A Lily in the Bog — E.A. Johnston

Dr. Stephen F. Alford's Influence and the Lordship of Christ

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.

The Lily in the Bog: Holiness in a Wicked Environment

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 a 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.

The Neglected Doctrine of Christ's Lordship

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.

Christ's Present Lordship and the Holy Spirit's Reign

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 and Christian Liberty

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.

Surrender to Christ's Sovereignty

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.