Who's The Boss?

A nobleman…called ten servants and divided among them ten pounds of silver, saying: “Invest this for me while I am gone.” But his people hated him and said, “We do not want him to be our king.”  Luke 19:12-15

“You’re not the boss of me!” an angry three-year-old shouts when parents give unpleasant instruction. “You’re not the boss of me!” we whisper to God as we dig in our heels and choose sin anyway. Like the people in Jesus’ parable, we do not want Him to be our king—but we do want His blessings. So we invent a new “Jesus” who won’t disagree with us. This “Jesus” doesn’t try to be the boss of us. With this “Jesus” we can enjoy mushy worship songs, repost inspirational tweets, and pep ourselves up with Bible verses carefully selected to support our opinions. This fake “Jesus” does not require us to give an account of our lives; He is merely a cheerleader on the sidelines telling us we’re awesome while we do exactly what we want to do. This idea is not very original, but since it works so well, Satan keeps using it. That’s his voice hissing: “God’s not the boss of you.”

Jesus being the “boss of us” is the whole point. That’s what salvation is all about. When we stand before Him, we will be judged by how well we let Him be the boss. When temptation beat on our door, was He the boss? When prosperity arrived and it was easier to enjoy ourselves than deny ourselves, was He the boss? (Luke 9:23) When inferiority threatened, when laziness beckoned, when suffering increased…was He the boss? We often want what Jesus offers but we don’t want Jesus. We don’t want a king to rule over us. We want to be king. But when we give an account, God will ask: “Who was the boss of you?”

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What Kind of King Do You Want?

They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, "Hosanna!"  John 12:13

Rabbi Jesus was the Man of the Hour. The crowds were in a frenzy of excitement. Their Deliverer had come at last! Things were gonna be great! All their hopes and dreams would now come true. Grab a palm branch, Benjamin, good times are on the way! But within a matter of days, the cries of joy became cries of “Crucify Him!” What happened? How could such love and joy turn into hatred so quickly? How could thousands adore Him one minute and betray Him the next? The same reason we do.

Palm branches were the way common people welcomed royalty. When they waved palm branches and laid them on the ground for the donkey to walk on, they were declaring Jesus their new king. He was going to deliver them from the oppressive Romans and set things right once more. But He didn’t. He wasn’t the kind of king they expected. He let them down. So they let Him down too. Just like we do. 

Many eagerly welcome Jesus into their lives as Savior, but when faced with the Lordship question, they balk. “Wait a minute,” they say. “I want the forgiveness, the comfort, and eternal life. But what’s this obedience talk? You mean I have to do things His way?” They throw away their palm branches and invent their own kind of king: “Sure I’m a Christian, but I decide what’s right for me.” 

Two thousand years later, Jesus is still not the King most people want.

What about you? 

Is Jesus Christ the King you want? 

If He is not Lord, He is not Savior either.

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What's Your Nature?

Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? Luke 6:46

The energetic pup yapped at the preschoolers as he darted between their legs and nipped at their ankles. He had cornered  three hysterical children by the time his owner caught up with him. “Sarge, no!” the man shouted. He grabbed the pup by the collar and jerked him into a sitting position. He then knelt beside the terrified kids. “I’m sorry, guys. Sarge didn’t mean to scare you. He’s just a puppy, and he’s still learning. He’s an Australian Shepherd. It’s his nature to herd things, anything. Even kids. When he’s trained, he will help me on my ranch. He thinks he’s helping me now, by cornering you guys. You wanna pet him?”

Australian Shepherds and Border Collies were bred to help ranchers with their livestock. From puppyhood, many of them act out those natures in inappropriate and often hilarious ways. They do what they do because of who they are. We also do what we do because of who we are. Our old nature was to sin, to please ourselves, and to act upon every selfish impulse. But when we are born again as children of God (John 3:3), He changes our natures (1 Cor. 5:17).  

This new nature hates the sin we once craved. It wants to please God and surrender those selfish impulses. In this verse, Jesus is identifying His true friends as those who obey His word. Faith in Christ results in a desire to obey Him, and we do that because of who we are. Without obedience, we are not His friends, we are only fans—and He never called us to be fans. Fans talk about Jesus; followers obey Him.

Do you call Jesus “Lord” but refuse to do what He says? 

Let Him change your nature. 

What Have You Said Yes To?

 

The crowd roared as the popular worship band exited the stage. Hundreds had stood in response to the call to follow Jesus. They had come forward to thunderous applause, some weeping, some bewildered, and joined the throng at the foot of the stage. A member of the band led them in a group prayer and volunteers tossed handfuls of gospel tracts over their heads. What a night! Awesome music. Sensational testimonies. Hundreds responding to the message of the kingdom.

But then they all went home. The excitement fizzled. Rush hour traffic replaced the soaring harmonies. Overdue bills and hateful coworkers pushed the thrill of that night into a hazy memory. The craving for sensual pleasures overcame the flicker of spiritual longing, and many who had walked forward for change now walked back to the world. Belonging to Jesus had seemed so emotionally thrilling at the concert, but what was all this about obedience? Mountaintop expectations began to resemble humility and self-sacrifice. Disillusionment set in. They hadn’t really listened to the part about lordship, self-denial, or endurance, and after a few weeks it was clear that the response for many had been to the rush of adrenaline, not the Holy Spirit. Like seeds planted in rocky soil, they sprouted quickly but would never grow because there was no root to sustain them.

 Have you said “yes” to a rush of adrenaline or “yes” to the lordship of Jesus? 

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