Grab a Bible and turn to John 13. We’ll take a look at it in a minute. There was a lot of talk during the 2020 Covid pandemic about what was essential. Which workers were essential? Which businesses were essential? What were the essential reasons a person should leave their home? What was essential was being defined by fallible people, and what was deemed essential, by those fallible people, kept changing. The rules kept changing. It felt like a free fall to me. People were trying to figure things out in real time, and every day told a different story. I sure hope that kind of scenario is forever in our rearview mirror. It produced great instability in our culture, created much anxiety, and caused people to shrink their lives, abandon their dreams, and isolate themselves in a way that still impacts the way they do life today.
We weren’t made for chaos. The truth is, we need stability. We need something to count on. We need a track to run on. The fact that the sun rises and sets each day points to the reality that we were created to live with a rhythm, to depend on certain things. Let me say this at the beginning of this message: Truth never changes.
As I looked ahead to our remaining weeks together, I began to contemplate, “What do I need to make sure I leave the people of TVCOG with?” The Spirit said, “Make sure they know the truths that must never be compromised.” Truth will keep you grounded in reality, place you on a firm foundation and help you make forward progress.
That which is true, that which you need for life and godliness, those things are found in the Word of God. It is impossible to know truth apart from the Word of God. It truly is an anchor for who we are, why we’re here, and what we are supposed to be about.
When it comes to our faith, the number one essential truth we must hold onto and base our lives on and confess and profess is this: JESUS CHRIST IS LORD.
Go to John chapter 13. The scene is Jesus in the Upper Room with the disciples. They were having the Passover, the Last Supper, and even in those last moments of His life where Jesus was sharing His last words with His disciples Jesus affirmed His Lordship and He affirmed the disciples’ recognition of His Lordship.
Look at John 13:12-14 12 When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.
Jesus knew it was paramount that during His death and burial and following His resurrection, He knew it was critical that the disciples would remember that Jesus is Lord. When they would see Him be betrayed, they would need to confess that Jesus was Lord. When they would watch Him be arrested, they would need to remind each other that Jesus is Lord. When they watched Him be tortured and crucified, those who stayed to watch the happenings, would need to whisper with confidence that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Allow me to share some linguistics about that word, “Lord.” It comes from an Old English word which is hlaford. Yes, that is spelled correctly. Hlaford comes from two words, “hlaf” which means “loaf” and “weard” which means keeper. So, when you go back to the English word, “Lord” you will see at its beginning it meant “keeper of the loaf.” The “keeper of the loaf” was the person who guarded the goods at the manor. Whatever was stored there for use in the house was watched over by the Lord. It was kept safe by the Lord. Eventually, that word came to refer to someone who was a ruler, to someone who should be obeyed and served.
The Greek word that gets translated as “Lord” is “Kurios.” The Greeks understood this to refer to someone who owned or controlled property, such as slaves but in a spiritual context, the word is applied to God. At the Last Supper, Jesus referred to Himself as the Lord, the One who owns and controls it all! Jesus never wanted the disciples to forget what they had come to know and experienced as they had followed Him. They had seen Him exercise power over demons, power over the natural elements, power over sickness, authority and power over the religious leaders and even power over death as they saw Him bring Lazarus back from the dead. Wrapped up in this reminder that He was Lord of all was simply one final reminder before He went to the Cross that they couldn’t and shouldn’t believe everything they would see because Jesus was Lord, even over death. When they saw Jesus being tortured, they needed to hold on to their confession that Jesus Christ is Lord. When they learned the crucifixion was over and that Jesus’ body had been laid in a borrowed tomb, they needed to hold on to the reality that Jesus Christ is Lord. They needed to be reminded that night and claim that Jesus was Lord of their destinies as well.
Be reminded that Jesus is Lord, and He is Lord of your destiny. If He defeated death, He can help you overcome anything that has been dropped on your doorstep. He is Lord. He was Lord in the Upper Room, and He is Lord now. When you are grieving and don’t see how you will put one foot in front of the other and live without your loved one, you need to profess, “Jesus Christ is Lord.” When your health breaks and you are at the mercy of the doctor’s best guesses and have to submit to the treatment that has been prescribed, you have to confess, “Jesus Christ is Lord.” When your children are struggling or straying, and you have said and done all you can to convince them there is a better way, you have to pray, “Jesus Christ is Lord.” When stress at work has you at a breaking point, you need to declare, “Jesus Christ is Lord.” When there is more month than there is money, you need to maintain, “Jesus Christ is Lord.” When Satan comes at you and tempts you to fear, to doubt, to retreat or to violate the commands of God, you need to defy him and avow your allegiance to God by stating that “Jesus Christ is Lord.” It is the confession that will free you from the trap of the enemy and the confession that will fuel you for what is ahead.
Paul tells us in Romans 10:9-10 that this foundational truth, this belief that Jesus Christ is Lord, changes everything. There we read, If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
This is the bottom step, first base, the very foundation upon which all other aspects of our faith are placed. This is where salvation comes to our hearts. This is the moment the stain and condemnation of sin are broken off of our lives. This is the second when Heaven becomes our eternal address. This is the time when Jesus becomes our best Friend, and we become His disciples. When we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts that He has been raised from the dead, we are saved.
There is no salvation without this confession. I don’t care how good your reputation is, how clean you keep your nose, how kind you are to your neighbor or how much money you put in the offering plate, your heart is dirty apart from this essential confession that Christ is Lord, and a dirty heart will separate you from a relationship with God.
Jesus Christ is Lord, but have we submitted to His Lordship? Have we accepted Him as Lord? Do we recognize His authority and control? Have we given Him control of every part of our lives? Do our lives demonstrate the Lordship of Jesus?
I grew up singing, “He is Lord. He is Lord. He is risen from the dead and He is Lord” but do I live with a day-to-day consciousness of what this means for me in my life? Am I living “bowed down” to His Lordship? Here’s what I know: This truth is so essential, so central that when Jesus Christ returns, His Lordship will be confessed by everyone. It will be acknowledged by those who know Him and by those who don’t. Philippians 2:10-11 states, 10 At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
There are so many benefits to having Christ as Lord of your life that it breaks my heart that many people are missing out on them. Why not submit to the One who has all power and authority and yet loves you with a perfect love? That is the best kind of relationship to be in! To be in a relationship with a Perfect Provider who has perfect love for you is the best way to live. The way I see it, this Lordship thing is either now or it is later. You do get to decide on the timing of that, but you won’t get to decide whether you will confess Christ as Lord. You will either declare Jesus’ Lordship now because you submit to Him now and enjoy all of the good things that relationship brings, or you will declare His Lordship later after missing out on enjoying what it could have brought you in life, and you will miss out on what it could bring you for all eternity because those who don’t make this essential truth essential for their lives will be missing out on Heaven forever.
So many people are living without the most important relationship they could have. To live without Jesus is to live without the forgiveness of sin. To live without Jesus is to live without the power of the Holy Spirit. To live without Jesus is to live without the wisdom and council of God. To live without Jesus is to live without God’s favor. To live without Jesus is to live without supernatural power and peace to endure life’s trials. To live without Jesus is to live without peace and the hope of Heaven.
Our human nature doesn’t want to stand down, but once we settle who is Lord, Oh the freedom that comes! Oh, the joy that comes! Oh, the understanding that flows into our lives about who we are supposed to be! Oh, the purpose and meaning we find. Oh, the power we experience to get through life’s challenges and the sense of calling we have to help others know how awesome and incredible and life-giving it is to be ruled by the Spirit of the Living God.
I feel like getting t-shirts made that say, “Who’s your Ruler?” just so I can strike up a conversation with people about Jesus because the truth is, everybody serves somebody. Someone ought to write a song. Oh wait, they did. Bob Dylan penned these famous lyrics: But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes Indeed you’re gonna have to serve somebody. Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you’re gonna have to serve somebody.
Who are you serving? Who’s your Ruler? Is it your work? Is that what you are a slave to? Is it the opinion of other people? Is that what you are killing yourself for, making sure you look a certain way or are liked by certain people? How many hoops are you jumping through every day to try to make that happen, and how is it working for you? Who is your Ruler? Is it the substance that now has control of your mind and has overtaken the quality of your relationships? Who is your Ruler? Is it social media, video games, pornography, your desire to travel, or the need to shop and acquire the latest and greatest? To what are you bowing and bending? If it isn’t Jesus, you will eventually break because of it. Who’s your Ruler?
When we live to please God, we are demonstrating Jesus’ Lordship in our lives. When we live to please self, we are revealing that we are still on the throne of our own lives. If we truly confess Christ is Lord, we will be compelled to demonstrate it with our lives. Turn to Luke 6 where in a series of stellar teachings Jesus lays this one on the crowd in 6:46-49:
Luke 6:46-49 46 “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? 47 Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: 48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. 49 But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”
If Jesus is Lord in word only and is not truly Lord in our lives, our foundation will crumble in times of crisis. You see, it isn’t just the confession of our mouths that Jesus is Lord, but it is the consecration of our lives that reveals the truth of our hearts, and it is the living out of that consecration that will keep us standing when everything around us crumbles.
Remember, Romans 10:9-10 says we are to confess with our mouths and believe in our hearts that Christ is Lord. Well, how do we know if we are believing something in our hearts? It is revealed by the way we live, right? And here Jesus is asking, “Why do you call me Lord and yet you don’t do what I say?” There is no real foundation for people who don’t do what Jesus says. He is not Lord of those people. Those who have made Jesus the Lord of their lives will do the things He tells them to do, and THEY will weather the storms of life with peace and joy.
“Christ is Lord” isn’t just a ritual affirmation. It isn’t a casual statement. It isn’t an initiation motto so that you can say you are part of a church. It isn’t something you can say unconsciously or without intention if it is going to have any power, any efficacy. No, when we say “Jesus Christ is Lord” it’s because we intend to live that confession out. It means we have taken it to heart.
How is your life revealing right now that Jesus Christ is Lord? People without God need to see Him. People without God are wondering how there could be a God right now when there is so much disruption and disappointment and suffering going on. Remember, I said earlier that Jesus counseled the disciples not to put their trust in what they would see. Anything we see going on around us doesn’t change or diminish Jesus’ Lordship, and we are the ones whose lives have to reveal that Christ is alive and that He is Lord.
If Jesus is Lord in our lives, it will be known to the people in our lives. It won’t be a secret. The way we live will look different from the way unbelievers live when times are good and when times are tough. We shouldn’t be like the grumbling and complaining Israelites. They didn’t like what was on the menu when God supplied Manna for them to eat during a time in which they were traveling. He gave them what they needed to sustain them, but instead of allowing God to be God and allowing God to call the shots about what would be consumed, they complained. What did that say about their submission to God during that time?
The fact that you may not like your current situation doesn’t change the fact that Jesus is Lord and that you are called to live that out.
Matthew 7:21 is telling. 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”
What is God’s will for us during distressing times and any time? God’s will is for us to do the things He has already said. It is that simple. Stop worrying about what God wants from you in a year or five years or ten years and do what He has already revealed to you through His Word!
Read through the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, 6, and 7. Those chapters detail God’s will for us no matter the circumstances. For if Jesus Christ is Lord in our lives, love will be our hallmark, generosity will be our calling card, peace will be the gift we give to everyone we meet, we won’t be preoccupied with darkness and the temptations Satan dangles in front of us, but we will be earnestly seeking to live by God’s righteous standards, and joy and thanksgiving will exude from our lips. We will seek to live like Jesus and guess what? Jesus never panicked. He never panicked because He was and is Lord.
You confess Christ is Lord with your mouth, but you confess Christ is Lord of you with your life. Does your life confess and profess that Jesus Christ is Lord?
Are you spending your time and money in congruence with Jesus’ Lordship? Does the way you serve point to the Lordship of Christ? Do the things you say prove that you are living under the Lord’s control? Do the places you go reflect God is directing your steps? Are the dark places of this world impacted by the Light you carry? Do the people you live near, work with, and hang out with know you are a Christian?
Christ IS Lord. Let’s live to make it known to the world.
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