“Do You Call Jesus Lord?”    09/24/17

Have you ever watched an orchestra playing?  Have you ever watched the conductor?  They set the tempo, they indicate loudness or softness, they signal when a part is to come in.  They direct how a musical piece is played.  Now imagine someone in the orchestra decides not to follow the conductor.  What do you think would happen?

Those who are Christians are disciples, followers, of Jesus Christ.  You might say that we are members of His band, and look to Him as our conductor.  The question is, do we really follow Him.

Luke 6:46  “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?

Jesus is giving what is often called the Sermon on the Plain, much of which is similar to the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew’s gospel.  He is surrounded by a large crowd.  Some people were affirming Jesus as Lord, even emphatically as the double usage indicates.  The problem was that they weren’t doing what Jesus said.  They were calling Him Lord but they weren’t living like it.  In other words, they were merely wanna-be’s.

Jesus gives a warning about these people:

Matthew 7:21–23  “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!’

James encourages us to put Jesus’ teachings into practice:

James 1:22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

What do we mean by ‘Lord’?

Some people used is merely as a title of respect

A person in authority in general

The One who is in charge of my life, give allegiance to – to truly call Jesus ‘Lord’ is to confess that we belong to Him, He is our Master and we are His servants.

The first step is to hear His word.

Today many church attenders listen to God’s Word the way they listen to a flight attendant explain an aircraft’s safety features—totally “tuned out.” That little talk has to be one of the worst jobs on any flight. The moment the flight attendant begins, he/she endures a ritual of frequent-flyer rejection. The shades go down in the passengers’ eyes, the newspapers go up, the headphones go on. One flight attendant, exasperated by the inattention, altered the wording to, “When the mask drops down, place it over your navel and continue to breathe normally”—and no one noticed!

Then we must do what He said

Putting His teachings into practice – some people know the religious language, they use the right words, they’ve got the talk but they don’t have the walk.

Having one’s heart transformed – not just outward actions, must come from a devoted heart.

We obey not to earn or deserves Jesus’ love but because we love Him:

John 14:15 “If you love me, you will obey what I command.

Jesus follows His question with the parable of the wise and foolish builders.  Both builders hear the word, but only the wise one puts it into practice.  When the storm came, as it inevitably does, only one of those houses stood.  It’s too late to lay the foundation when the wind starts blowing and the rain starts falling.  Jesus calls us to build our lives on the rock of His word.

What He said – earlier in the chapter

Love your enemies – twice

Do good to those who hate you

Turn the other cheek

Give to everyone who asks

Do to others as you would have them do to you

Be merciful

Do not judge

Forgive

Floyd McClung puts it this way: “Making Jesus the Lord of your life means taking time to deliberately reshape how you treat the opposite sex; how you are involved with the poor; how you view work, other races, your politics, everything.”

Why people don’t

Don’t know what He said

Goes against the culture we live in

Goes against our own natural desires

Don’t want to change

Don’t want to give up control

How we can

Realize what he did for us – how can we not respond in loving obedience?

Trust – God loves us and wants the best for us, will provide for us

The work of the Holy Spirit

Philippians 2:13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

Teaches

Empowers

Guides

All or nothing

Imagine if you buy a house, but the previous owner keeps back one corner of one room.  You might think, “That’s not much, I have the rest of the house, he can have that small area.”  Then he hangs a really ugly picture on the wall in that corner, or perhaps he decides to put his garbage there.  Would you agree to such terms.  Why do we suppose that God is all right when we don’t give him all areas of our lives?

Each day I try to live my life according to God’s word, to be more like Jesus not only in my actions but in my attitudes.  What about your life?  Would Jesus ask you the same question, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” How would you react?