Preachers all over the globe have been shouting it, telling it and teaching it for centuries: Jesus must be Lord of our lives! Most believers today will be quick to acknowledge that, indeed Jesus is Lord of their lives, but have we ever truly stopped to consider what this statement means?
Today we will be examining what it means to have Jesus as the Lord of our lives, and we will also explore how we can truly be led by Him into all the blessings that His Lordship garners for us.
Before we can properly conduct a study such as this, we must first clarify what the word Lord actually means. In its most simple of definitions, a Lord is someone who has authority or control over others, such as a king or other ruler. If a Lord does not have controlling influence over a person, then that Lord is not a Lord over that other person.
In the same manner, God as the ultimate Lord, has power and control over believers who willingly submit to Him. This control is not as a dictator, although He could exercise it as such if He desired to – nor is this control to feed His own ego, although He would be justified in doing so if He wanted to.
No, this type of control is actually for our own benefit. The God of the universe, the one who set the stars in place, the one who formed the earth and the one who breathed His very own life into your body chooses to offer His leadership and guidance through this life in order to protect us from evil and guide us into all blessing and honor, simply because He loves us! Does that surprise you? Does it seem impossible for God who is so big to love us enough to protect, provide and care for us? Let’s take a look at Ephesians 1:2-6:
“Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
According as he has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Having predestinated us to the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he has made us accepted in the beloved.”
These verses make it clear that God cares very much for us. First we see that He gives both Grace ad Peace to us. The verse makes it clear that grace and peace come directly from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Anyone who looks in any other place or to any other thing or person for this Grace and Peace will be left lost and disappointed We also see in verse 4 that God has chosen us to be in Christ before the foundation of the world. This is not for a specific group of people, but this is His will for all people. He desires for each and every one of us to be holy, blameless and enjoying the fruits and benefits of His divine love.
My friends, we are so very loved by God. The word “adoption” in verse 5, is an unfortunately weak translation, as the original word carries a much deeper meaning of sonship. We are sons of God just as Jesus is, because today we are in Christ. Most believers still have not fully grasped this concept, and some even call it blasphemy, but this very sonship is what Jesus Christ came and died and was resurrected to give us!
This leads us into our main topic today: Is Jesus truly the Lord of your life? It’s a question that each of us needs to honestly ask, because if He is not Lord but merely a means to an end, then you will live a powerless and ineffective life on this earth and never truly know Him at all.
Something which I have mentioned before in previous studies but needs to be repeated now is, it is entirely possible to know of God, without actually knowing Him. Do you see the difference? Just as it is possible to know of a famous person, without actually knowing them. Consider the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:21-27:
“Not every one that said to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? and in your name have cast out devils? and in your name done many wonderful works?
And then will I profess to them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity.
Therefore whoever hears these sayings of mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man, which built his house on a rock:
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat on that house; and it fell not: for it was founded on a rock.
And every one that hears these sayings of mine, and does them not, shall be likened to a foolish man, which built his house on the sand:
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat on that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.”
What Jesus is describing here is a scenario of people who believe that they are saved by their own works and deeds. Yet in all of their working and their outward signs and appearance of holiness, they neglected the very heart of the matter: Jesus. So at the great judgment, they cried out Lord, Lord, but were turned away because as far as Jesus was concerned, they were strangers, unrecognized to Him – In other words, they had no relationship. Notice in verse 23, that Jesus calls living based on self-effort and works “iniquity”. The only thing that truly matters to Jesus is relationship with Him.
Sadly there are many believers today living this very same way. They claim Jesus as the Lord of their lives, but they are living entirely for themselves. Following their own desires and pleasures, and are about as alien to Jesus as anyone could be. Don’t just think of sex and other things that we typically think of as carnal pleasure here… because the ultimate way of living for yourself has to do with religion — trying to reach God by your own efforts, following man-made traditions and rules that do nothing to foster a real relationship with Jesus. My friends, being in church does not make you close to Christ. Just like any human relationship, the true key is to spend time with one another. We must build our relationships on solid foundations, and in verse 24 Jesus gives us the one and only solid foundation on which to build: Therefore whoever hears these sayings of mine, and does them… This is the crux of the issue. This is what requires both faith and true humility. Submission to God is what makes Him Lord, without this we are still living for ourselves.
What than are His sayings, that we are to keep and guard? If you go all the way up to verse 1 of the chapter and start reading down, (which I highly encourage you to do), you will see that Jesus is expounding on grace and mercy. Don’t condemn anyone (verse 1). The goodness of the Father and His willingness to give good things (verse 11). The way to life through Jesus, not works of men (verses 13 and 14).
So then naturally we must answer the question, how do we know the leadership and guidance of God? and Where does He lead? For the first question, Psalms 119:101-105 tells us this answer:
“I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep your word.
I have not departed from your judgments: for you have taught me.
How sweet are your words to my taste! yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Through your precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.
Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path.”
People tend to think that God’s ways are hidden and mysterious, but in-truth, God desires greatly for us to know Him and His ways. Yes His ways are higher than ours and His thoughts are greater than our thoughts, but they are not unknowable because He has made Himself known to us! This is the beauty, majesty and pure love of our God, to descend down to us because we could not in ourselves ascend to Him.
So because He has made Himself known to us, we can be confident of His will and His Word. We see from these verses that it is His Word — Jesus Himself who leads us. Remember that Jesus is the Word of God — it is a title given specifically to Jesus in the book of Revelation, and referenced all throughout scripture.
The way to be sure of His will, is to always be sure of what Jesus has accomplished, and what you have in Him, including your identity as a New Creation. God will never guide you down a path that doesn’t agree with the finished work of Christ or His promises. I have met people who claim that God is guiding them down a way that is clearly not in-line with scripture… but in actuality they are following themselves. They refuse to follow the Word of God (Jesus) in favor of their own knowledge, feelings and ideas; and as we read the words of Jesus earlier in Matthew 7:21-27, the end of those who follow themselves is quite clear.
So now that we know how leads, we must answer the second part of our question.. where does He lead? And for that, we turn to Psalms 23:1-3:
“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures: he leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul: he leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”
What’s the picture here? Three things as we close.
Abundance. I shall not want.
So many people love to say that God will give you what you need, not what you want… however verse 1 here refutes that idea. God will also supply your wants.
Peace. Beside the still waters.
Jesus is the very prince of Peace. The one who walked on the waters and brought absolute calm to the wind and waves, will absolutely do the same in your life, in your mind and in your heart.
Righteousness. The paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
God will always lead you straight into the arms of Jesus. Straight into His righteousness, the very best kind. And understand that this has absolutely nothing to do with works, efforts, man’s knowledge or man’s ideas. This is the righteousness of God. Jesus Himself gives it as a free gift. Not because it’s cheap, but because it is priceless!
My friends, God cares so much about you and wants to bless you so much. I encourage you today to follow His guidance, let Him truly be the Lord of your life and not just a side-show. I have seen so many believers struggling in their lives because they refuse to let God lead them. They refuse to listen to His Word (Jesus)
Today, if you are having difficulties in any area of your life, be it health, finances or whatever. Trust God, release your grip on it, and let Him lead. Even if that means letting go of something that you really want, or something that you think you need. He doesn’t require perfection (He makes perfection) but He does require complete honesty and openness. Come to Him without holding anything back. Stop trying to earn the blessings that he gives as a gift in Christ Jesus. Come to Him with all of your hurt, pain, struggles and mess, and He will turn it into the finest Gold. That is the result of Him being Lord! And this is what it means to have Him be Lord.
It’s not about you serving Him like a slave, but about having the true humility to let Him serve you with His righteousness, holiness and provision. Because He is God, and He loves to provide all things.