Which Lord Is My Lord Part 2
10/29/95 Psalm 1:1-6 Luke 12:13-34 Matthew 7:21-27
Last week we looked at probably the number one problem in the church today which is a lack of recognition of the lordship of Jesus Christ over the lives of those who claim to be Christians. The issue of "who is my lord" determines the way in which we are going to live our lives. Either Jesus Christ is in charge of all areas of our lives, or we are still in charge bowing down to some other master. Last week, many of you signed a check in which you declared that Jesus Christ had full ownership of your life.
Lordship settles the issue of who is going to be in control of my life and the issue of who has a right to my life. Is God going to be number one. Does God have the right to come into my life and use it as He sees fit. By signing that check, you were answering yes to both questions. Today we are going to go a step further in lordship by dealing with the profession issue of lordship.
When we submit to the lordship of Jesus Christ, it is no longer just talk, but action. It’s not simply nodding our head and saying amen, it is obedience. It’s not just saying Jesus is lord with our lips, it is saying Jesus is Lord with our lives. Now Jesus should know the most about lordship since he was the one teaching it. We’re going to look at a couple of Jesse’s teachings on lordship, so that we can have a good understanding of what Jesus intended for us to do.
Before we turn to the passages, I want you to understand that there are two surprises of lordship. When Jesus teaches about lordship, we will discover that there are two different groups that are surprised about lordship in what He teaches. The first group that is surprised is the lord Jesus himself. There are some things about lordship that even surprised Jesus. Let’s look at Luke 6, beginning at verse 46.
Luke 6:46 "Why do you call me, ’Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? Let’s stop here for a moment saints. Jesus is saying, let’s talk about lordship for a moment. I am a little surprised. I’m a little amazed. He says some of you, I’ve been hearing you call me lord, and yet you do not do what I say.
Even Jesus is surprised of people who will make a profession of his lordship and not do what He tells them to do. He says people how can you keep calling me lord, and you don’t back it up with your life. Jesus is saying, this just doesn’t make sense. How can I be your lord, and you’re not obeying me. Jesus is surprised.
In Luke 6:47 he gives us the test for lordship. I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice He is like--stop--, and then he talks about the two builders, but we will look at them a little later. In verse 47, Jesus gives us three steps to lordship. The first step is to come to Him for He says everyone who comes to me. Until you have come to Christ, God is not lord of your life. You may be religious or spiritual, but that does not make Jesus your Lord. You’ve got to come to Jesus and come on His terms.
He says the one comes to me and hears my words, there’s step number 2. You have got to hear the words of Jesus Christ. You’ve got to put yourself under a teacher and learn what it is that Jesus is saying. But that’s still not enough. For Jesus says , the one who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. There’s step number 3. It’s not enough to come to Jesus, or to listen to Jesus, you’ve got to practice what it is that you have learned.
Let’s suppose that I’ve been smelling under the arms. It doesn’t do much good to go buy me some good deodorant, learn about all the wonderful ingredients inside of it, and memorize how well it stops wetness and for how long it will do it, and then never use the stuff. I could buy bottle after bottle and show you how well I know my deodarants. But while I’m showing it to you, I’m still going to be stinking. One day someone is going to get brave enough to tell me, you’re stinking and you need to use some of the deodarant you’ve got before checking out what’s coming out new this week.
You can sit in church your whole life listening to message after message, but if you never practice those messages, you’re going to stink. We come to Him, we listen to Him and we obey Him. Now when we do those three things, we can say that Jesus is lord. It’s more than lip service, it’s life.
When you come to me, when you listen to me, when you obey me, Jesus says, now you are truly submitted to my lordship. But Jesus says, "I’ll be honest with you, I’m surprised. What surprises me is that so many of you going around saying Lord Lord and do not do what I tell you do. So we find that first, the Lord is surprised over some people’s confession of lordship.
Let’s turn in our Bibles to Matthew chapter 7. In Matthew chapter 7, we find that there is another group that is surprised in the lordship issue. We are going to pick up at verse 21 and look at 3 verses. In Matthew 7:21 Jesus is talking and he says these words. "Not everyone who says to me, ’Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ’Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ’I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Now let’s stop right there. We already found that in the issue of lordship, Jesus is surprised when people call Him lord and do not do what He says. Now He lets us know there is going to be a second group surprised in the issue of lordship. This is the group who think that Jesus knows them, just because they said that He was their lord. He says many people are going to surprised.
On the day of the final judgment they are going to come to Him and say, did we not prophesy, did we not do miracles in your name. Jesus you know me, I was vice president of the Women’s Association. I was in Pioneers on Wednesday.
I led the children’s ministry. Come on now quit playing, I was in the Men’s Association, president twice. I sang in the choir, remember how the church turned out last time I sang, "Oh How I love Jesus." Jesus think real hard, I was an elder, and served 3 terms. Jesus is going to say, stop it. be quiet. I don’t know you. Jesus is saying there is going to be a large host of people surprised over this lordship issue.
That reminds me of the other passage in Matthew that says broad is the way that leads to destruction and many travel upon it, but narrow is the way that leads to life and few are they who find it. Do you realize that both of those roads travel right through each and every church located on E. 105th Street? Both roads run right through this church.
Maybe this is the reason for those statistics I gave last week of 31% of our members missing worship over 75% of the time. 35% of members will never come to anything other than Sunday Worship service. 52% have not come to a Bible Study in two years and 68% have never tithed.
Maybe there are a large number of people who are coming to church, and even joining the church, saying words of lordship but not backing it up with their lives. Jesus is saying I’m surprised they can even do it. He’s saying they are going to be surprised when I look at them and say, I don’t even know who you are. You may be a church member, sitting in the pew, singing the hymns, actively involved in the groups of the church, and yet are waiting to hear the words from Jesus, "I don’t know you, depart from me."
In Matthew 7 verse 21 through 23, there are three things that Jesus says to us about Lordship. He’s saying, first of all, saying the right words will not get me into heaven. In other words, what you say, doesn’t make you a Christian, It doesn’t prove lordship. Just mouthing the right words will not get you into the kingdom. Not everyone that says lord, lord is going to get there according to Jesus. Jesus says just because you say, "I’m your lord, does not make me your lord."
We also see that doing good works is not enough to get you into heaven. Now that’s going to be a surprise to many. But in verse 22, these people are doing wonderful works. They’re prophesying, casting out demons, doing miracles, serving on the usher board, visiting the sick, serving on committees and the like. It’s no the fact that you work, even in a religious setting that will get you into heaven.
What will get you into heaven is obeying God’s will for your life. Not what you say or what you do, but being obedient to God is the key. If I obey God, I will enter the kingdom of heaven. This is what this lordship thing is all about. It’s possible to go through all the motions, sing all the songs, and still know that its just a show.
You know there are basically three classes of people when it comes to lordship. There are those who do not call Him Lord, and do not do the things Jesus said, there are those who call Him Lord, but do not do the things Jesus said, and there are those who call Him Lord and do do the things that Jesus said. Which class of people are you in this morning.
Let’s go to verses 24 through 29. Jesus gives us two illustrations of two builders. Mat 7:24 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."
Jesus was a carpenter so he knows about building. He says let me tell you about two guys who were very similar in many ways. Both of them were building a house. Both of these fellows had heard the word. Both of them had a chance to obey God. The difference was one built his house on the rock and the other on the sand. The major difference was obedience. Both men had storms come up in their lives.
It’s not an issue of where the guy who obeys does not have problems and the guy who disobeys does. Problems are going to come and all of us will be tested. The issue is not problems, but the foundation. Jesus says the foundation will determine the success or failure of our lives. The foundation is either obedience or disobedience.
So many of our spiritual problems and problems in life, could be settled if we simply chose to obey God. Our spiritual success is going to be determined by whether or not we choose to obey God. Nothing else is going to have that much of an impact on us as our obedience. We need to settle the issue of whether or not we are going to be obedient to God in every area of our lives. Your spiritual problems could be solved today if you would just say, "I’m going to obey God completely". "God you are the boss of my life."
God wants every bit of your life and I’m trying to push you off the edge to get you to obey Him. I’m not going to teach you easy believism. I’m trying to teach you the lordship of Jesus Christ, so that you never hear the words, I never knew you, depart from me. You won’t have to try to convince Jesus of who you are, because you will have already heard, "Come on and enter the joy of my kingdom, well done my Good and faithful servant."
God has done so much for us. It must grieve the heart of God to watch us try to get by with as little Christianity as possible. It’s like the groom I mentioned in my sermon last week, who promises at the altar that he will faithful 95% of the time to his new bride unless he’s tempted.
We try to bargain with God on the issue of holiness. God, I’ll keep my mind pure, but does that mean I have to give up all the R movies or just some of them. Do I have to give up all my music, or just the ones that’s filled with really bad cursing? How many of you would get excited, if your children said, 80% of the time I’m going to do what you say. Of if your spouse said 97% of the time you don’t have to worry about me doing wrong? Or if your friend told you 90% of the secrets you tell me, I’m not going to tell to anyone else.
God is looking for people who are willing to enter into a Lordship situation, not people who want to negotiate how little they are willing to do without to serve God. Why should we be amazed when Jesus says I don’t know who you are? When we try to bargain a comitment deal, its not Jesus that we are negotiating with. That’s done with a god of our own choosing. Why do we understand in other areas of our lives we have to strive for 100% if we want the other person to have faith and confidence in us, but we want to give God something less.
There is one more issue we have to deal with in lordship. Let’s review for a moment. Lordship settles the position issue in my life. Who is going to be number one. Lordship settles the permission issue in my life. Who has the right to control my life? Lordship settles the profession issue in my life? Who is going to enter into God’s kingdom. Lordship settles the posession issue in my life, in other words who is going to own the things in my life.
Jesus answers the question there of what is it that God owns. What does God own? God owns it all. Two truths can help us get this ownership thing in perspective . First he owns me. Before talking about the things in our lives, we must recognize that Jesus owns us. He owns in two ways. First he owns us because He created us in His own image. Whether a person is saved or not, he or she is owned by God.
Second, He paid for us by dying on the cross. Satan no longer can look forward to us spending eternity in the lake of fire with Him. Jesus has paid the penalty for our sins, so He owns us twice over. He made us and then bought us with His own life. If we have not settled this first issue of ownership, we are at best, a very immature follower of Jesus Christ.
Now that means that he can do anything he wants to with our lives. It means that if He calls me home this afternoon, I will not be going to work or anywhere else. This body will be in a casket, but I would be in His presence. That’s okay He owns me. Jesus said one of the most foolish people was a man that had so many possessions he wanted to tear down his barns to build bigger ones so that he could fill them up again. God tells him, "You are a fool, an absolute fool" because he does not understand, rule number one on lordship is that you are mine. You don’t get anything because I am collecting your soul tonight. Everhything you had, was simply on loan from me.
Do you understand that God is saying, all of it belongs to me. I own everything. I might let you use it, but don’t forget its mine. Sometimes others look at what we have, and they think that we own it. Dennis the Mennis embarrassed his mother and shocked his father in a cartoon when as they were coming out of church, when he asked the minister, "What are you going to do with my dad’s dollar that he gave to you in the offering today?" Dennis thought his Dad’s money belong to his Dad. From the amount his Dad gave, his dad must have thought the same." But the dollar didn’t belong to his Dad, it belonged to God.
Sometimes we treat God like we treat the waitress at a restaurant. We go into a restaurant and if the service was nice, we say, hey that was great here’s a five. We think of stewardship like we do a tip. Hey God what you did for me was okay, here’s a tip to show my appreciation. Saints you don’t tip God. You don’t come to church and say. let me see, what will I give God today.
Saints this issue of lordship and stewardship are serious business. Who is it that owns what. It’s the immature Christian that talks about 10%, do I really have to give 10% of my money. Don’t get shook up over 10%, God says He owns all 100%. It’s not yours, It’s not mine. How long are we going to be immature in our lives griping about giving God 10% when He gave us a 100%.
Some of us didn’t tithe when we were kids because we thought it didn’t matter. We didn’t tithe in college because God knew we needed every cent we got. We didn’t tithe when worked because there were bills to pay. We can’t tithe now that we’ve retired because we’re on a fixed income. We won’t tithe when we die in our wills because we’ve got to leave it all to our kids. When if ever do we intend to obey God in our giving. The reality may be, we don’t ever intend to ever tithe.
Can you think of anything more ungrateful in life than for God to give you everything in life, and then you turn around a gripe about giving him back 10%. Not everyone that says lord lord is going to enter the kingdom of heaven. Not my words, those are Jesse’s words.
The Bible says the kingdom of God is like finding a pearl of great value. A merchant went and sold all the he had to buy the pearl Jesus Himself is like a pearl that offers you joy, peace, contentment, and eternal life. The story is told of a man who saw this pearl and wanted to buy it. He asked the seller, how much for that pearl. The seller said oh its very expensive. Well how much. Well it costs a lot, but if you really wanted it, you could buy it because everyone who wants it can get it. Well if it costs a lot, how can everyone buy it? Very easy, it simply costs you everything that you have.
The buyer says, all right I want it. Well how much do you have. I have $10,000 in the bank. Good, what else do you have. I have $35 in my pocket. He’ll take that. Do you have anything else. Well I have a house. He’ll take that. But if you take my house, I’ll have to sleep in my garage. You have a garage, he’ll take that. But then I’ll have to sleep in my car. How many cars do you have? Two. He’ll take both of them. You’ve taken everything? Are you alone in the world. Well I have a wife and two children. He’ll take them as well. " What, there’s nothing left but me. Yes, he will take you also. You may take the pearl All of these things belong to my master now. He is going to let you keep all of them, but if He ever has need of them, you must give them up immediately.
Saints are you willing to give up everything for Jesus. You know the last thing people are willing to give up for God is their possessions. The greatest test of your lordship is what you are going to do with your possessions. That’s why God said, test me with the tithe and see if I don’t pour your out a blessing, because the Lord knew, the last thing you were going to give to Him was your money. Jesus said, you cannot serve God and money. Where your treasure is, there will be your heart also.
Years ago in the Greek Orthodox Church when Ivan the Great from Russia and his warriors converted to the Greek Orthodox Church, they all had to get baptized. But just before they were baptized, someone pointed out that a warrior could not be baptized because he would still kill other people. The solution with the soldiers, was for them to take off their sword and lift it in the air. The priests would then take the soldier under the water except for his outstretched arm. It became known as the unbaptized arm which meant it was not submitted to the lordship of Jesus and could still be used to kill and loot the enemy.
Saints do you realize there are a lot of unbaptized check books here today, a lot of unbaptized cars, unbaptized clothes, unbaptized homes, unbaptized relationships and unbaptized wills. We think that because we have come to the church and did some nice things, that we are going to be able to slide into heaven. Saints Jesus is either lord of all, or he’s not lord at all. Lord Jesus in the next few minutes, settle upon our hearts in a very special way. Move upon us to make lordship decisions. Not only will we say He is lord with our lips, but also with our lives.
