Jesus is Lord
October 18, 1992
[Preached at Morning Star Baptist Church, Blue Hill Ave in Roxbury, October 18, 1992 on the occasion of Pastor John Borders' 11th Anniversary Celebration]
JESUS IS LORD
Romans 10:9,10 If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and if you believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved.
1 Corinthians 12:3 No man can say, "Jesus is Lord!" except by the Holy Spirit.
INTRODUCTION
An anniversary is a milestone and calls for celebration, which we are doing. But a milestone is a reminder of where we are, and how far we have come, and what direction we are going. It is a time to make certain that we are on the right road, in the center of God's will.
An anniversary is time for a "tune-up." The idea of tuning up makes me think of the way a great orchestra works. Before they make beautiful music, they spend a good deal of time making sure they are in tune. [Junior high orchestras don't!]
The way a church gets in tune and stays in tune is by learning to say together, by the Holy Spirit, "JESUS IS LORD!"
If YOU are saying "Jesus is Lord!" by the Spirit— and I am saying "Jesus is Lord!" by the Spirit, then we are coming into harmony!
I am going to ask you some questions today, and the answer to every question I will ask is— "Jesus is Lord!" But you may have to think a little bit about just where and how to put the emphasis. I'll show you what I mean:
"WHO is Lord ? — JESUS is Lord!
"Who is LORD ? — Jesus is LORD !"
Let's begin by reaffirming WHO is Lord!
I. WHO IS THE LORD OF THIS CHURCH ?
- Who is the Lord of heaven and earth? (JESUS is Lord!) Who is the great Lord over all the church around the world, regardless of language, race, culture, or nation? (JESUS is Lord!)
Who is the Lord of this church? (JESUS is Lord!) Who is the Lord of YOUR life? (JESUS is Lord!)
- But who is JESUS?
- Jesus is the greatest teacher who ever lived. But that is not enough!
- Jesus is the sinless One; the great example for us, how we should live! But that is not enough!
- Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God; He is the CRUCIFIED ONE, who died for the sins of the world— for your sins and my sins; He is the LIVING ONE, whom God raised from the dead when He had conquered sin and death and hell; He is the COMING KING, coming again to judge the quick and the dead. THAT is who Jesus is! THAT is who we mean when we say, by the Holy Spirit, JESUS IS LORD!
Let's move on and reaffirm what Jesus IS to us?
II. WHAT PLACE DOES JESUS HAVE IN THIS CHURCH ?
- What place does Jesus have in heaven and earth? (Jesus is LORD!) What place does Jesus have in the TRUE church of Jesus around this world, regardless of language or race or culture or nation? (Jesus is LORD!)
What place does Jesus have in THIS church, the Morning Star Baptist Church? (Jesus is LORD!) What place does Jesus have in your heart and in your life, day by day? (Jesus is LORD!)
- But what does it mean to say, "Jesus is LORD!"??
What does it mean to have a "LORD!"?
- It is a statement of FAITH regarding this world as a whole; we will say more about that in just a moment; but
- What about saying Jesus is LORD in our church, and in MY heart?
"I don't want just anyone telling me what to do!" - As a matter of fact NO one likes people bossing him/her around.
JESUS IS NOT A "PRESIDENT," OR ONE WHO "PRESIDES OVER SOME SORT OF A DEMOCRACY." (What do you THINK about this, Lord? Maybe if it is a good idea we'll vote on it and use it.") Certainly there are things we vote on as churches— but we never vote whether or not to do the Lord's will! Our question is never shall we do the Lord's will? It is always, "Lord, SHOW US— and we will DO it!"
- Being totally Christian means just that— saying, "God, I want Your Son to live in me, by the presence and power of your Spirit! I WANT You to tell me what to do! And by Your grace, I will DO it!"
IS JESUS TRULY LORD IN YOUR HEART AND LIFE? THAT is where the real "tuning up" needs to take place!
Oswald Chambers wrote: "There is only one crisis, and the majority of us have never been through it. We are brought up to it, and kick back every time, until God by his engineering brings us right to the one issue: 'Deny forever your right to yourself.'" If YOUR heart says this, and MY heart says this our churches will reflect the harmony— we will be coming into tune with God's will!
We have been saying JESUS is Lord! We have been saying Jesus is LORD! But there is another word there, in the middle! It tells is WHEN Jesus is going to be in charge! When is this going to take place? Can you answer me?
III. WHEN WILL JESUS BE THE LORD OF THIS CHURCH ?
"Jesus IS Lord!"
- When will Jesus be Lord of heaven and earth? (Jesus IS Lord!) When will Jesus have control over His true church, His children all around the world regardless of language or culture or race or nation? (Jesus IS Lord!)
When will Jesus Christ be the Lord of Morning Star Baptist church? (Jesus IS Lord!) When will Jesus be the Lord of YOUR heart and life and mine? (Jesus IS Lord!)
It takes real faith to put this statement in the present tense. Particularly when our world is in such desperate straits. The writer to Hebrews said "We do not yet see all things put under the feet of God's men and women; the full, recognized kingdom has not yet arrived— BUT WE SEE JESUS!"
The wicked enemy of our souls is loose on our earth; wickedness abounds. Satan is called the prince of the power of the air, the ruler of this age. BUT BY FAITH WE SAY THAT JESUS IS THE OVER-RULER! JESUS IS IN CHARGE! JESUS IS LORD!
- But what about in YOUR church and MINE?
- It is a gift of faith to look to the past and see Jesus hanging between heaven and earth, dying on the Cross for you and me, and to truly believe that the Cross was not the end for a great martyr—BUT THE OPENING OF THE DOOR TO ETERNITY BY THE LORD OF LORDS AND KING OF KINGS! It is good, and it is right to say, Jesus WAS Lord!"
It is a gift of faith to look to the past and see the open entrance to an empty tomb, and know that THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS DEFEATED SIN AND DEATH AND HELL! In the Resurrection, Jesus WAS Lord!
- It is also a gift of faith, and even more thrilling to look to the future when our Lord shall return, and the promise is that EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL CONFESS THAT JESUS CHRIST IS LORD TO THE GLORY OF GOD THE FATHER! I say with all my heart, and I believe it is true that, JESUS WILL BE LORD!
- But what does SAVING FAITH say? It says, Jesus IS Lord! Right here and now, in the midst of problems! Right now, when the church is imperfect— (or isn't your church imperfect?)—but right now, I affirm that JESUS IS LORD!
- It is a gift of faith to look to the past and see Jesus hanging between heaven and earth, dying on the Cross for you and me, and to truly believe that the Cross was not the end for a great martyr—BUT THE OPENING OF THE DOOR TO ETERNITY BY THE LORD OF LORDS AND KING OF KINGS! It is good, and it is right to say, Jesus WAS Lord!"
Conclusion:
Jesus will use us when we say by the Spirit: Jesus can do what HE wants to do with us when we say by the Spirit:
Thank God Jesus WAS Lord on the Cross! Thank God Jesus WILL BE Lord throughout all eternity!
But by the Holy Spirit, we affirm that so far as WE are concerned this very day, Jesus IS Lord!
