You Own Nothing, He Owns Everything: Understanding the Word Lord
Dr RJ Sing, 27 January 2019, 1 hr 3 min
This is the whole service. The video opens where he begins, at 36:13.
Originally preached as “Understanding the Concept of Lord”
Sermon outline
Every king is automatically lord, and lordship means ownership: God owns everything by right of creation, so you are His steward, He can give you anything by royal favour, and when you say 'Lord' it should carry power, majesty and protection.
Main text
- Matthew 6:33
- Psalm 115:15-16
- Deuteronomy 6:4-5
Opening
He serves communion to break the church's fast, though it is not the usual communion weekend, prays for breakthroughs and declares that the atmosphere changes from non-expectancy to expectancy. He teaches that the bread and cup are not merely symbolic, because Jesus said 'this is my body'. After the church's notices he says that ministry is not only the pastor's job: believers are meant to witness, lay hands on the sick and bring people in. Then he reminds them that the series has covered the kingdom and the concept of kings, and Pastor Wesley's teaching on territory, and announces today's subtitle: Understanding the Concept of Lord.
Seek first the kingdom
Jesus went about proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, not propagating a religion. Seeking first the kingdom and His righteousness means seeking how God does things, and all these things will be added. Learning kingdom principles will teach you to think and act like a kingdom resident and ruler.
“Seek how God does things.”
- Matthew 4:17
- Matthew 4:23
- Matthew 6:33
Every king is automatically lord
The word 'lord' does not exist in democracies or republics except in 'landlord', one who owns land. Lordship is what distinguishes a king from a president, prime minister or mayor. The king relates to dominion, his authority, while lord relates to domain, the territory over which that authority extends; without a domain there is no king.
Illustration: When you rent a place, the owner is the landlord, the only common remnant of the kingdom idea in modern governments.
“The king relates to dominion while Lord relates to domain.”
- Revelation 19:16
- Ephesians 4:5
The kingdom lordship principle
If kingship has to do with authority, lordship has to do with ownership. Presidents rule a region, but a king personally owns his domain: the forests, rivers, crops, livestock and houses all belong to him, so he is sovereign by right of birth and by right of ownership. We have grown up in a democracy and read the Bible that way, but God's kingdom is a theocracy.
“If kingship has to do with authority, then lordship has to do with ownership.”
If the King owns everything, you are a steward
If the King owns everything, no one in the kingdom owns anything: you are a caretaker of what God has put in your hands, and you can be a good or a bad steward. The rich young ruler went away sad because his heart was on things, not on seeking God's righteousness. So when God says give it, sow it, transfer it or sell it, do it.
Illustration: One man's car bought this year looks fifteen years old because he never cleans it, while another's six-year-old car looks brand new. Some people lose millions in places he won't name and then ask for prayer, when they could have used it to build churches and buy television time to win souls.
“You are a steward, a caretaker of all the stuff that God put into your hands.”
- Matthew 19:16-22
The King can give anything to anyone: royal favour
Because the King owns everything, He can give anything to anyone at any time without needing a board of elders' permission. If a president gives you property as a personal favour it is called corruption, but when a king does it, it is royal favour, and no one can question it. He can also switch property from one person to another, which is why you must be a good steward.
“If you're a good steward, God will put things in your hands.”
A king's wealth is measured by his domain
Because a king's lordship is tied to territory, his wealth is measured by the richness of his domain, which is why kings always want to expand their kingdoms. The larger and richer the domain, the greater the king's reputation and glory.
Illustration: The British, French and Spanish kings sent out ships to plunder and establish colonies all over the world to increase their coffers.
Adonai: God is King and Lord of all
God is King of heaven and earth by divine right of creation, and because every king is lord, He owns everything because He made everything. The Bible is the constitution of the kingdom. Adonai means proprietor or owner, Yahweh is replaced by 'Lord' in most Bibles, and devout Jews so honoured the name that they would not misuse it, reciting every morning 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one'.
Illustration: Reading a devotional that said God 'trickled' Himself into humanity, he struck a line through it: when we were born again and filled with the Holy Ghost, God put all of Himself inside us.
“The Bible is the constitution of the kingdom of heaven.”
- Exodus 20:7
- Deuteronomy 6:4-5
Say 'Lord' with power: the name above every name
When you say 'Lord' it should carry vigour and strength, so that demons tremble. Some shout 'in the name of Jesus, get out' and nothing leaves, because they have not meditated on the name but only heard others use it. God invested everything He has in that name: every knee must bow to it, the dead have been raised and the blind healed through it, and that is why the religious leaders tried to stop the apostles preaching it.
“Everything visible and invisible is subject to the name of Jesus.”
- Philippians 2:9-11
- Acts 4:17-18
The earth He has given to man
The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth He has given to man, so stop asking 'why, Lord?' when you have power on earth to use His name and change things. It is not a loss to know God owns all: if He owns it, He must maintain and sustain it, which takes the pressure off us; we only have to hear His instructions and carry them out.
“The highest heaven belongs to the Lord, but the earth he has given to man.”
- Psalm 115:15-16
- Psalm 24:1-2
- Psalm 47:7-9
- Exodus 7:5
- Psalm 8:1
- Psalm 16:2
- Psalm 22:26-28
Read it with kingdom glasses: the Lord is my shepherd
We can read 'The Lord is my shepherd' in a religious way, but God wants us to read it with power, majesty, sovereignty and dominion. We live in a visible world surrounded by invisible beings: the angels of God guard us, our children and our families, and we sometimes entertain angels unawares. Every man walks in the name of his god, but we walk in the name of the Lord Almighty, and He guides and protects us.
Illustration: Years ago, as he blessed a young church member's new car outside the old church, two gunmen appeared; one pointed a gun at him and pulled the trigger, but it only clicked, and both men ran. He asks, 'What did he see? Who was there?' He also tells of children who saw great big people walking behind him as he preached, a photograph of a ring of fire with an angel that hangs in his office, and a small boy lost in an American forest who survived and said he had been playing with a bear.
“We live in a visible world, but we have invisible beings all around us.”
- Psalm 23:1
- Hebrews 13:2
- Micah 4:5
Putting it into practice
- Change your mindset: everything you have belongs to God, and you are His steward.
- When God says give, sow, transfer or sell, obey.
- Look after what is in your hands so that God can trust you with more.
- Meditate on the name of Jesus until it carries weight when you use it.
- Say 'The Lord is my shepherd' with power, and trust His angels to guard you and your children.
Closing
He tells the church that they are not alone: they walk in and with the name of the Lord, and no harm can befall those who keep their eyes on that name and confess that the Lord is their shepherd. Even a sudden thought to take another route may be God protecting you. He says he will continue on the concept of Lord the next week, and ends by asking whether they received something.
Declarations he led
- I'm expectant for a great miracle.
- Everything belongs to Him.
- The Lord is my shepherd, we shall not want.
In his words
- “Christianity is not a religion. Christianity is a way of life.”
- “A king is a king only so far as he has something to rule over.”
- “In a democracy, if a prime minister or president gives you property as a personal favour, that is called corruption. But a king, he can give you anything, and it's called royal favour.”
- “God did not trickle himself inside of us. He put all of himself inside of us.”
- “If he's owner of all, then he must maintain everything.”
Every scripture in this message
- Matthew 26:26-29
- 2 Corinthians 5:21
- Matthew 4:17
- Matthew 4:23
- Matthew 6:33
- Revelation 19:16
- Ephesians 4:5
- Matthew 19:16-22
- Exodus 20:7
- Deuteronomy 6:4-5
- Philippians 2:9-11
- Acts 4:17-18
- Psalm 115:15-16
- Psalm 24:1-2
- Psalm 47:7-9
- Exodus 7:5
- Psalm 8:1
- Psalm 16:2
- Psalm 22:26-28
- Psalm 23:1
- Hebrews 13:2
- Micah 4:5