If I could choose one man who has
influenced me more than any other for Christ,
it would have to be Dr. Stephen F.
Alford.
He was my homiletical mentor, colleague, and friend.
He taught me how to have a daily
devotional life.
He taught me how to preach expository sermons.
He taught me about revival.
But most importantly, friends, he taught me the
value of the doctrine of the Lordship of
Christ, that to live a life of victory
in Christ, then Christ must rule and reign
upon the throne of the heart, where he
is dominant there, that the old man may
be dormant.
I believe a story about Stephen Alford best
typifies him.
It occurred while he was pastor of Calvary
Baptist Church in New York City.
He just got back in town.
He was in a taxi from the airport,
and the cab driver had a unique accent
of being a Jamaican.
The cab driver asked him, Hey mon, what
kind of work are you in?
Stephen Alford replied that he was a minister
of the gospel.
The cabbie looked surprised and said, Oh mon,
how can you, a man like that, live
in such a wicked place like New York
City?
Dr. Alford said, I see by your accent
that you are from Jamaica.
Do you recall the beautiful lily that grows
on that island?
Oh, yes, mon, that white lily grows in
the strangest place, in a black bog.
Then Stephen Alford replied, My good man, that's
my case, for I am a lily in
a bog.
One thing I learned from Stephen Alford, friends,
was that if you're going to be a
lily in the bog, then you must live
a life of holiness unto God, and the
only way to do that is to be
surrendered to the Lordship of Christ in the
daily life.
I really believe, friends, that the primary reason
we have such lawlessness in our churches today
is that we have quit preaching the doctrine
of the Lordship of Christ.
Can you remember, friend, when the last time
was you heard a sermon on the Lordship
of Christ?
Preachers in former days knew the importance of
this doctrine and the power of it.
Men like Mordecai Ham made the Lordship of
Christ his main message, and he witnessed powerful
revivals in every city he visited.
Listen to his own words from his biography.
I preached the absolute Lordship of Jesus Christ.
I allowed for no compromise, but hammered this
one thought that Christ must have first place,
first call, and first allegiance.
I made that the keynote of all my
meetings.
My objective has always been to enter a
town and change the thinking of the residents
toward Christ to direct their lives to center
on Christ.
Well my message today, friends, is entitled, A
Lily in the Bog, and it is my
prayer that you will consider it and that
the Spirit of God will make it a
reality in your life so that when others
look at you, they will see Jesus.
I'm going to share with you today, friends,
what Stephen Oford taught me.
Let's examine what the Lordship of Christ means
in the life of a believer.
In all of Scripture, we see that Jesus
is Lord.
Right now, he sits at the right hand
of the Father, and he earned that right
by way of a bloody cross.
He is a living Lord.
The Lordship of Christ boils down to the
rightful place of the Holy Spirit in our
life.
We receive the Holy Spirit at the time
of our conversion, but many of us do
not understand the meaning of the fullness of
the Holy Spirit.
We must realize it is possible for the
Holy Spirit to be present without being president,
to be dormant without being dominant, to be
resident without reigning.
Our Bible informs us that the Holy Spirit
can be quenched and grieved in a believer's
life through sin, but when sin is exposed
and self is executed, the Holy Spirit can
fill to overflowing and anoint with authority and
power.
The Spirit-filled life is central to the
Lordship of Christ.
Ephesians 5.18 commands us to be filled
with the Holy Spirit and be not drunk
with wine wherein is excess, but be filled
with the Spirit.
There is a cross reference to this in
my Bible over in 2 Corinthians 3.17
which states, Now the Lord is that Spirit,
and where the Spirit of the Lord is,
there is liberty.
When I understood this principle, friends, it gave
me freedom in my life.
This can be understood where the Spirit is
Lord, that is, where He is given His
true deity and sovereignty, there is liberty.
I believe, friends, that if you can grasp
this message today and allow the Holy Spirit
to have His rightful place in your life,
then you will experience change in regard to
living victoriously for Christ.
There is power and liberty in the doctrine
of the fullness of the Holy Spirit in
the life of a believer who is willing
to bow daily and hourly to the sovereignty
and Lordship of Christ and to the authority
of the Word.
I like what R.
A.
Torrey used to tell his students at Moody
Bible School in Chicago.
He said, If you want more of the
Holy Spirit, then He must have more of
you.
That's the key, friends, to a life of
victory under the Lordship of Christ Jesus.
Well, I hope this little message today, friends,
has been a help to you as you
seek to be a lily in the bog
in your own community.