Foundational Principals in Genesis
Genesis One: The Lordship of Christ

Genesis series will deal with foundational truths such as:
   1. Authority
   2. Covenant
   3. Origin of Man and image of God
   4.  Nature and power of faith
 
TODAY: The Lordship of Christ

I. What Gives Him the Right to be Lord?

Ge 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.  3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.  4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.  5 God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning-- the first day.

2nd Day: Atmosphere around the earth
3rd Day:  Seas, dry ground, vegetation
4th Day:  Sun, moon, and stars
5th Day:  Fish, birds
6th Day:  Animals, bugs, and Man

Bible says that the Father created through Jesus by the Holy Spirit:

Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  2 He was with God in the beginning.  3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

Col 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.  16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.  17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.  18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.

One scholar said this:

In Gen 1:

Ge 1:26 Then God(Elohim) said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

Plural (Elohim) in our image/ Trinity

Father thought creation - Jesus spoke it - the Holy Spirit brought it into existence.

Principal is:

- God/Jesus created all things
- All things belong to Him
- All things are accountable to Him
- Any created thing that chooses to live independently from Christ are not noble, but in rebellion to the God of all the universe.

Jesus is Lord -
Php 2:9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,  10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,  11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Therefore since He is Lord, the only right response is to humble ourselves before Him

II. Lordship Defined

A. Jesus asks a question

Lu 6:46 "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?  47 I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. 48 He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.  49 But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete."

Lord, Lord: double use is for emphasis on Lord. Indicating all talk no do

B. Simple definition of Lordship: Doing what Jesus says to do.

1. Necessary things before we can know what Jesus says:

- Desire to know
- Student of God's word - know His will
- A person who prays - seeks God's mind
- Develop an ear for God's voice
- willingness/decision to do what He wants you know His will.

III. Lordship Goes Against Our Nature.

-  Lordship sounds negative
-  Paul refers to himself as: Slave and bond servant of Christ.

We relate more to William Ernest Henley in his poem Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeoning of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

- This last part is a direct statement of rebellion against God.

William Ernest Henley is saying:

"I don't care what the gospel says",   "I don't care what the Bible says", "You are not Lord, I AM LORD OF MY LIFE"!

The truth is:

Php 2:9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,  10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,  11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

 IV. But What Sounds Negative to the Sinful Human Heart is In Reality a Great Blessing.

The Blessings of the Lordship of Christ

#1. Only way to realize you full potential 

- God built things into you.
- He knows what you were created for
- By following Him as Lord, He leads you into exactly where and what you are supposed to be doing

And then blesses it.

Joh 15:5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. (NIV)

#2. Lordship is the Only way to truly be happy

- People that struggle against God are the most unhappy people on the earth.

- In seeking freedom they are enslaved to things that will destroy them.
- Satan promises fun, fulfillment, and freedom

- Before Christ I had wine and liquor bottles as trophy's on top my cupboards.

- I got saved and threw them away.
- Each bottle represented a quest for happiness

My friend said: "you're giving up all your fun"

- I remember all the fun I had riding the porcelain bus.

There is Joy in the Lordship of Jesus
Joh 15:8 This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. 9 "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.  10 If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love.  11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

- When I traded in my worldly freedom for the Lordship of Christ I got:

1. Deliverance from hell and eternal life.
2. Great Wife and family
3. Best job in the world
4. Trouble that has shaped me & helped me
5. I've seen lives changed by God power
6. I've witnessed people pass from this life to the next knowing they went to behold the face of Jesus.
7. I've seen the Himalayas
8. I've handed tracks to Buddhist monks on the streets of Katmandu
 10.I'm part of the greatest family in the world, the body of Christ.
11. I've preached the Gospel in Calcutta India
12. I have friends all over the United States and around the world because of Jesus.
13. I'm doing exactly what I am supposed to be doing right now this morning and that makes me happy.

#3. Lordship is the safest place on earth

- Fear is rising today over, sickness, terrorism, economy
- We wonder what is going to happen to us?

- Jesus has set my days.
- I'm not leaving one second before He says  so.
-  I'm not going through anything without His knowledge.

Ps 139:15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, 16 your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

When we have learned to hear and obey His voice is when we hear a warning:

- Take a different route
-  Don't do this thing
-  When He is Lord, His voice is King

Lu 6:46 "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?  47 I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice.  48 He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.  49 But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete."

#4. Lordship ensures heaven

- Faith in Christ will get you to heaven.

- Lordship will create a confidence and trust
  that removes all doubt
- The reason people have doubts about their
   salvation is they know they have not fully
   surrendered.

Jesus said:

Take up our cross
Die to self
Sanctification

Just simply means we have become 2nd and Jesus is now 1st.

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Conclusion:

Jesus calls us to experience Him as Lord

- to recognize that not only did he create us,
  but also purchased by His own blood

- He calls us to give up our right to be the
   master of our fate and the captain of our
   souls.

She was driven by her love for her brother to put him 1st, even though she thought it would mean her death.

May we give all, to the one who gave all for us.

Ro 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

What needs to come under the Lordship of Jesus today?