Reason for Living

What is your reason for living? Today many people, especially those who live in the United States, are extremely happy with their lives. Why? The stock market is on a great upward spiral and their investments are swelling with profits. There is a sense of euphoria and general well being filling the hearts of the American people as they enjoy this great peace and affluence.

But financial prosperity is no reason for living. Our ultimate reason for living is that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior. By his life and death Jesus Christ defeated sin, Satan, death, and hell for us, and gave us the promise that anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. In this Pentecostal day sermon, the first and greatest sermon of his life, the apostle Peter tells us that the true reason for living is that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Events of the First Easter

Fifty days before Peter preached this sermon, Jesus had been betrayed by Judas Iscariot, arrested, bound and brought before the Sanhedrin for questioning. When Caiaphas, the high priest, asked, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” Jesus declared, “I am,” meaning “Yes, I am the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One.” Then he volunteered a little more information about himself, saying, “In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” In other words, Jesus was saying, “You will see me as the Lord of the universe, ruling, reigning, and coming again with great glory and power to judge the living and the dead.”

How did Caiaphas, the president of the Sanhedrin, respond to this great answer? He tore his clothes and cried out, “Blasphemy!” Then the Sanhedrin condemned Jesus to death and brought him before Pilate, the Roman governor. After examining the charges brought against Jesus, Pilate, a Gentile, affirmed Jesus’ innocence three times. Later, however, at the urging of the crowd, Pilate condemned Jesus to die on the cross.

Jesus was crucified later that day. After Jesus was dead, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus took down his body, embalmed it and buried it. That should tell us these disciples did not believe the Scriptures or the words of Jesus that he would rise from the dead. Some pious women like Mary Magdalene wanted to embalm Jesus also, but by the time they arrived the morning after the Sabbath, it was too late. Very early on Easter morning this Jesus who had died and was buried, rose again as he had said he would. So the women were greeted by an angel who said, “He is not here; he is risen.”

The risen Jesus appeared to his disciples many times, teaching them, eating and drinking with them, and instructing them in the kingdom of God. After forty days, while blessing them, he ascended into the heavens. On the day of Pentecost, having received the Holy Spirit from the Father, he poured out the Spirit of God upon his church, anointing it for service.

The Day of Pentecost

As the assembled disciples were praying, a sound like the blowing of a mighty wind suddenly came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were staying. Tongues as of fire appeared and came to rest upon every believer. All the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages about the mighty things of God.

What do you think the disciples were saying? I am sure they spoke about the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Why? These are the greatest events that had ever happened to them. In fact, these are the greatest things that ever took place in the history of the universe–the mighty things of God!

Then the disciples moved out from the upper room to the court of the temple. A vast crowd of Jews was there, watching the disciples. They heard the mighty sound and listened to these people praising God and speaking about the mighty things of God. They observed the tongues of fire resting upon the heads of the believers–men and women who appeared as if on fire, yet not consumed.

“What does this mean?” the crowd asked. They were bewildered and confused by all these events. Some even speculated that the disciples were drunk. This curiosity of the crowd gave an opportunity for Peter, the chief apostle, to preach his first and greatest sermon.

Preaching in the Power of the Holy Spirit

As we look at this sermon, I want to make some points about preaching based on Peter’s sermon. First, biblical preaching must be in the power of the Spirit of God. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter began to tell the crowd that what they were seeing and hearing was the fulfillment of what the prophet Joel prophesied eight hundred years earlier and that God was pouring out his Spirit upon his church so that the church could prophesy.

We must be anointed with the Holy Spirit before we can preach the gospel. Jesus himself was anointed by God the Father with the Holy Spirit and power before he began his public ministry. Jesus also commanded his disciples to wait to bear witness to him until they had been anointed by him with the Holy Spirit. On the day of Pentecost in A.D. 28., the birthday of the church, Peter and the other disciples were baptized in the Holy Spirit.

Peter was now ready to prophesy, preach, and proclaim the gospel. The Holy Spirit anointed him and set him on fire, giving him power, wisdom, and faith, and opening the Scriptures to him. Peter was just an uneducated fisherman who had denied the Lord Jesus Christ three times–a naturally timid, fearful person. But after he was anointed by the Holy Spirit, he became bold, unashamed, unafraid, and brilliant. Clothed with power from on high, Peter now could proclaim Jesus Christ to the world.

Preaching Must Be Biblical

Second, preaching must be biblical. I am sure many people come to church to hear the preachers tell stories. They like to be entertained. But this preacher will not tell any story except the only story worth telling, that Jesus saves sinners.

In his first and greatest sermon, Peter was guided by the Holy Spirit into the meaning of the Scriptures. Let me assure you, when you are filled with the Holy Spirit, the Scripture will open to you. It is as though you are touching a live wire. Those listening to a Spirit-filled minister will be rebuked, corrected, taught, and trained by his sermon. Many times they will feel uncomfortable until they receive comfort from the Lord Jesus Christ himself. In fact, if you tell a godly minister that you feel uncomfortable when he preaches, you will be paying him the greatest compliment you can.

In this great Pentecostal Day sermon Peter cited four passages from the Old Testament. As I said, biblical preaching does not consist of telling stories to entertain an audience or addressing the felt needs of people based on some poll results. Biblical preaching means declaring the facts of the gospel from Scriptures. It means speaking of the Christ who alone meets man’s most serious need.

The Fulfillment of Joel’s Prophecy

The first passage Peter cited was Joel 2:28-32. “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem,” he began, “let me explain this to you. . . This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel,” Peter began. In other words, Peter was saying, “Brothers, what you see and hear is the fulfillment of what Joel prophesied eight centuries ago. God is pouring out the Spirit on all flesh that they may prophesy. He is setting his people on fire to preach the gospel so that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord be saved.”

Why do you think God pours out his Holy Spirit upon people? Because he loves sinners and wants all people to be saved. When the Holy Spirit is poured out, people will begin to prophesy, proclaim, and bear witness to the gospel of God. What is the gospel? That all who believe in Jesus Christ will be saved–saved from sin, saved from guilt, saved from hell, saved from death, saved from the dominion of Satan, and saved from the fear of the world.

The passage Peter quoted from Joel ended with the words, “And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” The gospel tells us that by Christ’s death and resurrection he has accomplished this redemption for all who repent and trust in him. We are freed by Christ, and if the Son sets us free, we will be free indeed. If this is true of us, then our reason for living will not be a bulging wallet. No, we will live our lives in the knowledge of the forgiveness of all our sins and the understanding that Jesus Christ has given us his perfect righteousness to stand before God now and forever.

Jesus Is the Messiah

The second scripture Peter cited was Psalm 16:8-10, which is the same scripture that the Holy Spirit guided Paul to quote as a proof of the resurrection of Christ when he preached the gospel in Pisidian Antioch (Acts 13:35). Peter was using this psalm to prove that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, the Savior, and he did so by telling his listeners that this psalm has ultimate reference, not to David, but to the Messiah.

Peter said that David was not speaking about himself when he said, “You will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay” (Acts 2:27). How could he say that with such assurance? Because David’s body was in the grave. After David died, his body was buried in a tomb on the slope of Ophel, near the Pool of Siloam, and in later years Herod the Great built a monument there with a white marble entrance. Everyone in Jerusalem knew where the tomb of David was.

Therefore, when Peter told the crowd, “His tomb is here to this day,” he was saying that this psalm was not speaking about David, whose body had long ago experienced corruption. David’s body had decomposed and only his bones remained, and anyone could go to his tomb to prove the truth of Peter’s statement.

What, then, was Peter asserting? He was saying that Psalm 16 is messianic. As a prophet in the tenth century B.C., David was allowed by God to see what would take place a thousand years after his time. Peter was asserting that in Psalm 16 David was speaking about his Son, the Messiah, Jesus Christ. This was brilliant prophetic insight given to Peter by the Holy Spirit as he preached.

What specifically was David prophesying about in Psalm 16? The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. When he said, “nor will you let your Holy One see decay,” he had to be referring to Jesus because the only body people ever saw again that did not see corruption was that of Jesus Christ. Jesus rose from the dead in his body.

Peter’s statements were a challenge to the crowd to disprove the resurrection of Christ. “Go ahead and look at Christ’s body, if you dispute my statement,” Peter was saying. “You know also where he was buried. Go ahead and produce his rotting body–if you can.” Peter knew that would be impossible because Jesus had risen from the dead in his body.

Prophecies Fulfilled in Jesus

So Peter told the crowd, “God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact.” In other words, “We who are apostles are witnesses of this great, impregnable, historical fact of the resurrection of Christ which David prophesied. Jesus Christ appeared to us after he rose from the dead and gave us many infallible proofs of his resurrection. We talked with him, ate with him, and were instructed by him. We saw the nailprints in his hands and handled him. He blessed us, and with our own eyes we watched him ascend into the heavens. We twelve apostles are designated by God to be eyewitnesses so that we can guarantee the authenticity of the gospel. ”

Now, this prophecy of David cited by Peter was not the only aspect of Jesus’ life that was prophesied hundreds of years before its fulfillment. David prophesied that the Messiah would be raised from the dead and thus Peter cited Psalm 16 when he identified Jesus Christ as the Messiah, the Savior, the anointed One promised by God.

But there were many other prophecies made in the Old Testament which were also fulfilled in the life of Jesus of Nazareth. For example, in Micah 5:2 the prophet Micah predicted that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. In the eighth century B.C. Isaiah predicted that he would be virgin-born, conceived of the Holy Spirit, as we read in Isaiah 7:14. The time and the death of the Messiah’s birth and death was revealed to us by the prophet Daniel in Daniel 9. David prophesied in Psalm 22 that this Messiah would be crucified and in Psalm 34:20 that no bones of his would be broken. Isaiah prophesied in Isaiah 11 that the Messiah would anointed by the Spirit and in Isaiah 53 that he would be rejected by his own people. Zechariah prophesied in Zechariah 9 that the Messiah would come into Jerusalem riding on a donkey and in Zechariah 11 that he would be sold for thirty pieces of silver. As we said before, David prophesied that the Messiah would rise from the dead in Psalm 16, and, additionally, that he would ascend into the heavens in Psalm 68.

What does all this tell us? It demonstrates that when we speak of Jesus Christ, who fulfilled all these prophecies, we are speaking truth, not mythology. God promised a Messiah in all of these scriptures, and Jesus of Nazareth was the fulfillment of that promise.

Does everyone believe this truth? No. I know that some people deny these truths by reasoning that there are no miracles and so the miraculous aspects of Jesus’ life could not have happened. But there is one problem with such circular reasoning–it will not stand the test of reality. When we die, we all must face this Jesus who rose from the dead.

Son of David and Lord of David

In this great Pentecostal Day sermon Peter cited two other passages of Scripture. First, in Acts 2:30 he makes reference to Psalm 132:11, which tells us, “The Lord swore an oath to David, a sure oath that he will not revoke: ‘One of your own descendants I will place on your throne. . .'” Peter cited this passage to show that the Messiah will be a Son of David, whom God would place on the throne–a Son of David who will obey God’s commands fully, a Son of David who would be righteous, a Son of David who would be seated on the throne to rule in total sovereignty. This Son of David is Jesus, as the angel Gabriel told Joseph. To this one God would give the throne of his father David, and he will rule forever and ever.

Then, under the leading of the Holy Spirit, Peter cited Psalm 110:1. He did so to show that Jesus is both the Son of David and the Lord of David and to prove that this Jesus was now enthroned at the right hand of God the Father.

Psalm 110 is the most quoted portion of the Old Testament. It is referred to in the New Testament over twenty-five times. Jesus himself cited it in Luke 20:41-44 when he asked the religious pundits of the time why they said the Christ is the Son of David while David called him Lord.

In Psalm 110:1 David said in great reverence and awe, “The Lord [Jehovah] said to my Lord [Adonai], ‘Sit at my right hand until I [Jehovah] make your enemies a footstool for your feet.'” By quoting this passage Peter was boldly proclaiming that this Jesus who is raised from the dead and ascended into the heavens is also enthroned by God the Father.

Preaching, therefore, must be biblical. Through exposition of Scripture Peter showed that this Jesus is both the Son of David and the Lord of David. He proclaimed that Jesus’ body did not see corruption because Jesus rose from the dead and therefore, he is the Messiah and Savior prophesied by David. And finally, he proclaimed that Jesus is now seated on the right hand of God in heaven, ruling the universe. So Peter concluded in Acts 2:36, “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

Preaching Must Be of Christ

I have said that, first, preaching should be anointed by the Spirit, and, second, it should be scriptural. Finally, preaching should be preaching of Christ, not the telling of stories or the massaging of people. We see this clearly when we examine this great Pentecostal Day sermon of Peter. Peter made the following points:

1. Jesus was from Nazareth. In his sermon Peter referred to Jesus as Jesus of Nazareth. In other words, he was speaking of the Jesus of history, the Jesus who came from Nazareth. Remember, at that time people held Nazareth in contempt, but Peter deliberately wanted to identify the Lord Jesus Christ as the Jesus of Nazareth. Why? Because Jesus is God, and therefore, the one who came out of Nazareth would bring glory to it.
2. Jesus was accredited by God. The second point Peter made in his sermon was that Jesus was accredited, approved, and certified by God “by miracles, wonders and signs.” In other words, when this Jesus of Nazareth performed miracles, it was God performing through him. God was not certifying and authenticating a man of Rome or Jerusalem. It was this Jesus of Nazareth alone about whom God declared, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.” In other words, God was saying, “I certify that Jesus of Nazareth alone is the Messiah. He alone is the Christ and the Savior, and salvation is found in no one else.”Why do you think God said, “This is my beloved Son; hear ye him!”? Because this Jesus alone has salvation for you or me or anyone else. He alone can forgive sins. He alone is the one whom God anointed with the Holy Spirit and power for the ministry. Jesus of Nazareth, the carpenter and son of Mary, was the only one whom God approved, and so if we want to be saved, we must come to this Father-accredited Jesus of Nazareth.

   In John 5:37 Jesus said about himself, “And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent,” meaning John the Baptist. But not only did John the Baptist witness that Jesus was the Son of God in John 1:34, God the Father himself testified to the authenticity of his Son Jesus Christ.

   The accreditation of Jesus Christ was also the work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus was the God-sent, God-approved, God-attested Messiah, and, in fact, it was God who performed miracles–the text says dunamis–through Jesus. When you hear the word “miracle,” it means mighty power being manifested. That is the idea–the mighty power of the Spirit of the living God working through Jesus.

   How else did God accredit Jesus? By working wonders through him. When we hear the word “wonders,” we think of something so startling that it would cause our eyes to come out of their sockets in amazement.

   What else did God do? He performed signs through Jesus. The word “sign” points to the person and the message of Jesus Christ. Whatever Jesus Christ did pointed to his person and called attention to his message.

   Why do you think God worked through Jesus in this way? Was it so that your eyes could pop out and you could get excited and go home and talk about it? No, all the miracles were performed by God through Jesus Christ so that we can trust in Jesus and be saved. We read about this in John 20:30-31, “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written,” meaning these miraculous signs, “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” As we said at the beginning of this sermon, that is our reason for living.

3. This was the eternal plan and purpose of God. The third component of Peter’s preaching was to tell the crowd that all these events were part of the eternal plan and purpose of God. “This one was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge,” Peter began. In other words, “Brothers, it was not by accident that Jesus of Nazareth was handed over to the authorities. No, it was according to the determinate counsel, foreknowledge, plan and purpose of God that his Son be handed over to death.”Have you ever wondered why God has this eternal plan of handing his Son over to death? The wonderful answer is that God loves sinners. John 3:16 tells us, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

   Peter spoke of this determinate will of God in Acts 4:27-28. As he stood before the Sanhedrin Peter said, “Indeed, Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.” It was God’s wise plan that his Son, the righteous One, should die for us, the unrighteous, so that elect sinners be saved through faith in him. He is the Lamb of God, we are told, slain from the foundation of the world.

   Jesus knew about this plan all of his life. After his resurrection he asked his disciples: “Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And what was the purpose of Christ’s suffering and death? That repentance and forgiveness of sins may be proclaimed to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem. All these events were part of God’s way of saving us, Peter declared.

4. Jesus was killed. Then Peter, this timid fellow who was now set on fire, told the crowd, “But you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.” In other words, Peter was saying, “You killed Jesus! You rejected his confession that he is the Messiah, the Son of God, and the accreditation by the heavenly Father, and you killed him!” meaning this crowd was responsible for the guilt of their actions.”Yes,” Peter was saying, “the events of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection were ordained by God but you freely killed him and now you are full of guilt. You killed him concerning whom God said, ‘This is my beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased; hear ye him!’ But instead of hearing him, you killed him–God’s Son, your Savior. You–Jews and Gentiles alike–acted freely and thus you are guilty of rejecting and murdering the God-approved One.”
5. Christ was buried and resurrected from the dead. Next, Peter spoke about the burial and resurrection of Christ. Verse 29 implies that Jesus was buried, and the apostle Paul uses the word etaphe in 1 Corinthians 15:4– “he was buried.” And in verse 24 Peter said, “But God raised him from the dead.” This Jesus of Nazareth–this God-approved one; this one whom the people had rejected, nailed, murdered, mocked, spat upon, and condemned; this one who had performed miracles even though his enemies said he did so through demon powers; this one whose testimony they did not believe when he said to Caiaphas, “I am Christ, the Son of the living God”; this one whom they crucified, was raised from the dead by God the Father. Christ was freed from the agony of death!Did you know there was a battle going on between Jesus Christ and death? It was a great fight, and death almost had the victory. In fact, death had already begun its celebration as Jesus was dying on the cross. But this scripture tells us that death was incompetent and impotent to hold Jesus Christ under its power, and so by his death Jesus destroyed death. That is the greatest news we can ever hear because it gives us great freedom from our fear of death.

   In Hebrews 2:14-15 we read, “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in the humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death–that is, the devil–and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.”

   If you are not a Christian, let me ask you a question: What are you fearing? Let me tell you what it is: The Bible says you are fearing your own death. I am sure you are probably praying hard that you will not die.

   But there is another way to deal with this fear of death–you can put your trust in Jesus Christ who defeated death and the devil for us once and for all. Death was proved powerless and incompetent before the Son of God, the Messiah. It could not keep its hold on him. Why? Because Jesus was the Holy One, the sinless One. First Corinthians 15:56 tells us the sting of death is sin, but Jesus was without sin. He is perfect–very God and very man–and therefore death has no claim upon him. He is the resurrection and the life, the Messiah, the sinless One.

   There was a battle between death and the devil and the sinless Jesus. But death and the devil were defeated by the death of Jesus. Jesus rose again and his body did not see corruption. So Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:56-57, “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ,” whose death destroyed the power of death for us.

   In Acts 2:31 Peter brilliantly revealed how David prophesied the resurrection of Christ when he wrote in Psalm 16 that his body would not see corruption. And in verse 32 Peter said, “God has raised this Jesus to life,” and then he added, “and we,” meaning the apostles, “are all witnesses of the fact.”

   The apostles were there to guarantee the impregnable foundation of the gospel facts. They had been with Jesus, handling him, touching him and observing all that he did or taught, and so they could speak with certainty about Jesus Christ. In fact, Luke addressed both Luke and Acts to a Gentile named Theophilus, and in Luke 1:4 Luke himself gives the reason for writing his two accounts: “that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught,” meaning the certainty of Christianity.

   Luke used an interesting word, asphaleian, in this verse. In the Greek it means to be tripped up or fall. In other words, the lie of Satan, “You shall not surely die when you disobey God” will make you trip up and fall. But Christianity will never trip you up and cause you to fall. Instead, Christianity alone comes to whatever pit you are in and takes you out of it. There is no other gospel and no other Savior to save you, Luke is saying. In other words, Luke was saying, Theophilus, I am telling you the facts. Believe them.

   In Acts 4:10 and 5:30-31 we find Peter speaking in front of the same Sanhedrin before whom Jesus himself spoke, declaring that God raised this Jesus from the dead. These people had the tremendous opportunity to disprove Peter’s claim instantly. They could have gone, recovered the rotting body of Jesus Christ, and produced it for all to see, but they failed to do so. Why do you think they could not disprove this stupendous claim that Jesus Christ had risen from the dead? Because it was impossible! There was no rotting body. I am sure these people tried whatever they could to put an end to the spread of Christianity, but they failed, and so they got angry instead. When the logic fails, what do you do? You get angry. Isn’t that true?

6. Christ was exalted. Then Peter spoke about the exaltation of Jesus Christ. Remember what Jesus prayed on the night before his crucifixion in his high priestly prayer? In John 17:5 we read, “And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” In Acts 2:33 Peter declared that God the Father exalted Jesus Christ to the right hand of God.Having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received the promise of the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ then poured the Holy Spirit out upon the disciples. This was what the crowd saw and heard, Peter explained. Jesus Christ died, Jesus Christ was buried, and Jesus Christ rose from the dead and is exalted. In Ephesians 1:21 Paul speaks about this exaltation of Christ, “far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age, but also in the one to come.” Jesus himself had said that all authority in heaven and on earth had been given to him.

Friend, you have no place to hide from Jesus Christ. He is the Sovereign Ruler of the entire universe, and he has been given a name that is above every name–the ineffable name of Jehovah. Not only that, he is seated at God’s right hand, enthroned and crowned as the King of kings and Lord of lords. And in Philippians 2:10,11 we read that every knee must bow to him and every tongue must confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Jesus Christ was Lord before he came into this world and he was Lord when he was in this world. In fact, in John 13:13 he told his disciples, “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am.” And now he is the exalted Lord as prophesied in Psalm 110:1. He has received all authority in heaven and on earth.

Jesus humbled himself in his incarnation, but the Father highly exalted him. God the Father proclaims to the whole universe that he is Lord and Christ and Savior.

Peter speaks about this in Acts 2:36. “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this,” Peter boldly says, “God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. . .” beyond the shadow of a doubt. Luke used the same words when he told the Gentile Theophilus he was writing so that he may have absolute certainty of Christianity.

God has made this Jesus both Lord and Christ. God appointed him and God publicly proclaims to the whole universe that his Son is Lord. “This Jesus whom you crucified, this Jesus who died, this Jesus who was buried, this Jesus who was raised, this Jesus who ascended into the heavens–God appointed him both Lord and Christ.” So I ask you: Do you want to fight with that appointment? Do you want to dispute that proclamation? Do you want to argue against God?

Is Christ Your Lord?

The conclusion of Peter’s sermon is simply this: Jesus is Lord and Christ. This Jesus who poured out the Holy Spirit upon the disciples from heaven and who is now in heaven, seated at the right hand of the Majesty on high, is Lord, meaning he is God, and therefore he must be worshiped. And he is also Christ, which means he is the Savior, so we can call upon him and receive salvation from him. Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Can anyone come up with another savior? No. There is no other Savior. Jesus Christ alone is Lord and, therefore, he alone is Savior.

In Romans 10:9,10 Paul says, “If you confess with your mouth ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” The truth is, no one can make that confession unless the Holy Spirit works in that person.

Have you ever wondered what Jesus is doing now? He is seated as King in the heavenlies from whence he rules and reigns. He is making war and subduing all his enemies, making them a footstool for his feet. Therefore, I must ask you: Is Jesus Christ your Lord? There are only two relationships we can maintain with Jesus Christ. We can either be his footstool, meaning we are God’s enemies, or we can be the bride of Christ, seated with him in the heavenly places. We are either seated with him or under his feet. There is no other option. It is my counsel that you confess “Jesus is Lord,” worship him as God and call upon him as Savior.

How do we make Jesus Christ our Lord? We must make him Lord of our mind first. Every thought must be brought into captivity to Jesus Christ the Lord. Then we must make him Lord of our behavior by obeying him. We must make him Lord of our emotions, our finances, our marriage, and our vocation. In other words, we must make Jesus Christ Lord of our whole life!

If you are not inclined to make Jesus Christ your Lord, read 1 Corinthians 15:24-27 and Revelation 19. There you see him waging war against all those who have not bowed down to him and made him their Lord. Even those who have great amounts of money and strength and position and power will die and have to face him. No one is able to resist the Lord Jesus Christ.

I plead with you to bow down before him to confess him as Lord–first of your mind, of your intellect. Don’t say to me that you are a free thinker. Free thinkers say there is no God, but do you know what the Bible says about such free thinkers? They are fools, slaves of sin, blinded by Satan, and tripped up by his lies.

The ultimate reason for living is Jesus Christ. Only he is accredited by the Father, raised from the dead by the Father, exalted to the heavens by the Father, crowned by the Father, and made Sovereign Lord of the universe by the Father. The Father has declared to all people that his Son alone is the King of kings and Lord of lords, and thus all must honor him, revere him, worship him, confess to him, and call him Lord.

Have you called upon the name of the Lord for salvation? You may feel no need for Jesus Christ. Your wallet may be bulging and you may be experiencing a certain sense of euphoria. Let me tell you, such things are deceptive. When everyone around you says, “Peace and safety,” sudden destruction will come upon them, without warning. Therefore, I urge you this day to say, “Lord Jesus, have mercy upon me. I confess that you are Lord. I confess that you are Savior. Save me!” The Bible says, “Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Amen.