He is telling me to give up." And like the rich young ruler, they walked away sad, because they had so much and they didn't want to give it up. And there are still others who never faced the reality of Jesus as Lord. They never thought about the claim that Jesus had on their lives, so they never faced the choice. Whichever of these camps you might be in, be assured of this--Jesus, the Lord of history and the Lord of all, desires to be Lord of your life. And it doesn't matter what decisions you've made about Him in the past, He is standing before you again today. And He has a simple question for you: Am I the Lord of your life, or am I not? No middle ground. He is also bringing this question of His Lordship to this church this morning. Is He Lord of Metro-East Christian Fellowship, or is this all a game? It's one or the other for each of us. It's one or the other for all of us. Now, with the choice staring you in the face, I will ask you if you are willing to pray that prayer of submission to His Lordship. I am, and I am not taking it lightly--there are some things that have to change in my life as I seriously commit myself today. If you are willing, please stand and pray. Lord, I am willing To receive what you give, To lack what you withhold, To relinquish what you take, To suffer what you inflict, To be what you require. And, Lord, if others are to be Your messengers to me, I am willing to hear And heed what they have to say. Amen.     [Back to Top]