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FALL 2007 STEWARDSHIP EMPHASIS
"STEWARDSHIP IS LORDSHIP" MESSAGE #3 OF 4
"WHY IS LORDSHIP NECESSARY?-PART 2"

GOSPEL SCRIPTURE TEXT: MATTHEW 7:21-29
DAVE RING, PASTOR
LOS ALAMOS 1ST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
SUNDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 4, 2007

SCRIPTURE TEXT: 21"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23Then 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. 25The 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. 26But 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. 27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." 28When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

MESSAGE: On two recent prior Sundays, one in September and one in October, I've begun leading us through our fall 2007 series of messages on Christian stewardship. The topic is "Stewardship is Lordship." In the first message, delivered on September 23rd, I introduced you to Lordship "Law" #1, which simply and succinctly states, "Jesus is either Lord of all or not Lord at all." Jesus is either Lord of all or not Lord at all.

On October 21st we began to examine the issue, "Why Is Lordship Necessary?" And with that message, I introduced you to Lordship Law #2. That "Law" says this: "If Christ is the center of my life, the circumference will take care of itself." If Christ is the center of my life, the circumference will take care of itself.

In examining the question, "Why Is Lordship Necessary," we've so far considered two issues that Lordship settles. First, Lordship settles the position issue. Until Jesus is really #1 in our lives, those who claim to be Christians will constantly be wrestling - wrestling for control. Only when Jesus becomes Lord in reality is the Lordship issue settled. Then -- Jesus is in charge of my life, period. Second, Lordship settles the "permission" issue. Does God have a right to barge into my life and upset my plans - with His? If He's really Lord, the obvious answer is "yes." His plans, His activities, His priorities are clearly more important than mine.

Today, we're continuing the "Why Is Lordship Necessary" examination by dealing with the "profession" issue. Most of you in this audience today are "professed" Christians. At some point in your life, you've stood up and publicly accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord. That's what many of us call a "profession of faith."

Millions upon millions of persons in our nation and throughout this world have made a profession of faith in Jesus at one time or another. And, unfortunately, a lot of us think that's all there is to it. I've professed Jesus, I'm saved, I'm going to heaven. End of story.

Not so. For Lordship is a surprising thing. Amazingly, it can even surprise the Lord Himself. Consider these words of our Lord from Luke 6, verse 46: "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord" and do not do what I say?" Even the Lord Jesus is surprised - surprised that anyone should make the effort to call Him Lord, but not do what He says. If someone is your Lord, you obey them, don't you? I mean, the whole concept implies it. So Jesus is genuinely surprised - that anyone would bother to call Him Lord, but not obey Him. Lordship is surprising - even to the Lord.

And Lordship is also going to be surprising to a lot of other folks, according to our scripture text of this day, Matthew 7:21 through 23. According to Jesus, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 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 perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'" You see, entering into the Kingdom is more than a matter of just glibly mouthing the word, "Lord." Profession with the lips alone won't get you there. Obedience to the will of the Lord will.

Lordship settles the profession issue. Billy Graham tells the thought-provoking story of a group of South Carolinians who wanted to go north to Broadway in New York and see the play, "My Fair Lady." About a dozen of them hopped on a bus and traveled to New York. But when they arrived at the theater, to their dismay the play was sold out. As they stood there, one of the prior performances was letting out and the folks coming there from were dropping their used ticket stubs on the sidewalk. A member of the South Carolina group had an idea. They gathered up as many of the discarded ticket stubs as they could. They also managed to pick up several of the programs of "My Fair Lady," and they even bought a tape of the songs. Then they went back to their New York hotel and learned those songs, as well as memorizing all they could from the program notes. When they returned to South Carolina, they told all their friends how wonderful "My Fair Lady" had been. They showed off the ticket stubs and programs; they gaily sang the songs. Everyone was fooled. But oh, how empty inside those South Carolinians really were!

A lot of professed Christians look "real good" on the outside. They come to church, they participate in worship, they learn the right responses, they sing the songs, they mouth the word, "Lord." They look real to you; they look real to me. But Jesus looks on the heart. "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." Lordship settles the profession issue.

Fourth and finally, Lordship also settles the "possession" issue. It's amazing to me how many Christians say, "Take my life, Lord, but keep your hands off my possessions." "You can have my soul, God, but leave my business alone." "I'll trust you with eternity, Jesus, but not with a hundred bucks."

One of the great stories of Christian history concerns Ivan the Great, who ruled Russia during the mid-15th century. Ivan was a warrior king who conquered numerous surrounding nations and made Russia into an empire. If you were non-Russian, you'd have called him "Ivan the Terrible." But Ivan was so preoccupied with doing battle that, as he approached middle-age, he hadn't ever bothered to get married. Some of his closest advisors counseled him that he needed to find a wife so she could bear him an heir, lest upon his death all that he had done should go for naught. Ivan told them that he was too busy making war to involve himself in finding a woman, but if they wanted to find him a wife, well and good.

So they did. Ivan's advisors found a beautiful young woman, the daughter of the king of Greece. The king of Greece was only too eager to offer his daughter in marriage to Ivan, for that meant Ivan's troops wouldn't be overrunning and conquering his land. There was one stipulation, however. Ivan had to become a Greek Orthodox Christian in order to be acceptable as a husband for the princess of Greece.

Ivan, surprisingly, agreed to that stipulation. He also figured that, if he was going to become Greek Orthodox, so should his leading warriors - 500 of them. So the king of Greece sent a cadre of priests to Russia to tutor Ivan and his men in the Greek Orthodox faith. A couple of years later, when they were ready for both joining the Greek Orthodox Church and for the royal wedding, Ivan and his cadre of 500 warriors marched south to Greece.

The king of Greece had arranged that Ivan and his men should be baptized en-masse in the blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea. 500 Greek Orthodox priests, in full robes and regalia, waded from the beach into the Mediterranean, each accompanying a Russian warrior in his full armor. They were just about to dunk them all under the water when, suddenly, the priest in charge called a halt to the proceedings. He reminded them that the Greek Orthodox religion forbade war, and these men, one and all, were carrying swords used for that purpose.

A diplomatic conference was hastily arranged, and negotiations went on while everyone held their places, standing waist-deep in the water. Ivan wasn't about to let his warriors give up their swords. The Orthodox priests weren't about to baptize a bunch of warriors dressed for battle. So a compromise was reached. As Ivan and the 500 Russian warriors were dunked under the waters of the Mediterranean, each of them pulled out his sword and held it high. They were all totally immersed - except for their sword arms. Christian history calls this the incident of the "unbaptized arm."

The application of the "unbaptized arm" to Lordship is obvious. How many unbaptized wallets are out there among us today? How many unbaptized checkbooks? How many unbaptized wills and estate plans? Next Sunday, we're going to ask everyone present to make a financial commitment for 2008 to the Lord and His work through this church. And some of you are going to fidget, and squirm, and squeal, and even lie to yourselves in order to avoid making that commitment. "Pledge to give to God's work? Life's too uncertain. Why, there's no way I could do that." And that really will be the case - for you - if you haven't settled the Lordship issue.

Lordship settles the possession issue. When Jesus Christ is really your Lord, giving becomes simple. Because you already know that 100% belongs to God. He's letting you use His possessions - houses, cars, crops, cattle, land, even your very life - for an indefinite period. And when He asks for it back, that's OK. It was His to begin with; it remained His throughout; you were, I was, simply privileged - by His grace -- to use it temporarily.

Lordship settles all the really important issues of our lives. The position issue: Who's #1 in my life? The permission issue: Who has a right to my life? The profession issue: Whom do I obey? And the possession issue: Who owns my life and everything in it?

Remember Lordship Law #1: Jesus is either Lord of all or not Lord at all. And Lordship Law #2: If Christ is at the center of my life, the circumference - everything else - will take care of itself.
Is Jesus really the Lord of your life? If the answer is yes, praise God! You know exactly what I'm talking about. But if the honest answer for you is "not really," then you need to settle it. Settle the Lordship issue. Settle it today!

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ….When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority…" Amen.

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