Didn't we say "Lord Lord" enough?
Beloved the name has no power without the relationship. In the Book of Acts we encounter the seven sons of Sceva, who was a local priest. As such, these sons knew all about religion. They knew all about the pomp and circumstance. They knew all about what the right things to say. They went around using the name of Jesus and Paul to try and cast out demons. But without the relationship they were in deep trouble.
But one time when they tried it, the evil spirit replied, "I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you?" Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, overpowered them, and attacked them with such violence that they fled from the house, naked and battered. -- Acts 19: 15-16 (NLT)
We see this today as well. Churches filled with the seven sons of Sceva. Filled with religion but short on relationship. Plenty of ability to say "Lord Lord" but without Him truly being their Lord. The single most important decision in our lives is to make Jesus the Lord of it. Not to come back to a church building. When you strip out the sin and repentance then you strip out the power to save. You have to realize the need to be saved in order for Jesus to be your Savior. I know the bar He found me in. I remember my purposeless existence and even though I am not yet where He would like me to be -- thank God I am not where I was!
Perhaps a personal illustration will help. In 1998 I was facing a vast desert experience in my unsaved life. The type of times when we either push God away or draw Him closer. I chose to draw closer to Him. I remember one night watching an infomercial starring Andy Pettitte, who was pitching for the Houston Astros back then. In desperate need I cried out "Lord Lord" and said the Sinner's Prayer along with Andy. They sent me a Bible which I promptly put on a shelf. You see I was sorry for the state my life was in but I was not repentant for who I was. I knew I had made a deal with God but I did not understand it. The church today is filled with such people. Filled with people who said a simple prayer and are genuinely sorry without being genuinely repentant. The difference is this. I had no one around me to tell me I was saved and thank God for that because I was not. The churchgoer however is not only assured of a salvation they do not possess but is then pushed through baptism and into membership so they can be plugged into ministry. They go to church. They serve in ministry. They tithe faithfully. And when the last day comes and they stand before Jesus they will say "Lord Lord" and be turned away.
In 2002, God sent someone into my life to cash in the marker He had established four years earlier. This person witnessed to me not only about the God of blessings but the God of forgiveness of sins. Eventually I went to a Bible believing church where the preacher gave the familiar Pentecostal altar call. The weight of my sin, which I had been carrying around my entire life finally become too much to bear alone and I knew the only place I could get rid of it was that altar. I crawled there spiritually and gave my life to Jesus. I said the Sinner's Prayer again but this time I was saved because my heart had been regenerated. I knew I was a different person the next day I woke up. Not anywhere near perfect. Nothing anyone else could probably tell the difference of. But no question different. Suddenly, my life decisions mattered to God! Suddenly I had to consider what He wanted instead of what I wanted! Instead of saying "Lord Lord" -- He was my Lord. Not that I did not fail and fall all the time -- I still do. But now it mattered to me because it mattered to my Lord. Can you see the difference?
Words are just words without actions. People and churches can wrap up the most ungodly things in the name of Jesus but that does not make them holy. That does not make them righteous. Like Israel before us, so many churches are playing religious games. Saying all the right things, singing the right songs, and dancing the right dances - while blurring the lines and drowning in leaven. That is bad enough for the church but it can be a dire cost for the goat that sits in the congregation believing they are a sheep. Deadly eternal consequences indeed. Stop playing church today and make Him the Lord of your life.
Reverend Anthony Wade -- April 4, 2013
