MATTHEW 7:15-23
15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
"The greatest challenge facing the church today is to reassert the Lordship of Christ.”
INTRODUCTION: A RELIGIOUS ENIGMA
Out of all the church members in America…
10% cannot be found.
20% never attend church.
25% never pray.
30% never read the Bible.
40% never give to the church.
50% never attend a Sunday evening service.
60% never give to World Missions.
75% never assume a ministry in the church.
85% never attend the midweek service
95% never have won one person to Christ.
YET
100% think they will go to heaven.
Jesus' own words were, “Not everyone who says unto me, Lord, Lord, will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven."
I. WHAT IS LORDSHIP?
1. Lordship is accepting the sovereignty of God.
Matthew 8:2
A man with leprosy came and knelt before Him and said, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
- Sovereign – one who possesses and exercises supreme authority over an individual or group; an acknowledged leader; a controlling influence.
In God you come up against something which in every respect is immeasurably superior to yourself. Unless you know God as that and therefore know yourself as nothing in comparison, you do not really know God at all. —C.S. Lewis
I saw in a flash that all manmade kingdoms are shakable. The kingdom of communism is shakable. They have to hold it together by npurges, by force and they cannot relax that force or it will fall apart. The kingdom of capitalism is shakable. The daily fluctuation of the stock market on account of a course of events is proof of that. The kingdom of self is also shakable. Center yourself on yourself as the center of self and your kingdom will sour and go to pieces. The kingdom of health is shakable. News media blares constantly about supposed health remedies to hold this physical body together, but in the end, the grim reaper gets us all. Every kingdom is shakeable except one–the kingdom of God. It's the one and only unshakable kingdom. —Stanley Jones
2. Lordship is placing God first in your life.
Matthew 22:36-40
36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
God has all of me that there is. There have been others with greater plans, greater opportunities, and greater potential than I, but from the day that I had a vision of what God could do in my life, I made up my mind that God would have all of William Booth that there was. —William Booth,
- Lordship is putting Him first and foremost above everything.
3. Lordship is accepting responsibility and accountability.
Matthew 25:14-30
14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag,[a] each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’ 21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ 22 “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ 24 “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ 26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
28 “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. 29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
They were the master's possessions, but they were entrusted to the servants. (vs. 14)
The gifts were not equally distributed (5/2/1). (vs.15)
People respond differently to what God has given them. (vs. 16-18)
You and I will be accountable for what we do with what God gives us. (vs.19)
All of us will be rewarded for how we developed what God gave us. (vs.20-30)
GOD NEVER WANTS BACK FROM US WHAT HE GAVE TO US IN THE SAME AMOUNT. HE EXPECTS A RETURN ON HIS INVESTMENT.
- Two men looked at the Master's expectations as a BLESSING.
- One man looked at the Master's expectations as a BURDEN.
TWO LESSONS:
1. Our responsibility is CLEAR. Develop the gifts and resources God has given you.
2. Our accountability is CERTAIN. One day we will give an account to God for what we've done with what He gave us.
4. Lordship is doing the will of God.
Matthew 7:21-27
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ 24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
- SEEK TO KNOW = LEARNING.
- ACT TO SHOW = LORDSHIP.
5. Lordship is personal obedience regardless of the cost.
John 21:15-23
15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” 16 Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” 17 The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. 18 Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” 19 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!” 20 Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”) 21 When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?” 22 Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” 23 Because of this, the rumor spread among the believers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?”
- Lordship is not "collective" obedience; Lordship is "personal" obedience.
LORDSHIP LAW #1
God is either Lord of all or not Lord at all.
Do I accept God's Sovereignty in my life?
Is God first in every area of my life?
Am I responsible and accountable to God with the things He has entrusted to me?
Am I "doing" what I know to do?
Have I settled the Lordship issue in my life personally? If I haven't, when will I?