What Does Lordship Require? Pt 1 (Sermon 5) Series

Lessons In Lordship Part 5

What Does Lordship Require of Me?

Introduction: We took a break from our series on Lordship back in June and now I want to return to that theme and share with you some practical connections to this whole idea of what Lordship means to us on a day-to-day basis. To ask ourselves, "what are the practical applications of Lordship?" I want to show you through scripture that there are ways you can begin living a life that acknowledges Jesus Christ as Lord right now.

Before we begin our study today, I want us to be reminded why the whole issue of Lordship is relevant. Many people are living as what we might call Sunday Christians and I want to show you a little video clip that I hope will help us focus on Lordship.

Video Clip: Calendar Christian (available at www.essentials.tv)

Any of those hit home? Well, if so, then you are just like me, and you are struggling with a Lordship issue. But that doesn’t mean we have to keep struggling. There are some practical ways to begin refocusing our daily lives on Jesus Christ.

There are 5 questions that I hope will spur us to rethink some of the choices we make on a daily basis. We will get started with a couple of the questions today and then finish up next week. The over-arching principle that I want to focus on is the fact that...

Acknowledging the Lordship of Christ is a Daily Exercise

Accepting Jesus as our Savior is a one-time event. We put our trust in what He did on the cross, dying for our sins, and in His resurrection from the dead—as the hope of eternal life with Him in heaven when our earthly lives are over. Once that decision is made it is made, but Lordship isn’t a “one-time” event—it is a daily reality of being a follower of Jesus Christ.

Because it is a daily exercise, there are some very straightforward questions that I think we should ask ourselves. Here is the first: The Lordship of Jesus Christ demands that we ask...

1. What Am I Holding On To?

Turn with me to Philippians 3. Paul through his own personal testimony gives us an illustration on how we are to apply this question. Paul by his own admission had it made. He was a powerful man who was on the fast-track to success and then he met Jesus and everything changed! Look at what he says starting in verse 7:

Philippians 3:7-8 (HCSB)

7But everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ. 8More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of Him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them filth, so that I may gain Christ.

Notice how definitive Paul was in these verses. He didn’t say that he let go of most things. He didn’t say that he was willing to leave behind a lot of things. He said that everything that was gain to him he considered loss because of Christ. What does that mean? It means that once Paul found Jesus his whole value system changed. Everything that he thought was worth something seemed meaningless compared to what he had found in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

So, what are you hanging on to today? What do you value most? Or, better yet, who do you value most? Here is the question that we all need to ask ourselves today:

Is there is anything in my life that is keeping me from being totally sold-out for Jesus? If so, then its time to let it go.

Another way to look at that question is: Is Jesus part of your life? Or, is Jesus your life? That’s a tough question. It should be! Being a sold-out follower of Jesus Christ isn’t easy. On one occasion Jesus challenged those who were following after Him to make a decision if they were going to truly put their faith in Him. When it was laid out before them, many refused. Listen what it says in John 6:

John 6:66-69

66From that moment many of His disciples turned back and no longer accompanied Him. 67Therefore Jesus said to the Twelve, "You don’t want to go away too, do you?" 68Simon Peter answered, "Lord, who will we go to? You have the words of eternal life. 69We have come to believe and know that You are the Holy One of God!"

Today we need to decide whether we are ready to give up control and allow Jesus to be the Lord of our life. If there are things we are still in charge of, then we are denying His Lordship, and to deny His Lordship is a sin! I don’t know what it is that you are hanging on to today, but it’s time to let it go.