HCC Monthly Harvest Seed
Philippians 2:8-11 - And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Romans 14:7-9 - 7 For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living.
There is a saying that is famous in church circles – Jesus is Lord of all or not at all.
We love it we declare it but the question is do we live it and understand it.
Many people want a Savior but they do not want Jesus to be Lord.
One of the Hebrew names for God is Adonai.
The word “Lord” means “the one who has absolute power, absolute authority,” “the master.” It speaks of supreme authority, controller, ruler. One of the key aspects of Lordship is ownership.
When we say that Jesus is Lord of our life what we are saying is that we are no longer in control we no longer retain ownership and we no longer are our own master. We do not control our own destiny. All of it is in the hands of God.
Romans 14:7-8 - 7 For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.
Whether we live or whether we die we are the Lord’s. – We are His.
How we live or how we die is His choice.
The name Adonai means that Jesus is the boss, the King, the Master, The ruler and has the chief say so in our lives.
~ Billy Graham – “Ninety-five percent of church members live defeated, un-victorious lives because they have never made Jesus Lord.
~ George Sanchez wrote – Ninety-five percent of the problems that people have in their spiritual lives and for which they seek counseling are basically a poor understanding of who Jesus Christ is – He is Lord.
Jesus Christ IS Lord.
When we make a commitment, we are in control.
We commit to win souls because we decide to do it.
We commit to study our Bibles only because we want to.
We can commit to tithe but we retain the option not to.
When we surrender to the Lordship of Jesus, we are no longer in control and we are surrendered to a life of obedience and serving Him.
If we are committed to anything, we need to be committed to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
He is absolute Lord.
We have to surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ
Romans 14:9 - For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living.
Jesus Christ is called “Lord” no less than 747 times in the New Testament.
We do not make Jesus Lord; He is already Lord.
Acts 2:36 (NLT) - “So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!”
Isaiah 42:8a - I am the Lord, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another,
He is already Lord of all. Jesus is Lord.
There are only two decisions that we make:
Do you believe that Jesus Christ is Lord? Have you surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus Christ? Is He Lord of all that you have and all that you do?
Jesus died to claim us as Lord.
When He died for us, He was redeeming us. He is Lord because He died for us.
The Cross of Calvary says that He is Lord.
He has purchased us; we are not our own. He has redeemed us with His blood.
1 Corinthians 6:19 (AMP)- Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is within you, whom you have [received as a gift] from God, and that you are not your own [property]?
If you are a Christian, then Jesus now lives in you; and you are His purchased possession.
If you are saved, then you are under new management.
When we gave our heart to the Lord Jesus Christ, that was the last independent decision we ever made.
We are not our own. We belong to the Lord Jesus Christ.
This is wonderful because He knows more about how to manage our life than we do.
He alone can make you what He wants you to be and what you need to be and what you would want to be if you could only see it how He sees it.
The Lord Jesus has made a great investment in us. He died for us and bought us with His blood. His investment in us is such a blessing because it means that He is going to watch over us.
Ephesians 1:13-14 - And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his ownby giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. 14 The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.
When we submit to the Lordship of Christ, we are saying that we trust Him, we trust His promises. All of them. We trust Him not only for our Salvation but for everything.
We are taking Him at His Word.
The reason that many people struggle with the idea of Lordship is that they have no idea of what is in the Word. Or they struggle with taking Jesus at His Word.
When we believe, we are then sealed with the Holy Spirit.
A seal, as spoken of here in this passage, is a legal document.
This seal means the following:
If Jesus Christ is not Lord of our life, then we have no right to call ourselves a Christian.
Romans 10:9-10 - that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
We are saved by believing that Jesus Christ is Lord and yielding to that Lordship.
This is more than just saying that Jesus is Lord.
At the time when Paul wrote the book of Romans, to say that Jesus Christ is Lord could cost a person his or her life.
Caesar, at that time, was revered as more than an emperor, but was considered as a god.
The people of the Roman Empire were required to say that Caesar was Lord.
Christians would not do that. - It is not Christ - AND - it is Christ only.
The Bible does not mention receiving Christ as Savior.
He is Savior, but we receive Christ as Lord. As Lord He is our Savior.
Acts 16:31 – So, they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
We give all we know of ourselves to all we know of Jesus. We take Jesus and all that He is, and He is Lord.
We cannot have what He gives unless we accept who He is, and He is Lord.
~ Charles Haddon Spurgeon said that - if a convert declares that he knows the Lord’s will but doesn’t mean to do it, then it is our duty to assure him that he is not saved.
Lordship means our entire submission and obedience to Him.
Submission means that any other plans, desires and wants that we have will take a back seat to Him.
MANY people struggle with the idea of submission because we are taught to value our independence and our will and our stuff. We love the idea of ownership and my things.
There is no other ruler or King in our life, including ourselves.
Matthew 6:24 (AMP) - “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon [money, possessions, fame, status, or whatever is valued more than the Lord].
When Jesus is Lord of our life we follow His will. Lordship is not simply a matter of what we say but how we live.
Matthew 7:21 - “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.
Luke 6:46 (NLT) - “So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say?
There are a lot of people who are into confession but many are not into submission and repentance.
A person becomes a Christian by submitting their life as a fully devoted, committed follower of Jesus Christ.
A follower is no longer in the lead.
There is a great deal more that we will unpack as I preach this message this month.
I want to leave you with a question… Is Jesus truly the Lord of your life?
As we start the summer months know that you are loved by God!
We look forward to what God is going to do here at HCC. Enjoy your vacation. Enjoy some time off. Continue to make the family of God a priority in your life.
Blessings,
Pastor Marvin & Dawn
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
HCC Monthly Harvest Seed
Acts 5:14-16 (NLT) - Yet more and more people believed and were brought to the Lord—crowds of both men and women. 15 As a result of the apostles’ work, sick people were brought out into the streets on beds and mats so that Peter’s shadow might fall across some of them as he went by. 16 Crowds came from the villages around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those possessed by evil spirits, and they were all healed.
There are people that leave an incredible impact on people’s lives.
Just being in their presence is uplifting, inspiring, challenging and leaves you better for having been around them.
These are people that have cast a long shadow. People just get around them and their lives are impacted and changed for the glory of God.
Peter was this type of person. He was making such an impact that people had the kind of faith that if they could just get into his shadow they would be healed.
People are hurting, confused and need healing. Many are desperate enough to just want to be near people that can refresh them and bring healing. They are desperate for a touch from God. God has called us to be the Peter’s of our day.
A shadow is an extension of a person. Many people speak of shadows as a shady thing or a spooky thing. A shadow is simply an extension of who you are.
You can’t have a shadow without light.
You can’t cast your own shadow. You have to be positioned in the light and then that light causes a silhouette.
The brighter the light the longer the shadow.
The reason that Peter was making such a difference is because he was a person who walked in the light.
1 John 1:7 - But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
1 Thessalonians 5:5 - You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness.
Our enemy tells us the lie that he is doing his work in the shadows. This is a lie.
This is not so for the people of God. All that God is doing is out in the open. He is the God of Light.
James 1:17 - Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
(NLT) - Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.
"No shadow of turning" means that God is unchanging and consistent. The phrase emphasizes God's steadfast nature, reliability, and immutability, implying that His goodness and perfect gifts are constant and do not change.
1 John 1:5 - This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all.
Here is what I am saying; if you and I want to cast a long shadow then we need to walk in the light. The closer to the light the longer the shadow.
I hear many Christians who talk about wanting to make a difference. They are more worried about making a difference than they are about getting close to Jesus.
If we make walking with Jesus our priority, we will not be able to help but to make a difference and cast a long shadow.
A shadow isn’t about casting shade on others it is about becoming shade; a place of refuge for others when life is hard.
The Primary way that we cast a long shadow is by being a witness. It is our call to share the light.
Remember that light always drives out the darkness.
When we shine our light, it gives the enemy nowhere to hide.
Matthew 5:16 - Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
(AMP) - Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good deeds and moral excellence, and [recognize and honor and] glorify your Father who is in heaven.
What we say and how we live is a powerful witness. Especially in dark places and in the dark and difficult seasons of life.
Every time that we share our testimony we overcome the enemy.
Our witness and our testimony are simple – here is what Jesus did for me.
Revelation 12:11 (AMP) - And they overcame and conquered him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, for they did not love their life and renounce their faith even when faced with death.
We make defeating the devil way to complicated.
There are three simple things:
Do you know why the Psalmist says in chapter 23 that when he walks through the valley of shadow of death, he will fear no evil. – Someone needs to get this.
Remember – nothing can have a shadow without light. When you walk in the light; death is brought to life.
The light of Jesus overshadows death. – For the believer there is no fear of death because death is no longer shrouded in darkness. It is flooded with light.
1 Corinthians 15:55-57 (NLT) - O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. 57 But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.
I want to leave you with a thought;
A testimony begins and ends with God. In a biography we are the star of the story in a testimony Jesus is the star of the story.
People need our testimony. It connects people to God. It inspires people for God.
Remember the saying – no test no testimony.
People will always connect with God when they connect with our struggle.
There is something powerful that happens when people see the realness of our walk.
Cast a long shadow. I dare you! Get close to Jesus and watch what happens. You will naturally start making a difference in people’s lives.
May we see what happened in Peter’s life happen through our own.
Remember that You are Loved,
Pastor Marvin & Dawn
Image by wal_172619 from Pixabay