The Overcoming Church: Living Under the Lordship of Christ

Church, we are going to continue our service and our series about the overcoming church. In the past several weeks, we have heard from some amazing preachers—Pastor Bob and Pastor Liz. We will definitely miss Pastor Liz’s voice in this house on a regular basis. Be praying for them. They are in North Carolina today ministering and then leave tomorrow for Thessaloniki with only eight bags as they relocate to where God has them for this season. So keep them in your prayers.

We are going to continue in this message of the overcoming church, something the Lord put on our hearts—to talk about overcoming, living an overcoming life now, and being the church of God that overcomes when He returns. It is both. In the last several weeks, we have spent time talking about lordship. We’ve spent time understanding who the Lord is, what lordship is, and the kingdom that He is Lord of.

I want to remind us, before we move into this next part, what Pastor Liz and Pastor Bob shared with us. It’s really important that we build upon what has been taught. This is a building as we go forward. Lord means “he to whom a person or thing belongs.” It is a concept that we Americans don’t actually like. It is a concept that humanity doesn’t actually like, all the way back to Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel. We do not like someone telling us what to do. Okay, just me? That’s fine. I do not always like that in my life. Lord means “he who has the power of deciding.”

Pastor Liz challenged us with the concept of lordship, saying that Jesus is more than just an occasional advisor. Let me say that again—Jesus is more and should be more than just an occasional advisor or helper when we get ourselves in trouble. An advisor when we run into a crossroads in life: “Lord, I need your guidance.” We’re real quick to use that word “Lord” there—”Lord, I need your help with this situation. I need your help with that situation. Lord, I need your direction here. Lord, I need this. I need that.”

Lordship is more than an occasional advisor. He is our Lord with full authority over every aspect of our lives. Pastor Liz described lordship as not being about control, not about asking Him for His opinion when we decide, but about allowing Him to be Lord of our lives, meaning He decides everything. He decides everything. How does that work? Is that something true for each one of us? Pastor Liz challenged us on this, saying we like to declare His lordship but must ask ourselves if we are actually making Him Lord in our lives. Are we actually letting Him decide everything?

Not because we’re afraid of Him. Not because we have to follow rules or think, “Oh, I better get in line.” But because He is good. He paid everything for me. He paid everything for you. He created everything so that we could walk in relationship with Him. He’s not a lord who wants to “lord over” us with harsh rules or punishments if we don’t do what He says. He’s inviting us into the fullness of life that He created us for. Satan is the one who pushes us down and tries to lord over us, but God says, “Release that and let Me be Lord so I can bring you into a freedom you have never experienced.”

Because, you know what? I think we believe we make more decisions than we actually do. I think we are influenced by an enemy in making decisions. But when we align our lives and truly have Him as Lord, every decision we make with Him will lead to full life, full peace, full joy—everything we truly want in life. God has that for us. Yes, everything.

Pastor Liz said this, and I have to quote it: “I found a way of living that’s worth giving everything else up.”

That’s what making Him Lord means—that it’s worth giving everything else up because He is full of goodness. I found someone worth giving everything for—not because of what I gain, although we will gain much, but because of who He is. We must have a revelation of the Lordship of God. We must have a revelation of the sovereignty of Christ. It is the foundation of our belief. We say it in our prayer for salvation: “Be my Savior and my Lord.”

And He’s challenging us: Will we walk this out? Will we let Him be our Lord? John, in the book of Revelation, had a revelation of the sovereignty and lordship of Christ. Revelation 1:1 in the Amplified says, “This is the revelation of Jesus Christ, the unveiling of the divine mysteries.” The experience that John had when he wrote the book of Revelation was the unveiling of Christ Himself—of who Christ was and the sovereignty of God.

In verse 8, Jesus reveals Himself and says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” John, exiled on the island of Patmos, says in verse 10, “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, saying, ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,’ and, ‘What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches.’”

In verse 12, John turns to see the voice that spoke with him. He has a revelation: “He saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands, One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire. His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters. He had in His right hand seven stars, and out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.”

John says, “And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though dead.”

Has anyone ever tried to describe a dream or vision to someone? It’s hard to capture the full depth of what was experienced. John’s description here is profound, but even this likely just scratches the surface of what he saw. Imagine being in the presence of Jesus—the majesty and splendor of Christ. John fell at His feet as though dead, which seems like the only appropriate response.

Jesus then laid His right hand on John and said, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.”

This was a revelation of the sovereignty of Christ—“I have the keys to hell and to death.” Church, do we truly understand this? Jesus holds the keys to hell and death.

The foundation of overcoming lies in understanding and receiving the revelation of the Lordship of Christ. He is Lord. Whether or not we acknowledge His Lordship does not change the fact that He is Lord. He is the Creator of all things, the One who was from the beginning, the One who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is the “I Am”—the ever-present God, the help in times of trouble, the One who brings freedom, peace, joy, and life everlasting.

Acknowledging His Lordship doesn’t change Him; it changes us. It transforms our position in relation to Him. A revelation of Christ as Lord changes everything—it changes how we position our lives, how we live, and how we make decisions. Living under God’s Lordship means trusting that His wisdom and ways are infinitely higher than ours. In doing so, we are promised a life marked by peace, joy, and purpose as we step into the fullness of His kingdom—true life, freedom, righteousness, and everything the kingdom of God offers.

The foundation of overcoming is rooted in the revelation of the Lordship of Christ. Here’s the key: we cannot overcome the world without the authority of God, and we cannot walk in the authority of God without submitting to His Lordship. Simple. I’m going to say it again: we do not overcome the world without the authority of God. We do not walk in the authority of God without submitting first to His lordship.

So today, I want to start the conversation about operating in authority. Because if authority is a key to overcoming, we must understand it. And lordship is the key to authority. This is why we’re building. We must understand lordship so that we can understand authority. We must understand authority so we can walk and live an overcoming life.

Authority. The Home and Bible Dictionary defines divine authority. It’s from the Greek word exousia. Although sometimes translated as power, it primarily refers not to physical strength or power but to the rightful and legitimate exercise of power. A person has authority primarily by virtue of the position they hold, not by physical coercion or might.

All authority can be characterized as either intrinsic or delegated. Intrinsic authority is dominion one exercises because it is innate in the person or inherent in the office held by that person. Because He is God and Creator of the universe, God has sovereignty and dominion over all things. Only the Triune God has purely intrinsic authority. Delegated authority is given from one who has intrinsic authority to one serving in an office or carrying out a function.

This is important. Listen. Delegated authority is not innately or inherently possessed. It is authority derived from one whose authority is intrinsic. All authority is God’s. All other authority is derived from Him.

All authority is God’s, so all other authority is derived from Him. We must accept Jesus as Lord to accept His authority. To accept authority means to put ourselves under authority. You see, God wants to delegate His authority here on earth. The church is how He is going to walk out the authority of Christ here and now. It is through you, and it is through me.

So we must be in a place and operating in a way where we understand the Lordship of Christ and put ourselves underneath the authority that He has in order for Him to delegate authority to us that we walk out to overcome. Does this make sense? Maybe it will later. I’m hoping it will later.

To be an overcomer, we must learn to operate in authority. All authority comes from Him, and we must step into a place underneath His authority to begin to walk in that authority here and now.

Let’s get an example. Matthew 8. We’re going to start in verse five. Some of you probably know this story. Now, when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him pleading with Him, saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home, paralyzed and dreadfully tormented.”

Now, the centurion was a Roman guard. This was not a believer, not a follower or disciple of Christ. This wasn’t even a Jewish person. A centurion was a Roman officer. So he comes and says, “Lord, my servant is dying. He’s paralyzed and dreadfully tormented.” And Jesus said, “I will come and heal him.”

But the centurion answered and said, “Lord, no, I’m not worthy that You should come under my roof, but only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.”

“For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes. And to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

When Jesus heard it, He marveled and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel.” And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way, and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour.

This Gentile Roman officer understood authority, and he recognized authority. Yes, yes, he understood authority. He said, “I am a man under authority.” Now note, he carried a lot of authority, but his statement was not that “I am a man that has authority.” He didn’t say, “I am a man with authority.” He said, “I am a man under authority.”

He understood that the authority he carried was because of the position he held. He alone did not have the authority. It was because of who he was and the position in the military and in the government of the day that when he said something, everybody did it. There were no questions—it was done.

He understood that it wasn’t a power trip. He knew that if he were no longer in the military, he would not have the same kind of power and authority he wielded. Yes. He understood authority from a very practical, everyday, secular way. And Jesus said, “I have not met a man in Israel with this much faith.”

Wait a second. He wasn’t a disciple. Do you think His disciples might have gotten a little offended that all of a sudden, this Roman guard comes up and Jesus is like, “Sorry, guys, he’s got way more faith than you.”Hear this: Jesus connects how authority works to faith. The centurion knew he didn’t have to verify that when he said “go,” it was done. He knew it. He knew exactly what was going to happen. That is what it’s like walking in the authority of Christ.

Faith. It’s an interesting combination. Jesus connects how authority works with faith. This centurion recognized that Jesus was also under authority. Because he said to Jesus, “I am also a man under authority.” He recognized that Jesus was under authority—that He was a representative of God on the earth.

A Gentile Roman officer recognized that what Jesus did was a representation of someone greater. He understood authority. He recognized that Jesus was a submitted man. In John 5:19, Jesus says, “Truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of His own accord, but only what He sees the Father doing.” The centurion knew that. He saw that Jesus was God’s representative on earth.

It is God’s design to distribute His life here on earth, and God’s life brings freedom. He wants to distribute it through you and me. Surrendering to God’s authority allows us to live in alignment with the divine purpose He created for us.

George talked about surrender today, and we’ll go into it more next week. But it’s our choice. When faced with the authority of God, we have two choices: to yield, surrender, and submit our lives to Him, or to contend with Him, to struggle against His authority, allowing our will and self to compete for lordship in our lives.

True surrender to God’s authority allows us to live in alignment with His purposes. And like George said today, it’s an exchange. It’s not about giving up something for nothing; it’s about giving up a little for everything. He created us for true life, true freedom, and true peace—everything the kingdom of God offers.

He’s inviting us into this, but we must acknowledge the source, recognize His position, and align our lives under the authority of Christ. He created us for this. He created you for this. He created you to carry the life of Christ everywhere you go. He created you to bring the kingdom of God into every place you go.

We do this by submitting to Him and Him alone. We do this by yielding our will to Him and allowing His authority to flow through us. In Matthew 28, Jesus says, “All authority has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples.” He’s been given all authority, and He’s sending us with that authority.

In Luke 9, Jesus gathers the Twelve, gives them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and sends them to preach the kingdom of God. In Luke 10, Jesus says, “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”

In John 14, Jesus says, “Truly, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and greater works than these, because I go to the Father.” This is what He has for us. God wants to release His authority to His church, His disciples, to those who follow Him, those who are submitted to Him, those who know Him and understand the authority we carry and who we represent.

Godly authority is not about exerting power and control. It’s about life flowing—blessings, opportunities, freedom, peace, and joy in Christ. That’s what authority is: the extending of God’s presence, joy, and the power and demonstration of the Holy Spirit.

To function in the authority of Christ, we must yield and surrender. It is in the surrender to the Lordship of Christ that the power and presence of God are released. It is in surrender and yielding that we find God’s glory.

We carry the glory of God when we walk in His authority. Do we understand that? We carry the glory of God, and we need to release it. To do this, we must first position our lives under His Lordship. Then, the power gets released.

Amen, Amen. That’s all for today. We’ll continue next week. I want to invite you to have fellowship with us. For the rest of you watching online, we’ll see you next week. Before we go, I have a couple of announcements about today.

We’re doing what we’re calling a “Switch-It-Up Sunday.” Nobody had to bring food for their families today. We have Jacqueline, West, Chrislyn, and a few others setting things up. So don’t go straight to a table when you head to the fellowship hall!