Jesus Is Lord And King. Let’s Sing. Let’s Shout. Let’s Kneel.

11.23.25 Psalm 95:1–7a

1 Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD. Let us give a loud shout to the Rock who saves us. 2 Let us approach his presence with thanksgiving. With music we will shout to him. 3 For the LORD is the great God and the great King above all gods. 4 He holds the unexplored places of the earth in his hand, and the peaks of the mountains belong to him. 5 The sea belongs to him, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. 6 Come, let us bow down. Let us revere him. Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker, 7 for he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the flock in his hand.

Jesus is LORD and King. Let’s Sing. Let’s Shout. Let’s Kneel.

In the explanation to the Second Article of the Apostles Creed, we teach our children to confess, “I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, is my Lord.” That’s quite the statement if you think about it. If Jesus is your Lord, it means that you are submitting to His authority, letting him tell you what to do, how to do it, and when to do it.

This stands in contrast to so much of the American ideal and the sinful nature. We don’t like it when people tell us what to do. One of my daughter’s favorite sayings growing up was, “I can’t want to.” When class starts and I tell the kids to put away their other books and open up to a certain page, I sometimes get the feeling like I’ve just asked them to do a hundred pushups. I see videos on Youtube of police officers asking people to do simple things, but they absolutely refuse. We are becoming a more stubborn society, failing to listen to orders.

In 1875 William Ernest Henly was recovering from the amputation of his left leg due to tuberculosis, and he was facing the possibility of the losing his right leg as well. It was while he was in the hospital that he wrote the poem, “Invictus,” which means “Unconquered.” The poem has been repeated through the ages as a defiant cry against those who would oppress them. Nelson Mandela was said to have used it to motivate his fellow prisoners during his 27 years of imprisonment. It goes,

It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.

Sometimes we have to be bold and assertive in life, and maybe even defiant against authorities when they overstep their bounds. But God also desires a humble type of an attitude. A recognition that I am not King and I am not Lord. I am not in charge of life, as much as I’d like to think I am. In Luke 12 Jesus told the story of the Rich Fool who thought he had a lifetime of pleasure all ahead of him after having received a huge crop. 18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” ’ 20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ The man had a plan. But God had a different one, and the man had no choice in the matter. His life was demanded when GOD decided, not Him. And then he had to answer to God, to the King.

We have to think about this as well. In our Lutheran heritage we focus on the fact that He is my Savior. That’s a great thing. That’s what we love, that Jesus is our Savior. He is gracious, merciful, forgiving, and kind. Nothing wrong with that. That should be our primary focus. But we should also remember the fact that He is my Lord, too. So if He tells me to do something, I shouldn’t treat it as optional, just because He is merciful.

Think about our explanations to the Ten Commandments.

We should fear and love God that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but regard it as holy and gladly hear and learn it. But plenty of people are NOT doing that within our own congregation. And they don’t seem to think there is anything wrong with that.

We should fear and love God that we do not dishonor or anger our parents and others in authority, but honor, serve, and obey them, and give them love and respect. Yet how many of us have loved to make fun of politicians. I can’t tell you how many times my phone calls have been ignored. And how many elderly parents do not get the care and attention they deserve?