Jesus, the Master of Revival

 

Some people have taught that to be a Christian, Jesus only has to be your Savior, not your Lord. I am left wondering, if Jesus is not Lord of those people, then who is? I think experience tells us the answer. If no one else is your Lord, than you are lord of your own life. But affirming that Jesus is Lord is not all that God desires. He wants Jesus to actually exercise Lordship over our lives. Unfortunately, although most Christians deny the false teaching that Jesus does not need to be our Lord, they also fall well short of living as though He is.
What does it mean for Jesus to be Lord? Jesus is Lord of heaven and earth. But this does not mean He only rules in a general sense, holding all things together. He is also Lord of every believer. This personal sense of Lordship can be seen in Colossians 4:1. Here the word for Lord (kurios) is translated, “master,” and it refers to the owner of a slave. Paul tells “masters” to treat their slaves with equity and righteousness because “you also have a Master in heaven.” The term, “master,” was used in the ancient Roman world for the father of a household. The father had rights over his children in some ways similar to that of an owner of slaves. There are examples in the ancient world of fathers ordering the death of an unwanted son, with the order being carried out without question. The master, whether of slaves or sons, has complete authority over his subjects. One who is subject to a master is not in control of his own life. His master is in control. His master decides what he will eat, what work he will engage in, and the subject must simply obey, no questions asked.

A lot of people fear giving everything to God because they think he might make them to do something embarrassing. I remember as a teenager being afraid that if I got saved, God might tell me to stand on a table in my high school cafeteria and preach the gospel. Because of that fear, I was hesitant to abandon all and serve Him. If we really want to experience God’s presence, then He must have permission to embarrass us, to tell us to do anything He wants, even to send us to our deaths. Anything less than that and He is not truly Lord and Master.

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