Very
little has changed in my concern for the lost, as well as for the saved,
since I spoke these words to the Shelburne U.B Church, nearly 50
years ago...
I don't imagine that
many of us here today, think of ourselves as servants. We are free
men and women...free to go where we please, when we please. Free to
say what we think, without fear of being put into prison, or being
put to death. Physically, we are free...but are we really? Can we
really say we have obligations to none? We should be servants to
Christ, even as He has served us. We should be saying... “Christ,
let me be a witness unto You, even as you have been for me!” If
that is your feeling today, are you really a free man or woman?
In the Old
Testament, God is very deeply concerned with the needs of Israel. In
all their affliction He was afflicted, and the Angel of His presence
saved them, and in His love and pity He redeemed them. He lifted them
up and carried them all the days of old. Similarly, in the New
Covenant, God incarnate in Jesus of Nazareth is totally involved with
the needs of His people. Christ's concern for people is indicated in
the use of the title “Servant”. Though He is Lord of all, He is
Servant to all. Thus in all the gospels we find Him saying... “I am
among you as One Who serves,” and... “The Son of Man came not to
be served, but to serve.” We also have the unforgettable incident
just before His crucifiction, when He washed His Disciples' feet,
declaring in actions stronger than words, that true greatness
consists in service. No wonder Matthew saw in Jesus, the coming of
the promised “Servant of the Lord”.
The service of Jesus
was expressed in perfect love to God and man, and fulfilled the
prophetic pattern of Isaiah 61, which our Lord Himself quoted
in His sermon at Nazareth, Luke 4.18-19. Specifically, it
expressed a humble, obedient acceptance of His Father's plan...a plan
which could only be realized by the Son's submission to suffering and
death. In other words, Jesus is the ideal Servant of God, Whose words
and works are in perfect harmony with the Father's will! He serves by
proclaiming the reign of God, and as God, lovingly and graciously
taking the initiative to restore a lost humanity to fellowship with
Himself. The cross reveals, as nothing else can, the callousness of
sin, and the holiness of the Father. It provides the only way for God
to be both just, and Justifier of him who expresses faith in Christ.
The New Testament
has many ways of declaring this wonderful truth. In sacrifice
language, Jesus the High Priest offers Himself as a victim and
becomes and becomes the Perfect Sacrifice which takes away the sins
of the world! In legal thought, we are guilty sinners who deserve to
be punished, but the death of Christ erases the evidence of our
crimes! In law court speech, the Saviour's death puts us in the right
with God, so that no one is able to lay any charge against us. In
economic terms, we are hopelessly in debt til Jesus pays the ransom,
by shedding His blood. In political and even family terms, we are
enemies of, and estranged from God, until the enmity is overcome and
reconciliation is provided in His cross. And in cosmic language,
Christ won a great victory over Satan, and delivered men from the
demonic powers which had enslaved them! In these and other ways, the
early church sought to express the glorious fact that the death of
Jesus brings us pardon and peace. As Matthew puts it...”You shall
call His Name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins”.
So because Jesus has served us, we should also serve Him by making
Him our Lord.
There are those
among us who accept the humanity of Jesus, and recognize Him as a
great saint, and founded our religion, but do not regard Him as “God
with us”. On the other hand, there are those who say with their
lips, that He is Lord, but don't yield their lives to Him and allow
His Lordship to guide everyday affairs. So there are at least three
things we must consider today. First...
1. We
should make Jesus Lord because God has made him
Lord. Jesus is presented in the Old Testament as “Mighty
God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace”, and from His birth,
He was called “Lord”. And God made Him Lord in order that He
might save sinners. The work of salvation couldn't be done by one
less that God Himself. To deliver man from the bondage of sin, He had
to be bound and cast out, and only Jesus as Lord could accomplish
this. He fought Satan...the strong man, prince of the earth, from His
cross...and won! The sinner who trusts in Jesus is freed from the
bondage of Satan, and has the power to overcome him. And if Jesus was
not Lord, man would not be inclined to trust and follow Him.
2. We
should make Jesus Lord in order that He may truly be our Saviour.
He is Lord of all creation, in the sense that all power on heaven and
in earth belongs to Him! But His lordship means salvation only to
those who voluntarily make Him Lord. He will not save those who are
unwilling to be saved. It's impossible to have Him as Saviour while
refusing to make Him Lord of your life. The scriptures do not say...
“Believe on Jesus and you will be saved.” They say... “Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved”. He will not enter
the heart of one who is selfish, uncommitted and rebellious. When
Paul became a Christian He said... “Lord, what wilt Thou have me to
do?”
Making Jesus Lord is
essential to salvation, but we don't experience all of His Lordship
when we first believe. Every victory is not won on that day. Evil is
always present and we're tempted to follow our selfish and limited
wills, instead of His. The flesh is always lusting against the
Spirit. It's our duty to pray each day that His will may be done in
every area of our lives.
3. We
should make Jesus Lord of our hearts. It's not enough to
attend services and observe the prescribed ritual. Many have a form
of godliness, but deny the power thereof. If Jesus isn't Lord in our
hearts as we perform the customary ritual, it's only a show in “will
worship”.
All of us are
victims of the apparent...we're attracted to the sensational.
Children and adults alike, flock to the county fair, an airshow of
the Snowbirds, or to anything that appeals to the five senses...and
in religion, the same principle applies. Too many may attend the
church service to admire the fine architecture, a good choir, or a
stimulating sermon. Often there's little thought given to the
Lordship of Christ.
It's not enough to
be active in the committees of the church, however desirable such
activities may be...some are working for God, rather than with God,
and consequently, these are serving out of the drive of duty, and not
the lead of love. They grow tired and weary in well-doing, and often
want to resign, but religious activism isn't the answer. If you
really want eternal salvation, you can have it, just as we read...
“This is His command, that we should believe on the Name of the
Lord Jesus Christ”. And... “He that believeth on Him is not
condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he
has not believed on the Name of the only begotten Son of God”. And
if you disobey that command, you shut the door on your only hope. You
may make a profession of Christianity, join the church and learn the
doctrines, but unless you hearken to that commandment, it's all to no
avail! You have got to settle this in your mind...that you are going
to obey. Nothing mysterious about it. You needn't go to the library
to read up on it. If God calls you to repentance, then repent. It
would be your grandest day if you would obey His calling.
This life won't last
forever. One day the trumpet will sound and call you forth. The
graves will be opened and you will be called forth to meet your God.
The proud heart that scoffs at religion now, will be made to listen
to the judgement sentence of God Himself. The ears that won't obey
the church bell will be made to answer the last trumpet call. And the
eyes that behold evil here will one day gaze upon the spotless throne
of God.
May He help you to
submit in obedience to His calling, and to serve Him, without delay!
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