Obviously, when we think about the resurrection of Christ, we think about our risen Saviour,
our living God, and how He had victory over the grave and over death, and we rejoice in that fact.
And of course, when we think about the whole reason Jesus Christ died on the cross was to give
us salvation. You say, well, what is the primary reason? Of course, salvation is the primary reason.
Say, what are some other reasons that the Lord God may have resurrected from the dead? You say,
well, by the power of His resurrection, that demonstrates that one day, by His power,
we too will be resurrected. We too will have a body like unto Christ. And yes, that's exciting
as well. And so I trust that most of you, if not all of you, besides maybe the youngest children,
are saved today. And yes, the resurrection of the Lord demonstrates that you can be saved.
Okay, that if Christ was not risen from the dead, the Bible says you are yet in your sins. And so
if you put your faith and trust in Jesus, you are saved. Hey, but that was sometime in the past
that you've caught upon the Lord and been saved. You say, well, what other aspects of Christ's
resurrection is important to us? I've mentioned the fact that one day Christ is coming back and
He's going to give us new resurrected bodies. Yes, that's great. That's sometime in the future,
though, right? So that's sometime in the past that you got saved and sometime in the future
when you're expecting your resurrection to take place. But what about today?
What does the resurrection of the Lord mean for you today? And Romans 14 answers that question
for you. It says there in Romans 14, verse number nine, for to this end, or for this purpose, okay,
for this end, Christ both died and rose and revived, look at this, that He might be Lord,
both of the dead and living. How does the resurrection of the Lord apply to us today?
For this end, this is the purpose that He died and rose again, that He might be Lord.
See the Lord God, Jesus Christ, He wants to be Lord. He wants to be Lord. The title for the
sermon this morning is that He might be Lord, that He might be Lord. Yes, Lord, both of the dead
and the living. You're living right now. Jesus Christ wants to be the Lord in your life today.
And I don't want to confuse the topic of salvation. Some people confuse the topic
of salvation by saying, in order to be saved, you must make Jesus the Lord of your life. Have
you heard that before? In order for you to be saved, you must make Him the Lord of your life.
This is known as lordship salvation. And of course, what does it mean to be the Lord?
The Lord means that He's the ruler, that you're subject unto Him, that you obey Him,
that you walk the steps of your life according to His ways. That's what it means to make Him the
Lord. But is that how you get saved? Do you get saved out of obedience? Do you get saved out of
living a Christian life? Do you get saved out of following the steps of Christ? No, that is not
salvation. Salvation is based on the finished work of Christ, a done deal, a one-time moment that
you've put your faith and trust on Him, and that you've received His payment for your sins on the
cross. And so we don't want to confuse the lordship of Christ with salvation. That's done with.
But now that you are saved, you see, Paul is right into the Colossian Church.
These are people that are saved. He says, look, the whole purpose that Christ rose and is living
today is that He can be the Lord of the living. As you live this earth today, as you're living this
very Sunday, Jesus Christ wants to be the Lord, okay? And I said to you, the Lord means to have
the rule or to have the the minion over, the minion over. So the moment you get saved, praise God,
you don't have to, you have, of course, you have to accept Him the Lord because He is the Lord God.
He is our Lord God. He's our Savior. But in order to live a life that pleases Him, in order to live
a life that reflects the resurrection of Christ, we must make Him Lord. We must make Him the ruler
of our life. We must allow Him to have dominion over our decisions in life.
Now I'm going to just say then Romans 14 because we will continue. But let me just quickly read to
you from Colossians 1 16. It says, for by Him, by Jesus that is, were all things created that are
in heaven and that are in earth. That's you. You're on earth right now. Visible and invisible,
whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were
created by Him and for Him. Why were you created? Why were you born from your mother?
You were created for Him. You were created for Jesus. It says, and He's before all things,
and by Him all things consist. For He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning,
the first one from the dead. And then it says these words, that in all things, He might have
the preeminence. Reverend, in all things of your life today, as you live this life today,
Jesus Christ must have the preeminence. That's the whole purpose. That's the end of His resurrection.
Yes, the Savior. Yes, to give you resurrected bodies. But that He would be the Lord today.
That His resurrection will be powerful in your life today. That you know you serve a risen Savior
and you've allowed Him to be your Lord. That He has the preeminence in all things.
Hey, you ought to have the preeminence in the house of God, in the church. Amen. You know,
church is about the Lord Jesus Christ, not about any individual person in this church.
It's certainly not about the pastor. It's about Jesus Christ. But you know what? Even when you
leave church, you know, on your drive home, it ought to be about the Lord. When you get home,
it ought to be about the Lord. When you go about your business, it ought to be about the Lord.
Every aspect, your relationships, your marriage, it ought to be about the Lord.
Raising your children, it ought to be about the Lord. How far do we take this principle?
Well, yesterday in Romans 14, let's backtrack a little bit before we got to verse number nine.
Because you know, with verse number nine, it says, for this and for, so it's a conjunction,
it's continuing our thoughts. Okay, so let's figure out where this thought begins. And
let's start there in verse number six, Romans 14, verse number six. This is speaking about us as
individuals. And it says, for by Him, sorry, sorry, He that regardeth the day, it says,
verse number six, He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord. And He that regardeth
not the day, to the Lord, doth not regard it. All right, so let's think about this for a moment.
The Lord has given us a life, okay? Some of us might regard a day over another. You know,
some people celebrate birthdays, you know, some people don't celebrate birthdays. I'm not sure
why you wouldn't want to celebrate birthdays. But hey, if someone doesn't want to regard it,
hey, if you don't regard a certain day, to the Lord, he doth not regard it. You know,
whatever decision you make, whatever days you decide to celebrate, and I think it's good to
celebrate Easter, because Christ did teach us to remember His death. Okay, but you know,
we know that the Lord does not necessarily command us to celebrate Christmas. You know,
there are other days that we might celebrate, like Australia Day, or whatever, whatever other public
holidays that might exist, and you might enjoy it, or you may, you may say, well, it's just any
other day to me, I don't care. Look, what we see here is that whatever decision you make, whatever
day you decide to be special, or you say just any other day, we do it unto the Lord is the point.
And the other point here is, you know, I often teach how we're all different. And you know,
I don't want you to be this cookie cutter Christian, unless the cookie cutter is Jesus.
Okay, that makes sense. But I want, I don't want us to be a cookie cutter Christian,
where we just follow a trend of a certain movement, or a certain people, or a certain
church, or a certain pastor, because there are many ways to do things in life. I've always hated
in my mind, the cookie mentality, the cookie cutter mentality, where everybody has to be
alike. Well, you know what, if one person regards a day, and says this day is special, one person
says, you know, it's just any other day to me, that's pretty opposite. It's not like just a
slight variation of our way of living. I mean, it's a completely different way of living,
where someone, you know, celebrates one day and one says, you know what, I don't want to.
But regardless of how you do it, you do it unto the Lord. You know what, I don't want to celebrate
that Lord. You know what, and in that decision, I'm doing it unto the Lord. Say, well, I want to
celebrate this day. And as I celebrate this day, I want to do it as unto the Lord. I want to make
sure the Lord has the preeminence. That's what it means to make Jesus your Lord, that whatever
decision you make, even if you and I make completely opposite decisions in life, that we do
it unto the Lord. And this is why we cannot be cookie cutter Christians. Okay, we can't, we can't
just, you know, act the same and do the same. And if someone just steps out of line, they must not
be right or something. They don't fit the IFB mode, or they don't fit the new IFB mode, or they
don't fit the new Life Baptist Church mode, or, you know, they don't fit, you know, the standard
of living or pastors of pulvera, or something like that. I've preached so many sermons on this,
because I just see this as a problem in the lives of Christians, where someone does something
completely opposite, and they think there's something wrong with them, or you look down on
them, or you criticise them, but they might be doing it unto the Lord. What's it to you? Okay,
look, if you are steadfast and sure that what you're doing is unto the Lord, then praise God for you.
You do what is right then, according to your view, as long as, of course, it's not sinful.
Of course, you can't commit sin and say, well, that's unto the Lord. Or, you know what, I'm
going to tattoo my arm unto the Lord. I'm going to make sure I put the Lord's name, you know,
and a cross on my arm, and I'm just, it's all unto the Lord. No, you're doing things contrary
to God's words at that point. Okay, you know, we know definitely that God does not want us to sin.
He wants to have victory over sin. But, you know, that is the way of many Christians today,
to commit sin, to do things that are contrary to God's ways, and say, well, I'm doing it unto the
Lord. No, you're doing it unto yourself. But I'm showing you that it is possible to do completely
opposite things, and still for those opposite things to be unto the Lord. And so how can we
have a cookie cutter mentality? You see, the whole purpose that Christ rose from the dead,
you know, to live again, is to give us life and abundant life. And I want you to enjoy life. Like,
I actually really want you to enjoy life. And I'm not talking about the charismatic way of living,
right? The prosperity gospel way of living. But I'm saying, look, there are so many ways to do
things. But whatever way you decide, do it unto the Lord. Right? Because Christ wants to be Lord.
Whatever decision you make in your life, do it unto the Lord. What I didn't finish verse number
six, let's continue that in the middle of it says, he that eateth, eateth to the Lord. So
whatever you eat, brethren, say, Lord, I give you thanks for what you've given me. All right? For
he giveth God thanks, and he that eateth not to the Lord, he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.
Brethren, we don't have to have the same diet. You know that? I don't need to push my diet on you.
And you don't need to push your diet on me. Okay? If you have your special diet, whatever it is,
okay? You might say, pastor, you know, all I do is eat organic, you know, I don't know. Or I just
eat my own backyard product projects because I can't trust what's on the shelves. Well,
give God thanks. Give God thanks that you can do such things. But you know, others that decide not
to eat that way, or decide to eat different foods to you, you know what, they are to give God thanks
as well. Do it unto the Lord is what I'm saying. Don't do it unto man. Don't do it to please a man.
Don't do it to try to fit some cookie cutter system that you're trying to live. Do it unto
the Lord. You know, God has commanded us to eat all things and to give God thanks.
You know, to sanctify anything we eat with prayer and thanksgiving.
But again, complete opposite ways of living, complete opposite ways of acknowledging certain
things or not. And I want you to really, I really want, at least my church, because I know not
everybody's gonna, I want you guys to just, you know what, if brother so and so, or sisters so
and so, or family so and so, are living a life that just seems completely opposite to me. It
doesn't mean they're in sin. Just accept, well, they're doing that unto the Lord. And you know
what, my life, I'm going to do it unto the Lord. We don't have to come to Pastor Kevin Zepulveda
and determine who's living the right life now, Pastor. Who's living the life that's acceptable
to you. Or maybe none of you guys are. Maybe I'm living my life that's acceptable to the Lord,
as I do it unto the Lord. Because there's many ways and sometimes complete opposite ways
to do things. And still we have to do it unto the Lord. Now I have very strong feelings about this.
I preach about this a lot. And the reason is because I still remember the day,
where I was in high school. And I was doing really well. Like, you know, pretty much all my school
life, I did really well academically. You know, I hit, you know, even when I got to Year 9, I did
well academically. Something happened when I got to Year 10. I don't know what it was. Okay. But
there was, I guess, some type of change in my mindset. I don't know exactly. You know, I guess
that's that period when you start, you know, developing your own mind. And I just had a look
around. And I was thinking about the pressure that was already coming in Year 10 about, you know,
having a successful, you know, successfully passing your HSC. And, you know, getting great
marks. And the whole point was to get into university, so you can then get a great job
and get paid good money. And then you can live a comfortable life. And if you mess it up, now you
messed up your life. You know, like a lot of us probably look at that and go, that's ridiculous.
Like, if you mess up your HSC, you've not messed up your life. But when you're a student, that's
what you think. When you're in school, like the pressure, you know, and the burdens. And I just
remember looking around and just thinking, wow, we're all in school, we're all wearing school
uniforms. Not that I'm against school uniforms, but I just look around and say, look, there's this
cookie cutter system in society that you've just, there's this system that you've just got to follow
these steps, apparently, in order to have a life that is successful. And I just, to me, I just,
I just rebelled against that. I just said, you know what, I want to break out of this system.
Like, I don't want to live a life that is acceptable to society or lined up with a
certain system. You know, I want to live a life where I'm calling the shots, as long as
I know what I'm doing right, with a clear conscience before God. You know, if I need
to break out, then I need to break out. And I stopped caring so much about my academics.
No, that's a good thing. I'll tell kids, if you're in school, give your best to academics.
But it was just a process in my life that I started to realise, I need to break out of this.
You know, and, you know, the school that I went to was a Christian school, and they were playing all
the Hillsong type of music. And, you know, it seemed universally acceptable by the students
to love that music. And, and, you know what, to me, I was already saved, the Holy Spirit of God
was saying, you know what, that music's just not, doesn't please the Lord. I couldn't give you the
answer why, at the time, but I knew there was something wrong with this. And I just, you know,
what, I'm breaking out of the system. I don't think this is the right way to worship God.
You know, I don't like this. I don't like this, just follow the herd mentality. And you know what,
most of my life really has been against the herd. A lot of it. Like when people think,
realise that, you know, we're expecting number 12 on the way, that's not normal living, like,
according to society, right today anyway. Now, there's a lot of things that we do that is not
considered, you know, part of the norm. But I don't care because I'm doing what I believe is
right. You know, I'm doing it unto the Lord as best as I know how. And that shows me that when
you start doing things for the Lord, you're not necessarily going to fit the standards of a man,
or fit the standards of a pastor, or fit the standards of a church, or a movement, or a
society. You might stand out, but as long as you do it unto the Lord, that's what he wants.
That he might be Lord is the title for the sermon this morning. My question to you, brethren, is,
is Jesus your Lord? I'm not just saying is he your God? We know he's your God,
he's your Savior, but is he your Lord? Is he the boss? You know what, every decision you make in
life, are you thinking about how the Lord would approve of that or not? Are you doing it for the
Lord? So the key to this brethren is as long as you're doing it for the Lord, and it is not sin,
it is a good and proper way to do things. Okay, do it unto the Lord. All right, look at verse
number seven. For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. Look, we're not just
living for ourselves. Verse number eight, for whether we live, we live unto the Lord.
Is that your life today? Can you say pastor, you know what, my life, I live unto the Lord this
morning. You know what, if you're in church, great, this is the right place to be. You know,
right where you know the Lord wants you to be. It says then, whether we die, we die unto the Lord.
Whether we live therefore or die, we are the Lord's.
Can you truly say that about your life though? Does your life reflect that Jesus Christ is your
Lord? I'm not talking about salvation, I'm not talking about the resurrection to come,
I'm talking about right now. You know what, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, his life,
is that true for you today? That he is your Lord in all your decisions, even to death, right? Even
the days that you celebrate or don't celebrate, even the foods and the drinks that you have,
from the minor things to the major things in life, passing away and going into eternity,
is it all given to the Lord? And then we get to verse number nine. For this, for to this end,
Christ both died and rose and revived, that he might be Lord, both to the dead and living.
So my question to you is, who is your Lord? Who is your Lord? Is it Jesus Christ? Could be yourself,
and living for yourself. Could be, I don't know, a certain group that you're trying to,
you know, be acceptable toward, whether that's a church related group, or whether that's an
earthly related group. You know, who are you living for? Who is your Lord? You know,
who do you receive instruction from in life? It ought to be Jesus Christ.
Now, what I want to do for the rest of the sermon, that was the introduction, is just to
give you different areas in your life that you need to assess, okay? Now look,
all areas of your life should be assessed. Do you do it as a Lord, all areas of your life?
But let me just give you some areas. Firstly, we're going to send the book of Romans,
we'll look at Romans, and we'll also look at 1 Corinthians. They're going to be the two main
books that we look at this morning. But let's go to Romans chapter 12. Come with me to Romans
chapter 12. What are some areas that we need to assess in life? Romans chapter 12 and verse 11
please. Romans chapter 12 verse 11. It reads, not slothful in business. Slothful is talking
about laziness. Look at this, fervent in spirit, serving who? Serving the Lord.
Reverend, one area that you need to assess in your life is your business.
Are you serving the Lord in your business? Men, when you go out to work, you know, and you labor,
and you've got those hours ahead of you, are you doing it to the Lord? Are you being slothful?
Are you being lazy? Are you doing the minimum? Or are you fervent in spirit?
You see, people have this wrong idea that in order to make Jesus the Lord, is that everything then
revolves around church. No, we're talking about all areas of life. We're talking about your
business. We're talking about your place of employment, whether you're self-employed,
or whether you work for someone else. Are you slothful, or are you fervent with what you do?
And you see, Jesus Christ wants you to be fervent in spirit. He wants you to labor well,
and labor hard, and give your best, serving the Lord, not serving man. It's not about man.
Now look, your boss, if you work hard, your boss will be blessed.
But it's because you've set Jesus Christ as your boss.
See, this is what it means to make Jesus the Lord, in all areas.
It doesn't matter what you do. Jesus, I'm putting you first.
I've expressed to you, you know, I'm doing cleaning Mondays and Tuesdays,
and some Thursdays and Fridays. I've told you already, when I walk into a house, I say,
Lord, I'm just going to think this is your house. And I'm going to clean to the, you know,
I've got two hours, let's say. With these two hours that I have, I'm going to give the best I
can. I'm going to think of this as your house, Lord. I mean, I don't know. It's probably the
house of some wicked sinners. Could even be the house of some God haters, I don't know.
It's none of my business, but I'm going in there, and I'm just going to serve my Lord
Jesus Christ, regardless of whose house it really is. I can't say that I do that perfectly all the
time. But that's my goal. And that's my goal. And being a church pastor is my business. You know,
my heart is that I would give the best I can, you know, when it comes to preach and guiding
this church and the direction we go. You know, I want to do it fervently. I want to do it
passionately with love, not slothful, not lazy. Not, oh man, I've got 10 minutes before service,
I've got to think of a sermon. You know, spent time thinking about things, meditating upon
things, asking the Lord to guide me. I'm just giving you some examples. You know, I hate using,
sometimes I hate using my examples. I'm not trying to be a hero. I'm just trying to show you how in
certain areas of life you can, you know, have Jesus Christ as your Lord. What about mothers?
We say mothers maybe aren't working necessarily a job. But what is your business? Not slothful
in business. Mothers, your business is to raise your children, you know, to be a housekeeper,
all right, to prepare meals. We have some homeschooling mothers. Hey, that's your business.
Homeschooling your children, giving the best. They ought to be getting a better education in
your house than they would in schools. Shouldn't they? Like when you put your child in a public
school system, are those teachers doing it for the Lord? No, they're doing it for a paycheck.
But mothers, you ought to be doing it for the Lord. So your children ought to be getting the
best education at home. Are you being fervent in spirit? You know, are you being slothful in
business? Are you doing it unto the Lord? The Lord has given you your family. The Lord has given you
your house and your responsibility. And students, young children, wherever you're learning, you
know, are you studying? Are you giving your best? Are you doing it unto the Lord? Are you being
slothful? Are you being lazy? Give your best. Do it. Don't do it for mum and dad. Don't do it for
your teachers. Don't even do it for yourself necessarily. Do it for the Lord. Give your best.
I've got an exam coming up. All right, study, prepare. You know, in your mind, say, Lord,
you've given me an exam or a test that I need to pass, and you want to see me do my best. And so,
Lord, I'm going to give my best with what I've got. That's an area to assess your business.
Come with me to Romans 13. Romans 13 and verse number 13. Romans 13, 13.
The Bible says in Romans 13, 13, let us walk honestly, as in the day, not in rioting and
drunkenness, not in chambering that's sleeping around, and wantonness, or wantonness is like
being reckless, a lack of care. Not in strife and envying, look at this, but put ye on the Lord
Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof.
What's another area that we need to assess? Our flesh, our desires. Okay, you know,
is your flesh serving the Lord? You know, are you putting on Jesus Christ? Are you putting
on the Lord in your life? Or are you giving in to the temptations, the sinfulness, the wickedness
that your flesh so desires? Please be careful because your flesh does desire these kinds of
things. Rioting and drunkenness and chambering and wantonness, strife and envying, your flesh
wants those things. Believe it or not, it does. That's what you need to put on the Lord. Is Jesus
your Lord? You know, I often preach about the flesh and how corrupt it is, and yes, it's true.
Okay, but you know what? Jesus still wants to be the Lord over your flesh.
Because what he's given you, it's what you have. It's what you've got to function in.
What are your desires? The desires of the flesh are all these sinful things.
Brethren, when you start to desire sinful, wicked things in your life, you need to remember who your
Lord is. Who is your Lord? Is it your flesh or is it Jesus Christ? When you give in to your
temptations and you sin against the Lord, you've told the Lord, you know what? I'm the Lord of my
life. I'm calling the shots here, Lord. You know, I've gone a path, a dark path, contrary to your
ways. And brethren, you need to remember to put on the Lord. He is the Lord. You know,
he is the ruler. He has the preeminence in your life. So your flesh is another area that we need
to assess. Is the Lord of your flesh Jesus Christ? Can we meet to Romans 16? Romans 16 verse 17.
Romans 16 verse number 17. What else do we need to make Jesus the Lord over?
Romans 16 verse number 17. Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and
offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned and avoid them. Let's stop there for a
moment. What I will say is if people come into our church and they're trying to teach other doctrines,
doctrines that are, doctrines that we've not learnt from or we've not learnt from the Bible,
it says to mark them, okay? And avoid them, it says. Mark them and avoid them.
So is doctrine important to God? It is. Now is there any man that would say,
yep, pastor, I've got perfect doctrine. I know all the mysteries of the Bible. No.
And of course, when it comes to doctrine, we're talking primarily here of our major doctrines,
the fundamental doctrines, the things that are black and white, okay? A doctrine on salvation,
doctrine on who Christ is, on the Trinity, on the coming of Christ, that he's coming back to
establish his kingdom, that it's the virgin birth and creation, that God created all things in six
days, things that are just vitally important, you know, to our faith. If someone comes and preaches
and teaches something different, we're to mark them and avoid them. That means they're not
permitted in church. I mean if they come into church, how do you avoid them? You've got to,
no, you're not permitted here. I understand that none of us, no matter who we speak to,
even your own spouses, are not going to agree 100% on every doctrine, okay? I understand that.
We live in reality, okay? But listen, when it comes to the major things, we ought to be aligned.
It ought to be coming from God's Word. Because look at this. Look at the people that come in,
you know, false prophets, things like that. Look at verse 18. For they that are such serve not
our Lord Jesus Christ. See, they don't serve the Lord. But I'm teaching you this morning
that we need to serve the Lord. That we need to make him the Lord. And if we allow people to come
in, they're not serving the Lord. You say, what are they serving? It says there, they serve but
their own belly, their own desires, their own lusts. It says but their own belly and by good
words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple. Listen, these false prophets,
they don't come in, you know, looking like, oh man, like horrible people, speaking harsh words.
No, by good words and fair speeches. They speak with love and, you know, they get your admiration.
You're like, wow, look at this brother in the Lord. Wow, look at this sister in the Lord. Look
how wonderful they are. Look how knowledgeable they are. Man, they really know much of the Bible.
But they're leading you to false doctrines. Look, deceive the hearts of the simple.
The simple means someone that's not well grounded, not well educated.
Look, I don't want that to be our church. I don't want you to be simple. I want you to get as much
knowledge. You know, I want you to have more knowledge than me. Like, I would rejoice if you
guys know more of the Bible than I, I mean, that should be a challenge for me. As the pastor,
I should know more, right? Because I'm teaching the Word of God but I'm, you know what, if you
guys know more than me or my kids grow up knowing more than me, I tell you now, my kids know more
than I did at their age. That's for sure. You know, I rejoice at that. I don't want us to be
simple. If we remain simple, it's easy to be deceived, easy to be misled.
But if we're to make Jesus Christ our Lord, he needs to be the Lord of our doctrine
as well. The Lord of our doctrine. These people come, they don't serve the Lord Jesus Christ.
People that come with false doctrines, they serve their own belly, their own desires.
They want a following. That they want the people of God to look at them
as wonderful people. When really we should be looking at God. We should be looking at Jesus
as our wonderful Savior. You know, all preaching really should be at the end of the day pointing
us back to Jesus. You know, all doctrines. It shouldn't be about elevating a man.
You know, it shouldn't be about that, you know. And in fact, I'll touch upon that soon in the next
area that we need to assess. So we need to assess our doctrine.
Why do you believe your doctrine? Whatever doctrine it is, why do you believe it? Is it
because you learnt it from the words of Christ? Is it because you opened the Bible and learnt it?
Or is it just because you believe the man? And look, I'm willing to admit and accept that I
probably have doctrines in my mind that I believe simply because I've heard a man preach it behind
a pulpit. Probably. I mean, I don't know. Sometimes, you know, you're reading through
the Bible and then you get challenged. You go, hold on. You know, God's word seems to be saying
something contrary to what I've been taught by man. It's a process, right? And then there's a
lot. And you know, of course, I'm sure there are many sermons you've heard, you know, behind this
pulpit that you've just taken the word of a man rather than going to God's word and checked it
for yourself. But passes the pulpit that I should not be the Lord of your doctrine.
You know, and you shouldn't be the Lord of your doctrine. No man should be the Lord of
your doctrine. Only Jesus Christ. Are you making him the Lord in your doctrine?
Do you believe what you believe because Jesus Christ told you according to his word?
He needs to be the Lord of your doctrine. Okay, we've gone through Romans. Come with me now to
First Corinthians. First Corinthians chapter one. First Corinthians chapter one, please.
Let me give you some other thoughts here. First Corinthians chapter one.
How else can we make Jesus Christ the Lord?
First Corinthians chapter one in verse number 27.
It says in First Corinthians 127, but God have chosen the foolish things of the world
to confound the wise, and God have chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things
which are mighty. And base things of the world, bases lower things of the world, and things that
are despised have God chosen, yea, and things which are not to bring to naught things that are.
Now this whole point behind this, okay, verse number 29. That no flesh should glory in his
presence. So we're talking about how we glory. You know we have abilities. There are things that
I'm good at. Wow, pastor. So there are things you're good at. Wow. And it's easy to glory a man.
It's easy for me to watch a soccer game and go, wow, look at that person's skill.
Or whatever sport is your choice. Wow, look at that guy go. You know, look how he's naturally
talented. There is something, you know, when you see a man who can achieve whatever level it is,
whatever, maybe, you know, his intelligence or some project that he's accomplished,
is to glory in flesh. But then it says in verse number 30, but of him are ye in Christ Jesus,
who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.
I want you to notice that. So we're in Christ Jesus. Verse number 30, that's you. You and me,
right? We're in Christ Jesus. So God has made us unto wisdom. Whatever wisdom you have
is given to you by God. It says and righteousness. If you're living a life that pleases God,
holy and righteous, that's been given to you by God. And sanctification as you clean your life
from filthy things. Or, you know, sometimes, or if you want to talk positionally, you're
sanctifying your saints, your saints of the Lord, you've been cleansed by the blood of Christ and,
and redemption. Of course, the fact that you're redeemed, you're saved. All of these things are
given to us by God. If you're in Christ Jesus. Verse number 31, that according as is written,
he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. The next point that I have for you this morning,
brethren, is that Jesus Christ must be the Lord in your glorying. In your glorying.
What you get excited about, what you get happy about, what gives you great joy.
Jesus Christ must be the Lord in those areas. Whatever you achieve in life, you do well,
you accomplish, right? If I said to you, hey, like we said earlier in your business,
man, you go and work hard, you know, you serve Jesus and get a promotion, or you get a pay rise.
You know what? That's not the time to pat yourself on the back. Oh man, I worked so well,
look how well I did. That's your time to glory in the Lord. You say, thank you Lord for giving
me the ability. Thank you Lord for giving me the success. Your glorying should not be in
your flesh or in the flesh of others, but your glorying should be in the Lord.
Proverbs 27 verse two says, let another man praise thee and not thine own mouth,
a stranger and not thine own lips. The Bible says, don't praise yourself.
If anything is worth praise, give it to Jesus. If you say, pastor, that was a good sermon.
Let's just praise Jesus. Thank Jesus for that. You know what? Instead of thanking me,
I'd rather you just go and thank Jesus. Because sometimes, maybe, because I'm flesh too,
I could be like, yep, I'm a good preacher, aren't I? I don't know. I hope not. But it's possible,
is it not? It's possible. You know, if you learn something from this church,
just give glory to God. Because it's coming from his word, isn't it? The Bible,
the teaching is from his word. So let's give glory to the Lord. Whatever is praiseworthy.
You know, self praise is ugly. When a person praises themselves, it's kind of ugly. Have you
come across people that praise themselves or praise their family or praise their kids?
My kids are so great. I know my kids are just any other kids. It's true.
I know I'm just any other man. It's true. I don't even know how I do things sometimes. I don't know.
Because it's Jesus. You know, self praise is ugly. And I have to remember this because,
you know, as I preach, I do want to be a transparent pastor. Like, I do want to teach
you things that I've learned in life, on my life's journey, you know. And I try to have a balance
where like, oh man, this is a part of my life. You know, this is a principle of the Bible,
and I applied this in my life, and I did well here. But I also try to have a balance where,
hey guys, you know, this is a part of my life where I messed up and, you know, I learned the
hard way. And, you know, God's word is correct. Because I don't want to come across as a pastor
of self praise on, look at me guys, I'm such a good, I am just a man. Honestly, I'm just,
I don't even know why I'm a pastor. I don't know why the Lord's allowed me to have this path in
life. Because I don't think I'm worthy. And in fact, I'm not, because it's, Jesus Christ is
worthy. It's glory to Christ, you know, and whatever you do, whatever your business is,
whatever your life is, whatever you succeed in, just praise the Lord, praise Jesus, that has
allowed you to go down that path, that has given you the abilities to serve Him. Yeah, self praise
is ugly. Don't do it. Don't do it. You know, if you feel like someone doesn't, you know,
my church never praises my kids. Yeah, don't praise your kids. Just leave it alone. Don't
worry. Praise Jesus. You got wonderful kids, praise Jesus. You got a wonderful marriage,
praise Jesus. You got a wonderful life, praise Jesus. Who cares if man doesn't give you praise
and glory? Who cares? Is that really what life is about though? Because if your life is about
chasing the glory of man, you're going to be disappointed every day of your life.
Honestly, you know, if you come to church and I forget to say hello to you or bye to you,
like I'll pass it and say, who cares? He came to serve Jesus. He came to give Him glory.
You know, we forget or whatever, right? Maybe I'm in a bad mood and I can't, you know,
reach out to you, but who cares? Your eyes should be on Jesus. I try not to be in a bad mood at
church, but we need to make Jesus Christ the Lord of our glory. Do you glory in Christ? Is
He the Lord in your glory? You're there in first Corinthians, come with me to chapter six,
first Corinthians chapter six, first Corinthians chapter six and verse number 12.
First Corinthians chapter six and verse number 12. And this kind of goes hand in hand with the
introduction. So let's think about the introduction again. It says, all things are lawful unto me.
Does that sound like a restrictive Christian life? Does that sound like a, you know,
you've got to fit the cookie cutter Christian mentality? It says, all things are lawful unto me.
But then it says these words, but all things are not expedient. Because not all things are
profitable. Expedient means profitable. Okay. What is he referring to here? It says, all things are
lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. All right. Obviously Paul is
not teaching that we can go ahead and sin because that is not lawful for you to do. But listen,
again, if it's not sin, all things are lawful. Okay. You can do and behave and act and live
a completely different life to one another. I promise you, you can. Okay. Because all things
are lawful. But you need to understand that not all things are profitable. Just because they're
not sinful doesn't mean they're profitable to you. You know, I always use the example,
me watching a soccer game. It's lawful. I'm not committing sin, but it's a profitable.
You know, am I going to get to heaven and the Lord's going to say, well done now,
good and faithful servant. You watched the grand final of whatever your sporting team is.
It wasn't a sin, but was a profitable. Is God going to reward you in heaven?
No, no, there's no profits. Okay. But what I like, what he has to say is at the end of verse number
12, in light of what we're talking about here, because we're meant to be making Jesus our Lord,
aren't we? In all our decisions, in all that we do. He says, but he goes, all things are lawful
for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. He goes, the things that I do
I don't want to be under that power. Because if you're under that power, that thing that was
unlawful for you, was lawful for you becomes your Lord. If it's, if you're under that power,
you are now subject or your servant of that power. Let me give you just an example again, just let's
say again, supporting team, right? Is there anything wrong watching a game or something
like that? No. But you know, some people become addicted. Some people become supporters and like
diehard supporters of the soccer team or the football team or the cricket team or whatever
it is. And their life revolves not around the Lord, the life revolves around the sporting team.
Yes, even amongst Christians. Past, I'm not going to be in church because my team is playing the
grand final. Well, yeah, it's lawful, but you know now that Jesus is not your Lord.
Your sporting team has become your Lord. Young people, big problem with young people,
video games are becoming your Lord. Well, it's not about Jesus Christ anymore.
It's about your video games. Probably thinking right now, when the service ends,
I can go home and play video games. Yeah, that's because your video games is your Lord now. That's
why. Okay. But Jesus Christ ought to be your Lord. You know what, if that's what your,
what does your life revolve around? That's my, that's really the end of the day.
What does your life revolve around?
If it revolves around, when can I get home and play video games? And listen,
that's an area of your life that you've allowed it to have power over you. That's your boss now.
You're a slave to your video games. You're a slave to your sporting teams. Okay. Is there
anything wrong with you investing? You know, trying to have your money work for you, putting
your money into investments? No, there's nothing wrong with that. It's lawful. It's fine. It's not
against the Lord. But you know, some people get so obsessed about money and investments,
and all they talk about week in, week out is money and how much money they're making. Well,
you know, what's become their Lord? Money's become their Lord. But is investing and trying
to make money work for you wrong or sinful? No, it's lawful. But you've got to be careful.
Whatever part of life you chase or do or act upon, you've got to be careful that it doesn't
have power over you. That Jesus Christ is the Lord in all areas of your life.
It might be your group of friends. It might be your group of friends that you revolve your life
around. Pastors are not coming to church because they've got this activity with my mates. Well,
your friends have become your Lord. Okay. Is it wrong to have friends? Is it wrong to hang out
and have fun with your friends? No, that's lawful for you. But some people, that becomes,
they're authority. That becomes their Lord. You know, you can keep going, keep going on and on,
because all things are lawful. Listen, again, God has not given us this restrictive life.
We've got to line up like pastor or line up with this pastor or that pastor or that church.
Brethren, you're going to be such a miserable Christian, I tell you now,
because you're making them your Lord when it ought to be Jesus. And Jesus Christ says, hey,
all things are lawful. Enjoy life. Just don't be brought under the power of such things.
Don't replace Jesus with whatever activity or whatever it is that you prefer to do.
Let's continue there, verse number 13. First Corinthians six, verse number 13. Look at this.
Meats for the belly and belly for meats. What's this talking about? You know, that God has made
food for our belly. We need to eat. We need to be within nutrition. We need fuel for our body
and the belly for meats. God's created our belly to digest meats. You know, it all works together.
You know, God's our creator. But then it says, but God shall destroy both it and them.
So there are things that we do that we need to do to get through life. Do you understand? But
it's all going to be destroyed in the end. Like if you had a good steak today or you had scrambled
eggs, again, God's not going to say they're good and faithful servants because he had steak this
morning. Okay. But we need to have, we need to have breakfast. We need to have lunch. We need
to eat. We need to make sure that we're able to function in the world. There's a lot of things
that we do that we need to just get through just to be able to function in the world.
Okay. And this is what it means. All things are lawful. Okay. But not all things are expedient.
Not all things are profitable. It says, it continues there. Now, the body is not for
fornication. Let me make this very clear, young people. All of you people, actually. All of us.
The body is not for fornication. But look at this. But for the Lord. Your body is for the Lord.
Not to go and just give in to your last and sleep around and cheat on your wife and commit
fornication. It's for the Lord. Look. And the Lord for the body. It's the same idea. Meats for the
belly. Belly for the meats. God has created your body for the Lord. And the Lord is there
for the body. So when you're struggling and you feel like committing fornication,
you feel like doing something filthy, say, no, that's not why your body's been created.
It's for the Lord. And the Lord for the body, the one that can help you overcome these temptations
is the Lord. You have to decide, what is my Lord? Is it Jesus or is it fornication?
Is it Jesus or is it some sin that I'm committing? What is your Lord? What is your body
created for? It's created for Jesus. But the next point that I have for you is, is Jesus the Lord
in your body? It's a bit different to your flesh. We're talking about flesh directly, about your
sinful condition there. But your body is like, what are you doing with your body? With your
everyday body. It's for the Lord. And look at verse number 14. It continues,
and God have both raised up the Lord. We're talking about resurrection Sunday, aren't we?
From God have both raised up the Lord and will also raise up, raise up us by His power.
Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ
and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. Reverend, we need to serve God in our
body. In our body. And you know, some of our bodies are stronger than others.
Look, I don't think there's anything wrong with hitting the gym and strengthening yourself.
But I hope you're strengthening yourself for the Lord. It's not just, oh man, look at my biceps.
This will impress some girls. How about you strengthen your body so you can serve Jesus
with your body? Or do you go to a gym where there are half naked girls at the gym? Is that serving
the Lord? You think? Why don't you find a gym where you're not going to be looking at those
things? Say, pastor, there's no gym like that. Or get a gym in your garage or something.
You can do pushups for free. Did you know that? You can do sit ups for free. You can.
Just think about it. I'm not saying, look, again, is going to the gym lawful? Yeah. Okay. It's
lawful. But listen, when you go there, what's there to see? Be careful. I'm saying just be
careful. Okay. Because I know, I remember going searching for a gym. You know, I ended up going
to this gym where it's just old people. Because every gym that I went to, it was just constant
nudity and nakedness. I just went to the gym and there were just old people. Just this older
generation, like, well, at least they're not dressed, you know, in a sinful manner.
Just be mindful. Think about every aspect of your life. You need to make Jesus the Lord.
Make Jesus the Lord in all aspects of your life. Come with me to First Corinthians chapter seven.
First Corinthians chapter seven, verse number 20. I've got two more points. Two more points.
And look, I'm just giving you some examples, right? So you take these examples. I hope you
think about them. But then you go home and you think about other areas of your life.
Is Jesus the Lord in these other areas of your life too?
First Corinthians chapter seven, verse number 20. Let every man abide in the same calling wherein
he was called. Are thou called being a servant? Are you like, a servant is an employee.
Are you like an employee? Are you like under the direction and power of another man,
another organization, whatever it is? Well, if that's you, it says,
sorry, I lost my spot there. Are thou being called being a servant? It says,
care not for it. Don't worry about it. But then it says this, but if thou mayest be made, sorry,
but if thou mayest be made free, use it rather. Are you free instead? You know, instead of you
being a servant, maybe you're the boss. Maybe you run your own business. Maybe you're not under the
servitude of another man. Okay, but if thou mayest be made free, use it rather. What is it saying?
Let's talk about your positional status. You know, some of us are going to be laboring and working
for some other man for the rest of our lives. But don't worry about it. Don't care for it.
Like don't worry about it and go, man, we're not going to break out of this rat race in life.
But if you've been made free, you don't have that restriction over you. Use that. Use that in what
way? Let's keep going there. Verse number 22. For he that is called in the Lord, in the Lord,
is that you? Being a servant is the Lord's free man. So even if you're a servant of a man on this
earth, and you're going to be working for someone for the rest of your life, or you're going to be
renting and paying off someone's mortgage for the rest of your life. Look, God has made you free.
So don't worry about your position in life. Glory in the fact that Jesus has made you free,
spiritually speaking. And then it says, likewise, also, he that is called being free,
if you're like, man, I work for myself, it's all, you know, it's all in my hands. I'm not the
servant of any man. All right. Likewise, also, he that is called being free is Christ's servant.
All right, you're free? You got more time on your hands? You're not under the power of any
organization or man? Well, then use your freedom to become a servant of Christ. Again, make him
the Lord. If you're his servant, you're saying, he's my master. He's my Lord. You know what,
if you've got more free time than others, then you ought to be serving the Lord more than others.
You need to make the Lord, you need to make Jesus the Lord in your positional status.
It continues in verse 23. Ye are bought with a price. Be not ye the servants of men. It's not
saying quit your job. Be not servants of men. All right, I'll quit my job. No, no. Brethren,
let every man wherein he is called then abide with God. Whatever your calling is, whatever your
position in life is. Listen, you serve Jesus. Jesus has made you free. Jesus has given you salvation.
Jesus Christ has given you a life worth living. And now use that life to serve him. Put yourself
under the servitude. Make Jesus your Lord. Whatever your position is.
Look, if you're able to break out of the rat race and be your own boss,
well, use that rather, it said. Now you've got more time. You've got more flexibility.
You can work around things. You can serve Jesus Christ in a large capacity or in a different way
than others. The whole point though is that we've been bought with a price, all of us.
Be not ye the servants of men. Don't serve man. Whatever it is. Whatever area of life.
Look, of course, we are serving men. We understand that. But again, your heart. You serve Jesus.
I mean, man, I just talked to the hardworking men here today.
Just honestly, the biggest change in my life was when I said, you know what, I'm just,
I'm serving Jesus. Whatever it is.
Brother, you serve a lot of customers, a lot of people here on the Sunshine Coast.
Every job you go to, I'm going to serve Jesus. This land belongs to Jesus.
You know, this customer has been given to me by Jesus.
Man, every, every job you do. Think about like the heart, the part of your job that you despise
the most, that you hate the most. Say, you know what, Jesus has asked me to do this job,
I'll do it. And I'm going to give the best of my ability. Just take that approach. Have that
attitude. Serve Jesus in your position of status. Come with me to chapter 12. First Corinthians,
chapter 12. First Corinthians, chapter 12, in verse number four. Last one, last one. First
Corinthians, chapter 12, in verse number four. I'll be quick on this one. First Corinthians 12,
verse number four. Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. We've all been gifted
differently. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there
are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation
of the Spirit is given to every man to profit with all. The context of this is church. We all
are different. We all have different strengths and weaknesses. We can all serve the body of Christ
in different ways. Reverend, please make Jesus the Lord in your church. We're all different.
And you know what? You may not feel like serving your brother or sister in church. That's all
right. We're not servants of men. We're servants of Jesus. You serve your brethren like you're
serving Jesus. And you know, you know this passage where Christ at the end of the world,
when he judges his servants, he says, you've clothed me. You know, you've given me to drink
and so it's like, when did we do that, Lord? He goes, what you've done to, you know, I'm just
paraphrasing, what you've done to, you know, my brethren, you've done it unto me. Yeah. You know
what? However you serve this church, this body, whatever it is, okay, you open up and say, pastor,
I want to serve in this area, serve in that area. You know, I've got abilities in this area. I can
improve in this area. Great. Don't do it for me. Do it for Jesus. Serve Jesus. Make Jesus the Lord
here at New Life Baptist Church. So brethren, the title for the sermon this morning was,
or is, that he might be Lord. We think about Jesus Christ this resurrection Sunday. Yes,
he was resurrected to give you salvation. Yes, he's resurrected to give you those new
resurrected bodies to come. But what about now? What about today? He was resurrected that he
might be your Lord right now, today and tomorrow and every day of your life. Please serve Jesus.
Be a servant not to man. Be a servant to the Lord Jesus Christ. Make him your boss.
Be obedient to Jesus Christ in all areas of your life. Okay, let's pray.