Jesus Is Lord

Ascension Sunday

Rev. Dr. David M. Oliver

First United Methodist Church

Massillon, Ohio

May 17, 2026

Texts: Acts 1:6-11

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcZKL069j9g

Opening Prayer:

Almighty God, we bow before you in humble adoration, acknowledging Jesus Christ is Lord of our lives, Lord of this church, Lord of this community, and Lord of all. We give thanks that through Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, ascension, and promised return he has been exalted above every name. In him we find hope, grace, healing, salvation, and peace. Empower us now by your Holy Spirit to hear what you have to say to us today. We pray these things through Jesus Christ. Amen.

Today we are observing Ascension Sunday. Forty days after Jesus was resurrected from the dead, he was in Galilee with his followers. Jesus had been teaching and encouraging them. The question arose, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel” (Acts 1:6)?

The restoration to which they were referring was the Jewish expectation that God would reestablish the sovereign, political kingdom of Israel—free from foreign oppression (like Rome) , united under a messianic King.

The disciples questioned if Jesus would, at that time, initiate this restoration, which included promises of returning to the land, restoring the Davidic throne, and establishing global peace.

Jesus dismissed their inquiry as being the wrong question. The disciples wanted to know what Jesus was going to do. He turned their question around.

Jesus focused not on what God was going to do for them but what God was going to do through them. I will repeat that because it is very important. Jesus focused the disciples attention not on what God was going to do for them but what God was going to do through them.

Listen again to what Jesus said, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

The Greek word for the power that was to be released is dunamis. It is the same word from which we derive the word dynamite. Jesus was not describing something ordinary but extraordinary. The disciples would be empowered in a new way, a fresh way, an unexpected way. God was going to equip them to do what Jesus had been doing in their midst for three years.

You may recall the passage I read a couple of weeks ago from John 14:12 when Jesus told his followers, “Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.”

Jesus continued in verse15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. 17 This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him because he abides with you, and he will be in you.

He went on to say in John 14:25-26 “I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I have said to you.”

Jesus was seeking to prepare and equip his followers for what was to come. His departure did not mean that he was abandoning them. His departure was so that the third person of the Trinity would show up everywhere in the world and work through believers throughout the world instead of being limited to Jesus being in one place with one person or one group.

This is astounding!  Jesus left there so that he could be everywhere. He was no longer confined to a place. He was no longer limited to a time. He was not constrained by location, age, station, or any other human limitation. Because of this event long ago, Jesus Christ is with you and me now through the power of the Holy Spirit. What an amazing gift…to us today!

Some may wonder what “Jesus is Lord” means for us today and how its meaning applies to our lives as Christ-followers. The confession “Jesus is Lord” stands at the heart of Christian faith and practice. It is more than a theological statement; it is a declaration of allegiance, an affirmation of identity and purpose. Recognizing Jesus is Lord shapes the way disciples live, the way we make decisions, the way we relate to God and others. Let’s explore this idea of Lordship further.

1. Jesus Is Lord: Authority Over All Creation

To say ‘Jesus is Lord’ is to affirm that Christ has absolute authority over all creation, over heaven and earth. He was present with God at creation and he was a co-creator with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.

Hear this portion of Psalm 24,

¹ The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it,    the world, and those who live in it,² for he has founded it on the seas    and established it on the rivers.

³ Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?    And who shall stand in his holy place?⁴ Those who have clean hands and pure hearts,    who do not lift up their souls to what is false    and do not swear deceitfully.⁵ They will receive blessing from the Lord    and vindication from the God of their salvation.⁶ Such is the company of those who seek him,    who seek the face of the God of Jacob.

This passage affirms the reality that God created everything, God owns everything, and God gives us stewardship over everything.

Stewardship is different from ownership. Stewards recognize that they are caring for what belongs to someone else. They serve at the will of the one who is the owner. They are to obey the wishes of the owner. They are to bring honor to the owner in everything – in their speech, deeds, thoughts, will, priorities, everything.

To declare “Jesus is Lord” is to recognize his unrivaled sovereignty and supremacy over all that exists—both visible and invisible, terrestrial and celestial. This confession is a profound acknowledgment that Jesus holds ultimate dominion over all things.

Scripture offers foundational support for this worldview of Jesus’ Lordship. Jesus said in Matthew 28:18, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” Philippians 2:9-11 echoes this: “...at the name of Jesus every knee should bow... and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord.” Colossians 1:15-18 further elaborates, describing Jesus as “the image of the invisible God,” through whom and for whom all things were created, establishing that he is not only Lord by title but by the very nature of existence.

For Christians to acknowledge that Jesus is Lord means more than intellectual assent; it is a call to wholehearted devotion and practical obedience. It involves the surrender of the entirety of one's life to God’s will —work, relationships, ambitions, fears, hopes and dreams. This surrender is not passive but active, reflected in our choices, priorities, and the pursuit of God’s guidance each day. Believers trust that Christ’s Lordship means that he reigns over every circumstance, offering assurance and guidance regardless of life’s uncertainties and our successes or failures. This is good news!

The Lordship of Jesus in our lives is a wonderful thing. It is call to love Jesus, to freely surrender to him, to eagerly to obey him, to be committed to worshipping him, and to be devoted in trusting him. Jesus’ Lordship is the foundation of Christian faith and practice, inviting believers to honor Jesus above all else and to rest confidently in his sovereign rule.

Living as Jesus’ disciples means surrendering all aspects of our lives to Jesus’ authority. We seek his will in our daily decisions and honor Jesus first and foremost. When we ask Jesus to be Lord of our lives he begins to influence for good every situation, every priority, every relationship, every action. He empowers us through the Holy Spirit to live a holy life, a godly life, a life of eternal worth, value, and merit.

Someone might think that living this way is difficult, hard, even impossible. I will share with you a secret the saints learned. Not living this way is much harder. Not living under Jesus’ Lordship leads to misery, hopelessness, frustration, anger, and despair.

When we pray for and ask God’s help to live under Jesus’ Lordship, we are living according to God’s design and plan for all human beings. We are living in the way God intended for everyone. We are living with the grain of the universe; the way in which God designed humanity to live and love.

When we live with Jesus as Lord we get results. When we live as if we are lords, we get consequences. You and I choose to live under Jesus’ Lordship day by day, decision by decision.

Some might ask, “How do I know that God’s way works?” My response is that Jane and I have committed ourselves to living under Jesus’ Lordship and found that it is much, much better than living our own way by our own strength, will, and power. Does this mean that we think we am perfect? Hardly. If anything, living under Jesus’ Lordship helps each of us to be aware of ways in which we still need to grow, ways in which our attitudes and actions need to be further refined and shaped to reflect Jesus more clearly.

Asking Jesus to be Lord of our lives makes sense. It is the way God intends us to live. Asking Jesus to be Lord in our lives also empowers us to be more effective witnesses for Jesus. This is exactly what Jesus desires and intends. Hear again the instruction of Jesus in Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

The call to be witnesses for Christ has not changed in two thousand years and will not change or be complete until Christ returns in power and glory and establishes his kingdom in fullness on earth as it presently exists in heaven.

2. Jesus Is Lord: The Source of Salvation

In addition to Jesus’ authority over all creation, the second dimension of Jesus’ Lordship we will discuss today refers to the fact that Jesus Christ is the means that God has given us by which humanity may be saved.

I will remind you of several Scriptures which affirm this reality.

In the prologue of John’s Gospel, we read about the Word made flesh. This is referring to God becoming a human being in Jesus. Listen to John 1:10-18,

¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world came into being through him, yet the world did not know him. ¹¹ He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. ¹² But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, ¹³ who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. ¹⁵ (John testified to him and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ ”) ¹⁶ From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. ¹⁷ The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ No one has ever seen God. It is the only Son, himself God, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.”

Here is another passage. Most of you are familiar with John 3:16 but verse 17 is also important.

¹⁶ “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

¹⁷ “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Turning to Acts 4:12, we find St. Peter preaching about Jesus Christ. He said, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.”

Jesus himself said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except by me.”

When we affirm that Jesus is Lord we are affirming that he is God’s plan and source of salvation.

Thanks be to God for becoming like us in Jesus so that we might know how to live and love and find meaning and purpose in life. Thanks be to Jesus for being willing to leave heaven and become one with us and through his life, teaching, suffering, death, and resurrection to show us how to live. Jesus truly is Lord and for this we can be profoundly grateful.

Let us pray. Lord Jesus Christ, truly you are the Son of God. You are the Sovereign link between heaven and earth, between this life and the next, between promise and fulfillment, between death and life. Thank you for becoming like us so that we could know God, and understand God, and love God with our whole being  Praise you for your marvelous gifts to us supremely known in Jesus who is Lord of all. In his name we pray. Amen.