Taken from The Dawning of Wisdom Part 1 "Knowing Jesus As Lord"
Day 2
Having invited Jesus into our our lives brings us to the topic of not only knowing Jesus as Savior but also as Lord. This is for believers. Many do know Him as Lord, but many think they know Him as Lord when in actuality they have never really checked to see if they are truly under His lordship. Perhaps they have never been taught what it means to let Him be Lord or have never become aware of the importance of looking into this. The enemy of our souls would try to deceive us and lead us to believe that we are O.K., when actually, we may be missing God's best for our lives. And worse than that, some could even be missing heaven by false assumptions and good intentions. True joy of the Lord comes from complete surrender to His lordship in everyday life. Living a compromised life style will never bring this fulfillment.
The following scripture verses from the Sermon on the Mount caused me to do some searching, both in the scriptures and in my own heart. My prayer is that it will do the same for you.
Matthew 7:21-23 (KJV) "Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father
which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you, depart from me, ye that work iniquity."
Do the will of your Father in heaven.
If this doesn't bring the fear of the Lord to our hearts, what will? These are the words of Jesus, written in red and it is saying that there is the possibility that one can be doing spiritual things and religious activity and still miss heaven. If only those whom the Lord knows will enter in, who are they? Scripture is interpreted by Scripture, so I searched them with this question in mind, "Lord, whom do You know? Don't You know everybody?" I found that this kind of knowing is beyond just having knowledge. It is an intimate knowing found in relationship. I found this verse: "But if any man love God, the same is known of Him." ( I Corinthians 8:3 KJV) Those who are in a love relationship with Him are known by Him.
Love God.
Next question: what does it mean to love God? And the next scriptures: John 14:21:
"and He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him." verse 23: "If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him and make our abode with him." (KJV)
Find God's commandments and keep them by obeying them.
There it is. It can be summed up in one word, 'obedience'. The ones who will enter into the kingdom of heaven are the ones who do His will. Loving God is proven by our obedience to His will. Those who love Him know what He asks and they do it. The ones who truly know Him as Lord are the ones who are known by Him.
The ones who are known by Him are the ones who love Him. The ones who love Him are the ones who keep His commandments. Put another way, obeying Him through a love relationship means being known by Him. Being known by Him means He is our Lord and we have the assurance of entering into the kingdom of heaven.
Checklist 2
Have I ever really searched the Scriptures to see if my life is lining up with the lordship of Jesus?
Am I following other Christians I know or patterning my life after my denominational traditions rather than living how Jesus told us to live?
Have I thought of loving God more as a feeling than keeping His commandments?
Am I willing to make the necessary changes in my life or do I have certain areas that I justify in order to keep them?
Is Jesus the Lord of every area of my life?
Flossie Randels
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