Sunday Service Recap - January 24 2021

What you believe about God will impact your emotions and choices. Eternal life hinges on a true knowledge of who God is (John 17:3). Now “Adonai” is another amazing name of God, and not just a name, but a title of God first found in Genesis 15:1-2. Adonai means Lord, Master, Owner, Supreme Authority, Absolute Power (root word “adon”). When it refers to a human master, it is in the singular form, “adoni.”

But when it refers to God, amazingly, it’s in the plural ─ “Adonai”! This is a hint of the Triunity of God; it is not just the majesty of God that is implied here. “Adonai” literally means, “Lords” when it refers to God and gives the idea of the supreme, absolute, power of God, the One who has all authority and the One who owns everything — absolute Owner (Deuteronomy 10:17). But God is not just our Creator; He’s not just Omnipotent, Omniscient, etc.; the emphasis of this word is how we are to relate to Him, how we are to respond to Him. “SODA” is an acronym to help us respond to the Lordship of God:

     S — Surrender: Because God is the absolute Owner of everything.
     O — unconditional Obedience: Because He has supreme Authority.
     D — Devotion: Because He is a good Lord, a good Master.
     A — Anticipation: Because our Master is good, we anticipate His goodness towards us.

“After these things” (v.1) refers to Genesis 14, when Abram went to war and amazingly, defeated several kings! But he was a stranger in the land and must have felt insecure about his future. God takes the initiative to speak to him, the first time in the Bible where we read the words, “Do not fear”. Grammatically, we see that our good Lord gave Abraham a command in the continuous tense, “Abram, stop being afraid. Do not fear”. As we face 2021, many of us have anxiety and fears. We’re concerned that our loved ones might get COVID-19. We may lose jobs, finances, and relationships. God is telling us today, “Do not fear” and the only way to overcome fear is to come to know the Lord. God says, “I am a shield to you”. He’s not just saying He will protect us — He’s saying, “I am your protection.” The amazing answer to our fears, our security is none other than God Himself! We don’t know what the future holds, but God says, “I am with you, I’m your protection”. He is the absolute Owner; therefore, he has absolute, supreme Authority. He is a good Master and we can trust Him; we can be rested in Him. He says, “do not fear…I am a shield…your reward shall be great.” You can be devoted to Him because He is good, and He even promised you a great reward!

“Adonai” is translated in Greek as “Kyrios” which means “Lord”. The word “Yahweh” is also translated as “Kyrios” in the Greek Old Testament with the same meaning of “supreme power, absolute authority”. Amazingly, this same title “Kyrios” is used to describe Jesus 700 times in the New Testament! The word, “Savior” is used to describe Jesus only 20 times. In other words, Jesus is “Adonai = Kyrios”. “The LORD says to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet’” (Psalm 110:1).

The LORD “Yahweh”, says to “Adoni”. Jesus used this exact verse to refer to Himself (Matthew 22:42-44). Based on Psalm 110 as a Messianic prophecy about Himself—”I am the Adonai of the Old Testament”. The apostles used the same passage to prove that Jesus is the Messiah, that He is Adonai (Acts 2:34-36). Adonai of the Old Testament is the same “Adonai” (“Kyrios”) of the New Testament--Jesus. Jesus is none other than Lord.

Once you settle in your heart who is your Lord, 90% of all your decisions in life will be settled. Saul was on his way to persecute believers (Acts 9:1-6) when God took the initiative to appear Him. Paul asked the most important question we can all ask, “Who are you Lord?”. When Jesus told him who He was, Paul responded properly with, “What shall I do, Lord (Kyrios)?”, and the rest is history. Kyrios has the corollary counterpart, “servant/slave” (doulos) in the Bible used 124 times in the New Testament; over 800 times in the Old Testament. In the New Testament, doulos is translated only a few times as “slave” because English translators in the 16th-17th century used the word “servant” instead due to the negative connotation of “slave” then. But this does not show the original meaning of “doulos” because a servant is hired; a slave is owned. A servant has limited freedom, a slave has no rights; their wellness and future depend on the goodness of their master.

New Testament writers understood that Jesus is the Lord, and they considered themselves as His slaves. The Roman government then would force people to say, “Caesar is lord”; if not, you are jailed or killed. But the true followers of Jesus never said, “Caesar is lord”; only, “Jesus is my Lord”. How do you know Jesus is your Lord?

SURRENDER
We react to surrendering everything to Jesus because we want to be “free”. But true freedom from a biblical perspective is the power to say “no” to sin and “yes” to God. It’s the ability and desire that God gives to do what is right. True freedom comes only when you recognize and submit to the Lordship of Jesus. Romans 7:15-25 tells us of the experience of many people today, like Paul’s. We keep failing to do what we know is right but knowing the Lordship of Jesus is liberating! It will transform your life.

If you are a follower of Jesus but not completely surrendered, you’ll be miserable (Romans 7:24) because the Holy Spirit is telling you what you’re doing is wrong. Victory is not a matter of a “what”, but the “Who” — Jesus (Romans 7:25; John 8:34,36). Only Jesus can truly set us free, but only when you surrender completely to Him (John 8:31-32).

OBEDIENCE
“Not so Lord…” (Acts 10:13-14) is an oxymoron; you cannot say, “not so,” and then call Jesus, “Lord”. Either He is Lord and you say, “yes” or, He is not Lord. If Jesus is Lord, then you obey whatever He tells you; “Unless Jesus is Lord of all, He is not Lord at all” (S.M. Zwemer). Jesus warns us that not all who keep saying “Jesus is my Lord” will enter heaven (Matthew 7:21-23). The key to genuine salvation is to understand who Jesus is. It is a false sense of security to believe that you can go to heaven without really understanding what it means to follow Jesus. We are saved by grace; it is not something you work for or earn (Titus 2:11). But grace is never alone, it gives you the power to do what is right (Titus 2:12,14). James emphasized what true faith is vs. counterfeit faith (James 2:14-26). Genuine faith is never alone, good works will follow, and the evidence is changed lives.

DEVOTION
Jesus gave His life and bought our freedom from slavery to sin and have a life devoted to God (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). This is the amazing thing about Jesus, our Lord ─ He not only saved us, but more than that, He calls us His friends (John 15:13-15) and are now adopted children of God-- amazing blessings! It does not mean Jesus ceases to be Lord; our obedience to him as Lord and Master continues, and yet He tells us, “You are also My friend and My brother”.

ANTICIPATION
As you become devoted to him, you learn to anticipate His promises and serve Him with zeal, knowing you work is not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58). Like Joshua who chose to serve the Lord (Joshua 24:15), let us do so, too. The Bible is very, very, clear that one day that the entire creation will bow before Jesus, whether they like it or not (Philippians 2:10-11). Friends, make that choice TODAY because someday you will have no choice--you’ll be forced to confess that He is Lord, but that will be too late. Make a wise choice where you say, “Lord Jesus, today, I will surrender my all, I confess that You are my Lord, You are my Savior.”

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