Philippians 2:9-11 – Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
THEME OF THE DAY: WHO HAS THE KEYS? Most of the time when we read today’s reference, we think futuristic. Nothing wrong with that. Every person who has ever lived will bow the knee to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and confess His supremacy. However, what about right now? Looking around the world, it appears the Lord Jesus is not exercising sovereign control. Sin and Satan seem to be running free without any divine restraint. Fortunately, our Bibles tell us otherwise.
From Paul’s sure-fire prophecy, we look forward to the time of our Savior’s establishment of His righteous reign; yet the wise Christian doesn’t just look ahead. He or she sees the Lordship of Jesus Christ now. We may without much effort look outside of ourselves and see total resistance to Christ’s rightful authority and cry out against such rebellion while failing to see the personal application inside our own hearts. It might be a good time to stop what we are doing right now, look down inside our hearts, and ponder, “Are the attitudes, actions, and activities of our present lives giving evidence of ‘bowing the knees’ confessing Jeus is Lord? It is those three things – attitude, actions, and activities – which define us far more accurately in who we are and what we believe than what we say we are and say we believe (Luke 6:46). I realize how uncomfortable that might appear, but the Lordship of Christ in our lives is not optional. We are bought with a price and belong to another (Romans 7:4).
A great example of total surrender is F.B. Meyer. He was a Baptist preacher and pastor of Christ Church in the heart of London in the nineteenth century. In the midst of a successful ministry, F.B. Meyer confessed that something was lacking in his life and ministry. J.H. Jowett recounts the following story: “Dr. Meyer has told us that his early Christian life was marred, and his ministry paralyzed just because he had kept back one thing from the bunch of keys he had given to the Lord. Every key save one! The key of one room was kept for personal use, and the Lord shut out. The effect of the incomplete consecration was found in lack of power, lack of assurance, lack of joy and peace.” I read a further account of Meyer’s struggle with surrendering all to Jesus. Meyer dreamed Jesus appeared to him one night and asked for the remaining key to his life. Meyer resisted. The Lord, with disappointment in His face, turned to leave the room saying, “If I am not Lord of all, then, I am not Lord at all” Meyers cried out, “No, Lord, please don’t leave” and in humble brokenness and surrender gave the remaining key to the Lord Jesus. Right then, the future certainty of proclaiming Jesus is Lord became a present reality in Meyer’s life.
Is Jesus Christ Lord? Not a one of us would deny that truth. We would even in unity of voices sing the song, “He is Lord, He is Lord, He is risen from the dead and He is Lord. Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” We would be right to do so, but what about that key ring in the “pocket” or “purse” of our hearts? The ring holding the keys to the rooms in our lives such as the rooms of our time, talent, and treasures? Has that ring been given to Jesus as Lord? It is one thing to say Jesus is Lord in life and yet another to live Jesus is Lord in life. May we not hold onto the key ring. I don’t know about you, but I sometimes forget where my keys are located. It would be far better to give them to the One who owns them anyway!
Prayer: “Father, may our lives now say the message “Jesus is Lord” not just on the Great Day in the future.”
Quote: “Jesus is either the Lord of all our lives or not Lord at all in our lives.”
Because of Him,
Pastor Jim