Spiritual Formation Part 8

Jesus is Lord

By Rev. Dr. Brent Russett – Asbury Free Methodist

November 20th, 2022

            This is the last day of our Spiritual Formation series. Some of you have told me that it has been helpful in your journey. I am thankful for that. It is always good to be encouraged in your spiritual life.

            If we were in a liturgical church, you would know that today is “Christ the King” Sunday. Today I want to teach in parallel to that – I want to talk about the fact that Jesus is Lord.

            When you became a Christian, you confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Romans 10:9–10 (NIV)

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

            The Lordship of Christ not only matters when you become a follower of Jesus; It is a way of life for the believer.

Colossians 2:6 (NIV)

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him,

            Not only were we to receive Jesus as Lord, but we are to continue to live our lives in a way that he functions as Lord.

            We, as followers of Jesus, are to live our lives under the Lordship of Christ. I will unpack what that means in a little while. But Paul says there will come a time when those who do not follow Jesus now will declare that he is Lord.

            Paul says in his great letter to the Philippians

Philippians 2:9–11 (NIV)

9Therefore God exalted him (Jesus) to the highest place

and gave him the name that is above every name,

10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

            There is coming a time when every man and woman, boy and girl, will acknowledge that Jesus is Lord.

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            Jesus is Lord, is the basis of faith. It is how we become followers of Jesus. It is how we live as followers of Jesus. It is what we believe will become self-evident when God calls his people home. But the idea that Jesus is Lord is extremely countercultural in our world. I want to talk about it this morning because there is always a danger of the world seeping into the church.

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            I think that the prime value in Canadian culture and society right now is what the philosophers would call the autonomy of the self. To put that Lanark County language – I get to decide for me. That is a foreign concept in a lot of cultures. People decide what is best based on the group that they are in, or the tribe they belong to, or the family that they are a part of. But in Canada, I get to decide for me is one of our highest values.

            You will see it in the discussions on gender. You will see it in the discussions on abortion. You will see it in discussions in education and in medicine. I get to decide for me.

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Here is what happened in our culture. We move from a culture of authority to a culture of authenticity. We used to have external authorities like God, like the Bible, like tradition, even the law. When I talk to seniors, most often, they tell me that they learned what was good and bad, right and wrong from their father or mother. You may have learned what is good and bad from your church or from your school.

            The point is that we learned what was good and right from an external authority. We learned what is good from someone outside of ourselves.

But that has changed. The authority of what is good and bad has moved from the outside to the inside. Good is now defined by what our authentic internal self wants to do. As the old song put it, “it feels so right, it can’t be wrong.” Good is now defined by what we feel is good. Truth is now defined not by that which reflects reality but what I feel is true. If I feel like a man, then I am a man. If I feel like I am a woman, then I am a woman.

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            I blame Freud for this. He got pretty much everything wrong, yet his ideas have created the culture we live in. Before Freud, most people in the West, whether they knew it or not, thought about desires through the lens of a 4th-century philosopher-theologian named Augustine.

            To Augustine, the basic problem of the human condition is disordered desires or disordered love. Human beings were created for love. The problem, in Augustine’s view, was not that we didn’t love, but we either loved the wrong things or the right things but in the wrong order.

            For instance, you can love your job. But if you love your motor boat more than your teenage son, that is a disordered love and will create problems for both you and your son.

So, in the pre-Freud West, human flourishing was all about saying yes to the right desires; the higher desires of love. It was about saying no to the lower baser desires.

The way that you would navigate your desires is through our mental maps of what was good and what was wrong. These ideas were handed down to you by a trusted external authority. For many of us that meant the Bible, the church, or our families or community.

            Freud’s thought was radically different. For him, our most important desire was our libido. He defined that as our desire not just for sex but for pleasure. But because our libidos, without restraint, would lead to anarchy, our parents and cultural structures forced us to repress our desires. And this is the key-for Freud—- he would say that repression of desire is the basis for all neurosis. Translation: the reason why you are unhappy is because other people are telling you, you can’t do stuff.

            Freud’s ideas show up in popular slogans and catchphrases.

-The heart wants what the heart wants

-follow your heart

-you do you

-and of course, “be true to yourself.”

            Do you know that that last phrase came from Shakespeare? It is from Hamlet. The original version said this, “Above all: to thine own self be true.” Do you know who said that line? It was Polonius, the fool. It was the fool who encouraged us to be true to ourselves. We just assume that the way to happiness and the way to a flourishing life is to follow our hearts.

            Here is the difference between those of you here who are seniors and those of you who are under forty. If you are a senior, you learned that it was your responsibility and the responsibility of all people to restrain their base desires. If you are growing up today, you learn that it is not only your right but your responsibility to follow the desires of your authentic self.

            Happiness has become about feeling good, not being good. The good life is about getting what we want, not becoming the kind of people who want truly good things. The self is the new centre of authority in western culture.

            Self is the new god, the new spiritual authority, the new morality. So now in this new religion of self, what our ancestors called chastity is now called oppression if it is externally imposed or repression if it is internally imposed. In this worldview where desire is the ultimate, then the ultimate sin is not to follow your heart. To question this is cultural heresy.

            Be true to yourself. But here is the problem with that – which self? We talked about those two competing desires. Which self do we follow?

            I encountered this problem regularly. I go to The Independent to shop for groceries. I get to the checkout counter and there are these magazines. George Clooney seems to be aging well. My desire is to age gracefully like him. Then I look just below the magazines and there is a whole row of chocolate bars. I like chocolate bars. Both those desires are my true self, but they are mutually exclusive.

            That is a small example. But my desire is to love my children well, but I also desire not to have to deal with their stuff. I want to be content with what I have and practice generosity, but I also want that computer upgrade that I don’t really need but would be really nice. Which desires?

            Here is what you need to know-our strongest desires are not actually our deepest desires. Let me say that again – our strongest desires are not actually our deepest desires. Ask anyone who has been to AA. Sometimes, the strongest desire is for a drink, but the deepest desire is a flourishing life without a drink.

            When people die, what do we celebrate about their lives? How much Netflix they watched or how much they were committed to fashion. Of course not. When people die, we honour and celebrate their best parts: love, loyalty to family and friends, humility, joy, compassion, generosity, sacrifice – all of which require denial of our base desires.

            Up until the last couple of decades, the idea of freedom was the freedom to choose good. We don’t just have to live out of our base desires; we can choose against those desires in order to live a life that flourishes.

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            Well, I could go on, but we live in a world where self is the new god; where I get to be the boss of me. What I feel is what is true. Contrast that to the primary confession of the Christian. The confession you made when you became a follower of Jesus and the confession you make as a follower of Jesus; The confession: Jesus Christ is Lord.

            I am not the boss of me; Jesus is the boss of me. I am led by Christ, not by my desires or feelings. I will only follow my heart as my heart has been transformed by God. Jesus is Lord.

            What is true is not what I feel is true but what God says is true. Jesus is Lord. Can you see how Christians are now extremely countercultural?

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            I have been a pastor for 37 years now. When I first started preaching about the Lordship of Christ, it was about a battle of wills. Am I going to do what I want or what God wants? Am I going to follow where Jesus leads? Am I going to give myself to him, holding no area of my life back from him? We called that total consecration.

            We would talk about not involving ourselves in the evils of this world but choosing to live a life which is good.

            But talking about the Lordship of Christ now is like a battle of wills on steroids. I am not only talking about battling with your own desires, but it feels like we are battling all of society which is saying your life is all about you, don’t let anyone put you in a box. You be you. We are called not only to choose a life that is good but we are called to live out a different definition of what the world would see as good.

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            For a number of weeks, I have been talking about spiritual formation. It is harder to become spiritually formed in the image of Christ than it was a generation ago – and it wasn’t easy then.

            But the markers on the spiritual journey are the same as they were before. We give our lives to Christ. We determine that God’s way is the best way. God in partnership with us, works on the different areas of our lives. At some point in that journey, we need to say – Jesus you are Lord of me. You get to say what is good and bad, right and wrong. You get to say what I will do with my career, my family, my money, my time, my sexuality, my dreams, my hopes and my fears.

            God is the same yesterday, today and forever. God’s word doesn’t change even though our culture does. The life you really want will come as you follow Jesus, not as you follow whatever your heart desires. Saying that Jesus is Lord may be countercultural, but it is still the best way.

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            In case you feel hard done by – this isn’t the first time that “Jesus is Lord” was extremely countercultural. In the late first century, in the Roman empire – to be a Roman Citizen in good standing, you had to go to the temple and declare that Cesar is lord. You would stand in line, burn incense, and make your declaration of the Cesar.

            Of course, Christians could not do this. They could not confess that Cesar is lord when their confession of faith was that Jesus is Lord. As a result, they were persecuted, hunted, imprisoned, thrown to the lions or burnt at the stake. Jesus is Lord has been extremely countercultural in the past.

            But it is the basis of our faith. The Lordship of Christ. The word “Lord” is used 601 times in the New Testament. Most of the time it is used as Jesus’ title: The Lord Jesus Christ. This title describes who he is. It describes his position on this earth and in heaven. As Paul preached,

Acts 2:36 (NIV)

36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”

            This is more than a title. This is who he is. This is the reality of the spiritual realm. This has been the reality of times past.

John 1:1–3

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all humankind.

            He was Lord at the beginning of history. He will be Lord when this world is no more. He is overall. All authority has been given to him in heaven and on earth. He is Lord.

            I recognize that as we look that we can see a lot that is wrong with this world. There are wars and famine and systemic evil, and personal evil. Some wonder, “If Jesus is Lord, why are all these things happening?”

            While Jesus is Lord, it is also true that Satan is the prince of the power of the air. He cannot do all that he likes, but he can dominate and manipulate those who have bought into his lies. Jesus is waiting so that more people will choose to come under his Lordship.

            While Satan has a measure of freedom, in light of eternity, he is on a short leash. Not all things that happen in this world happen according to the will of God. But Jesus, as Lord says, I will not let things go any further than I can redeem.

            For those of you who are followers of Jesus, the fact that Jesus is Lord Jesus as Lord does not mean that you will never get cancer, that you are immune to accidents, and that you will always be healthy. What it does means is that whatever evil comes your way, or has come your way, you can still know the plans and the purposes of God in your life. The Lord of life is in you, walks with you, and will strengthen you. He is the Lord of eternity, and he will make everything right.

God often does not shelter us from life’s unpleasantness. Other people’s choices still affect us. Our own bad choices mess us up. We live in a world that is infected with sin, and even creation groans because of it. Satan still roams to and fro, seeking who he may devour. But in spite of all this, Jesus Christ is Lord of all. He is Lord over all those things and more. And here is a trustworthy saying. If he can’t redeem it, you can’t experience it.

            The question every person must answer is, “Am I willing to come under the Lordship of Christ?” Am I willing to let him have his way in my life? Will I come under his authority and choose to obey what he says?

            It is important to note that you will obey what he says. This isn’t about obeying what religion says or what some Christian leader says; it is about obeying what Jesus says. You can know what he says because you have his word, and you have his Spirit. Part of learning to come under his Lordship is to be able to listen and discern what he is saying.

            This morning, I want to call you to affirm the Lordship of Christ in your life. I know that everyone here is at a different place in their Christian journey. But if you listen to the Spirit of God in your heart, you will hear him say, let me be the functional Lord of your life.

            I leave you with one final set of verses. Peter was writing to those who were being persecuted in the Roman empire.

1 Peter 3:14–15 (NIV)

14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.”  15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.

Sermon Questions – Jesus is Lord

1. What are you celebrating in your life right now?

2. What is your biggest prayer request right now?

Digging In

3. What do Christians mean when we say, “Jesus is Lord?” (There are a number of good answers to this question.)

4. Read Romans 10:9-10 Look at these two verses closely. What does the Lordship of Christ have to do with salvation?

5. Read Colossians 2:6-10 What does “Jesus is Lord” have to do with living out the Christian life?

6. Read Philippians 2:9-11. What do these verses say about the Lordship of Christ?

7. Why is the Lordship of Christ countercultural?

               -What is lord in our culture?

               -Where do you see this worked out in our culture?

8. If Jesus is Lord, why are there so many problems in this world? Does he promise those who follow him a trouble-free life?

Application

9. Read 1 Peter 3:14-15. What does this say about the Lordship of Christ? What would be the evidence of that happening in a person’s life?