IS JESUS CHRIST TRULY YOUR LORD?

WISDOM FOR LIVING DEVOTIONAL

DECEMBER 29, 2020

TOPIC: IS JESUS CHRIST TRULY YOUR LORD?

BY T. O. BANSO

“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46 New King James Version).

When preachers and soul winners invite people to give their lives to Jesus, they ask them to accept Him as their Lord and Saviour. But it does seem that not everybody who comes to Jesus actually does this! It does appear that some people only accept Him as their Saviour but not as their Lord!  But the Bible tells us that we must confess that Jesus is Lord or believe in the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved.

Romans 10:9 says, “For 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” (New Living Translation). 1 Corinthians 12:3b says no one is able to say, “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit. Paul and Silas told the Philippian jailer in Acts 16:31, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household” (New King James Version). The Bible refers to Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour (2 Peter 1:11, 2:20; 3:2, 18).

According to Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, the Greek word translated Lord is kurios, which means supreme in authority, or controller. In Matthew 28:18, Jesus said all authority had been given to Him in heaven and on earth. He is God. Colossians 1:15-17  says, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him” (New King James Version).

The Thayer’s Greek Lexicon defines kurios as someone, “to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has the power of deciding; master, lord.” It also says kurios is a title of honor, expressive of respect and reverence, with which servants salute their master and this is given to God, the ruler of the universe, the Messiah; the Messiah regarded universally, Jesus as the Messiah and of Christ.

The lordship of Jesus is beyond a title of honour or respect. It refers to His deity.  Luke 2:11 says, “The Savior — yes, the Messiah, the Lord — has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David!” (New Living Translation). Acts 10:36 says Jesus Chrst is Lord of all.

Jesus must not be only our Saviour but also our Lord, not in words but indeed. In Matthew 7:21-23, Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.  Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (New King James Version).

Those referred to in this scripture called Jesus, “Lord, Lord” but were not submitted to His authority. They merely called him, “Lord, Lord”, with their mouth but their hearts were far away from Him. Jesus said, “Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me” (Matthew15:7-8 (New King James Version). 

Jesus actually quoted the last scripture from Isaiah 29:13 which says, “Therefore the Lord said: ‘Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men’”  (New King James Version).

These hypocrites in Matthew 7:21-23 prophesied, cast out devils, and did miracles in the name of the Lord. That means they were not outsiders, like the seven sons of Sceva, who attempted to cast out a demon in the name of Jesus whom Paul preached. However, the demon leapt on them and tore them naked (Acts 19:13-18).

But no such scandal was recorded concerning these people Jesus talked about in Matthew 7:21-23. Obviously, they were not outsiders; they had a relationship with the Lord but they practised lawlessness (verse 23). They weren’t under his supreme authority. He was not their controller; they did not act as if they belonged to Him and He had the power to make decisions concerning them. He wasn’t their Master or Lord; therefore, they did whatever they liked. They didn’t do His will; they did their own will. They didn’t cultivate intimacy to know His will and do it.

Jesus devoted Himself to doing the will of His Father and obeying His commandments. He said to His disciples in John 4:34 that His food was to do the will of Him who sent Him and to finish His work. Of course, you know how important food is to the body as one of the basic needs of human beings.

Doing the will of God was Jesus’ motivating force. He said in John 6:38-39, “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day” (New King James Version).

Jesus didn’t act unilaterally when He was on earth. He acted in accordance with the will of His Father, seeking to please Him in all that He did. He said to the Jewish leaders, “And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him” (John 8:29 New King James Version).

Earlier in John 5:19,  after the Jewish leaders had asked Him a question, “Then Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner’” (New King James Version). Jesus did only what He saw His Father do. If Jesus is your Lord, you will do according to what He has said in the Bible and what He tells you by the Holy Spirit, which obviously will not disagree with the Bible.

Jesus said He loved the Father and as the Father gave Him commandment, so He did (John 14:31).  He told His disciples, “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love” (John 15:10 New King James Version).  Jesus never compromised doing the will of God in any circumstance.

In the Garden of Gethsemane, when His soul was exceedingly sorrowful, even to death, Jesus remained committed to doing His Father’s will.  He said, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will” (Matthew 26:39 New King James Version). He did His will to the end. His followers ought to make doing the will of the Father their number one priority otherwise they’ll be pursuing their selfish agenda. In John 8:31, Jesus said, “You are truly my disciples if you keep obeying my teachings” (New Living Translation).

Jesus taught us in the Lord’s Prayer to pray that God’s kingdom would come and His will would be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10; Luke 11:2). Without obeying the Lord, no matter how great the work someone claims to be doing for God, the person will still receive from Him the same verdict: I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!

In Luke 6:46, Jesus says, “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?” (New King James Version). In other words, Jesus says it is meaningless calling Him, “Lord, Lord” and disobeying His word. That word translated Lord is kurios, which as we have seen earlier means, among other things,  supreme in authority or controller. Beyond your confession, if Jesus is your Lord, He will be your supreme authority; His word will be final in your life; He will be your controller.

Jesus continues in verses 47-49 with an illustration: “Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great” (New King James Version).

You may have confessed Jesus as your Lord and Saviour but is He truly your Lord? Does He have supreme authority over your life?  Do you allow Him to control you? Or do you do your own will and pursue your own agenda? Jesus Christ must be your Lord and Saviour.

TAKE ACTION!

If you are not born again, you need to give your life to Jesus now. I urge you to take the following steps: *Admit you are a sinner and you cannot save yourself and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church. There they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.

Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto you today. I know I am a sinner and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and resurrected the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I surrender my life to Jesus now and invite Him into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank you, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.

I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You will need to join a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church in your area where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like the palm tree and grow like the cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The LORD be with you.

PRAYER POINTS: Jesus, I accept You truly as my Lord and Saviour. Father, forgive my disobedience and pursuit of my own agenda. Jesus, I surrender to Your Lordship. I will no longer be the controller; You will. Holy Spirit, I hand over the leadership of my life to You. Lead me to do the will of God absolutely.

(For over 400 in-depth and powerful messages by T. O. Banso, visit: www.cedarministry.org).

T. O. Banso is the President, Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
Phone No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523
WhatsApp No: +2349081295947
Email: cedarministryintl@yahoo.com,
cedarministryng@gmail.com
Website: www.cedarministry.org