This year I have lived in three monarchies: The kingdom of Cambodia, Thailand, and Swaziland.
Living in a world of democracy, freedom of speech, and President Trump I didn’t realize there were so much more kingdoms that still exist in the world. In my own little head, when I thought of kings and queens, the first three things that came to mind was (1) Ancient Egypt (2) the medieval period (3) The Queen of England.
Living in a world of democracy I can see why it can be hard to fully summit to Jesus as your Lord. Lordship is having supreme power or rule. In Thailand I read the book, Good or God by John Bevere. He went into depth in the difference between Lord and Savior. Jesus is our Lord AND Savior. Both have different traits and purposes. Jesus saved us from our sins by dying on the cross. Jesus is also the resurrected King that conquer death and He is sitting on the throne. He is the Lord of lords and the Kings of kings. (1 Timothy 6:14-15)Some believers just focus on the savior of the world- which is true. But you can’t forget about lordship. Their mindset is “Jesus saved me from my sins now I am good to go to heaven�. But they don’t fully submit to his word, will, or wisdom. However, to be in the Kingdom of God you must follow Jesus.
My pastor, Bishop Davis said “Being born again declares he is lord over our lives. There is a certain authority He has that when He orders, commands, instructs us to do whatever he wants us to do, there should be no negotiation, rebuttal, let me give you my side. When Jesus orders us to change our direction, change our mind, adjust a perspective- because we call him Lord we adjust and change whatever it is to align with His will for our lives”�
Luke6:46 “Why do you call me Lord and do not the things I say?”�
Today, there is so much freedom and choice. Trust me, I love exercising my freedom. But being overseas in these countries has given me tangible examples of what Lordship should look like.
- The Lord is the ruler of the land. Nothing belongs to you, yet it is borrowed. Which means if your Lord wants you to give up something. You just do it with no questions asked.
- The Lord has the final word. If the King tells you something, depending on the king, you might not have a say so. Ouch!! That’s a hard pill to swallow. There have been so many times when God tell me something but I challenge or try to change his mind. These wouldn’t fly in other kingdoms. You might get thrown in jail, killed, or thrown out. Thank God , He is sovereign.
- The Lord is not bad mouthed by his people. One common thing you can’t do in most kingdoms is talk bad about their king. It doesn’t matter who you are , if you publicly talk bad about the king you will be put to jail. Sorry but freedom of speech might not be exercise in these countries. Imagine if that was implement in the USA. Mostly everyone would be in jail because of their open views of our president.
As God was showing me these things I had a heart check with myself:
Am I allowing Jesus to rule over my possession. Especially on the race when God tells me to let go of physical things.
Am I allowing Jesus to have the last word in every area of my life? If not, why I am I trying to hold on to it?
Am I speaking well of Jesus? If there are people talking bad about him, am I quiet or I am bold to speak of his goodness?
I have been relearning total submission and total reverence of Jesus. We are in this world but we are not of it. We are not under the world lordship but we are under Kingdom of God. The good news is God is sovereign king.
