CHAPTER 6
JESUS IS LORD!
“Jesus is Lord” is the beginning of every Christian’s Walk in the Spirit. One thing is very curious in the New Testament. There were occasions when even the LORD Jesus Christ could not heal people.
If Jesus is really God incarnate, why couldn’t Jesus heal everyone?
One clue occurs in the Book of Mark when Jesus visits His hometown:
BUT JESUS SAID UNTO THEM, A PROPHET IS NOT WITHOUT HONOUR, BUT IN HIS OWN COUNTRY, AND AMONG HIS OWN KIN, AND IN HIS OWN HOUSE.
AND HE COULD THERE DO NO MIGHTY WORK, SAVE THAT HE LAID HIS HANDS UPON A FEW SICK FOLK, AND HEALED THEM.
AND HE MARVELLED BECAUSE OF THEIR UNBELIEF. AND HE WENT ROUND ABOUT THE VILLAGES, TEACHING.
MARK 6:5-6
The people in Jesus’ hometown knew Him and His family, or they thought they knew Him. They could not comprehend that somebody they were associated with could be the Messiah. Their perspective was clouded by preconceptions. They lived in Jesus’ home town, they knew Jesus their whole lives.
How can Jesus of Nazareth be the Savior of Israel?
Everybody might be making a big fuss over Him in Jerusalem, but He is the son of Mary, He is just a carpenter, we know His brothers and sisters.
How can Jesus be the Lord Messiah, the Son of David? It can’t be!
Many people have also refused to acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord because of their preconceptions. They refuse to acknowledge that Jesus is Lord because of what they know or because of what they think they know. Jesus Christ will not interject Himself into a person’s life, if He is unwelcomed. God wants people to willingly acknowledge the supremacy and Lordship of Jesus Christ. Listen to the petitions of those who received their requests from Jesus in the Gospels:
AND, BEHOLD, THERE CAME A LEPER AND WORSHIPPED HIM, SAYING, “LORD”, IF THOU WILT, THOU CANST MAKE ME CLEAN.
MATTHEW 8:2
AND, BEHOLD, A WOMAN OF CANAAN CAME OUT OF THE SAME COAST, AND CRIED UNTO HIM, SAYING, HAVE MERCY ON ME, O “LORD”, THOU SON OF DAVID; MY DAUGHTER IS GRIEVOUSLY VEXED WITH A DEVIL.
MATTHEW 15:22
AND, BEHOLD, TWO BLIND MEN SITTING BY THE WAY SIDE, WHEN THEY HEARD THAT JESUS PASSED BY, CRIED OUT, SAYING, HAVE MERCY ON US, O “LORD”, THOU SON OF DAVID.
MATTHEW 20:30
They confessed He was LORD. It appears that everyone who publically confessed the Lordship of Jesus Christ received their requests from Him. Do not think that you will receive anything from Jesus Christ unless and until you publically confess that He is LORD! Jesus Christ is Lord of me and of you, Jesus Christ is Lord of North and South America and of Europe and of Asia and of Africa and of Australia.
Jesus is LORD of heaven and earth, but he will not interject himself on behalf of those who refuse to acknowledge His Lordship. However, once we acknowledge that Jesus is Lord, once we have submitted ourselves to his authority, once we begin relying on His Word, there is no need for us to remain in bondage. Regardless of whether anyone confesses the LORD Jesus, Jesus Christ is LORD over everyone and everything. Jesus said:
ALL POWER (AUTHORITY) IS GIVEN UNTO ME IN HEAVEN AND IN EARTH.
GO YE THEREFORE, AND TEACH (MAKE DISCIPLES OF) ALL NATIONS, BAPTIZING THEM IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, AND OF THE SON, AND OF THE HOLY GHOST:
TEACHING THEM TO OBSERVE ALL THINGS WHATSOEVER I HAVE COMMANDED YOU: AND, LO, I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS, EVEN UNTO THE END OF THE WORLD. AMEN. MATT. 28:18-19
You might think, wait a second, I was taught that Jesus delegated His authority to the Apostle Peter, not to all Christians. Let us read a verse concerning the authority of Jesus Christ:
AND WHAT IS THE EXCEEDING GREATNESS OF HIS POWER TO US-WARD WHO BELIEVE, ACCORDING TO THE WORKING OF HIS MIGHTY POWER,
WHICH HE WROUGHT IN CHRIST, WHEN HE RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD, AND SET HIM AT HIS OWN RIGHT HAND IN THE HEAVENLY PLACES,
FAR ABOVE ALL PRINCIPALITY, AND POWER, AND MIGHT, AND DOMINION, AND EVERY NAME THAT IS NAMED, NOT ONLY IN THIS WORLD, BUT ALSO IN THAT WHICH IS TO COME:
AND HATH PUT ALL THINGS UNDER HIS FEET, AND GAVE HIM TO BE THE HEAD OVER ALL THINGS TO THE CHURCH,
WHICH IS HIS BODY, THE FULNESS OF HIM THAT FILLETH ALL IN ALL.
EPHESIANS 1:19-23
You might say, “I understand from the Bible that Jesus Christ has all authority, but I am a nobody, I do not have any authority.” However, if you go to the next Chapter in Ephesians, you will see that all believers sit with Christ on the right hand of God and share His authority.
BUT GOD, WHO IS RICH IN MERCY, FOR HIS GREAT LOVE WHEREWITH HE LOVED US,
EVEN WHEN WE WERE DEAD IN SINS, HATH QUICKENED US TOGETHER WITH CHRIST, (BY GRACE YE ARE SAVED;)
AND HATH RAISED US UP TOGETHER, AND MADE “US” SIT TOGETHER IN HEAVENLY PLACES IN CHRIST JESUS:
EPHESIANS 2:4-6
The Apostle Paul is talking about all Christians. Sitting on God’s right hand signifies the authority of Jesus Christ.
Do you see that in the spiritual dimension, we have already died, been resurrected and raised up to sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus? In the spirit realm, in the kingdom of God, we sit on the right hand of God in Jesus Christ. It is God’s good pleasure to give us authority in His Son, Jesus Christ. We have all authority in Jesus Christ!
Christians have been delegated authority for a specific purpose. That purpose is to manifest the fruits of the Spirit and dominion of Jesus Christ over the whole earth in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. We are made kings and priests and our primary responsibility is to command that the devil let loose of everyone and everything he keeps in bondage that belongs to God.
This is also where it is important to understand the limits of our authority and the limits of the devil’s authority. Believe me, the devil also has authority in this world. If somebody is in bondage to Satan, like the children of Israel were under bondage to Pharaoh, they must believe and come out of their bondage willingly. They must confess that Jesus is Lord willingly. Nobody can be in bondage to the devil against their will! God, will not force people to come out of Egypt or the World. However, if someone or something is under God’s authority (all Christians), we do not need guns or baseball bats, we simply command and expect to be obeyed. God has the power to ensure that His Word, spoken by His servants, who He has delegated his authority, will be obeyed.
FOR I AM THE LORD: I WILL “SPEAK”, AND THE WORD THAT I SHALL “SPEAK” SHALL COME TO PASS; IT SHALL BE NO MORE PROLONGED: FOR IN YOUR DAYS, O REBELLIOUS HOUSE, WILL I “SAY” THE WORD, AND WILL PERFORM IT, SAITH THE LORD GOD.
EZEKIEL 12:25
God is not a finite individual, God is infinite and God is SHAD-DAH’-EE (ALMIGHTY).
SHAD-DAH’-EE; from shaw-dad’; a prime root; to be burly, i.e. powerful; the Almighty.
If God says he will do something, do not doubt his Word, it will be performed. That is why we must diligently search His Word. That is why we must know His Word. That is why we must memorize His Word. That is why we must speak His Word. God’s Word is the authority by which we act. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God and we can put our hope and our confidence in God’s Word.
Do you see how authority works?
If I were to walk into your house, sit on your favorite chair and demand that you feed me lunch because I am an employee of the Federal Government, you would quickly show me to the door or call the police. I have no authority over you while you are in your house. However, if I, or another employee of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, discovers somebody is trespassing on an Indian Reservation, as an employee of the Federal Government and as part of my responsibility over Indian Trust lands, I must tell them to stop trespassing.
Now do you understand why Christians of the present day are not able to do what the Christians in the Book of Acts were able to do?
Because many Christians today simply do not know God’s Word, neither do they know or understand their authority in Jesus Christ. Many Christians today do not take authority and speak God’s Word when the Devil is trespassing on God’s property and on God’s people. Many Christians today are similar to a policeman who observes crimes being committed all around and asks, “Why are all these criminals running around lose, why doesn’t somebody do something?”
What if I, as an employee of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, was lazy and ignored some rancher grazing his cattle on Indian land? What if I told them to pay me some money and I would look the other way? What if I didn’t bother learning the laws and regulations concerning Indian trust property? Would you say I was doing a good job? Would you recommend I get a promotion? What does God think about people who claim to be Christians, people who claim to be the servants of Jesus Christ, who never bother learning God’s Word and never bother speaking God’s Word?
I think I know.
I KNOW THY WORKS, THAT THOU ART