I LOVE MY MASTER – PART TWO

I LOVE MY MASTER– PART TWO

 

 

I bring you greetings, friends. Today, I want to conclude the message we started last time: I Love My Master. We read last time from Deuteronomy 15. Now, let me refresh our memory by reading,

Deuteronomy 15:12-18

12 “If your brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you. 13 And when you send him away free from you, you shall not let him go away empty-handed; 14 you shall supply him liberally from your flock, from your threshing floor, and from your winepress. From what the Lord your God has blessed you with, you shall give to him. 15 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this thing today. 16 And if it happens that he says to you, ‘I will not go away from you,’ because he loves you and your house, since he prospers with you, 17 then you shall take an awl and thrust it through his ear to the door, and he shall be your servant forever. Also to your female servant you shall do likewise. 18 It shall not seem hard to you when you send him away free from you; for he has been worth a double hired servant in serving you six years. Then the Lord your God will bless you in all that you do.

That’s Deuteronomy 15 from verses 12 to 18.

I Love My Master.

PRAYER

We’ve come again, Dear Lord, to touch Your Word. And we trust that You’d refresh us by Your Word through the instrumentality of Your Spirit…in Jesus’ Name. Amen!

Our text is one of the many laws God’s redeemed people of Israel were expected to observe. We said that, Orthodox Jews (by Orthodox Jews we mean religious Jews) up till today have much more than ten commandments to keep.

A present day Orthodox Jewish woman says, “I have been keeping kosher and observing the Jewish Sabbath my entire life.” By Kosher she means Jewish dietary laws. “I’ve been keeping kosher and observing Jewish Sabbath my entire life along with striving to stick to the 611 commandments of the Torah: the first five books of the Old Testament. She’s been observing the dietary laws that you find in the Old Testament. She’s been keeping the Sabbath her entire life; and besides, she’s been striving to keep the 611 commandments given to them in the Torah. Thank God that we live by His grace.

Our text addresses the freeing of bond slaves or servants. The freedom of Jewish bondservant was mandatory after six years. And we said that, a bond servant had two choices to make: freedom to separate from His or her master after six years, or to live with continuing servitude or slavery. The bondservant who chose to remain with his or her master after six years his or her master would pierce his or her ear at the door as a confirmation of the choice.

This piercing of the ear of the bondservant at the door was his or her way of saying eloquently, “I now choose to belong to this household permanently; and have come under the authority of my master, not out of compulsion but out of love.” His or her service from now on becomes an expression of love which is freedom indeed.

Who is the Master in question? The Lord Jesus Christ! Like the bondservant of Deuteronomy 15, Jesus became God’s willing Bondservant.

Philippians 2:5-9

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

 

How did the master – the Bondservant demonstrate his love? We said that,

  1. It was sacrificial. He demonstrated His love for the Father and for you and for me by sacrificing Himself.
  2. He demonstrated His love out of humility – in a humble manner.

 

  • Thirdly, it was in purity.
  1. Fourthly, this Bondservant served in prayer.

Let us quickly go to the Demands of the Master. What are the Demands of the Master?

The demands of the Master are very simple. The Master did not only set an example for us. He expects us to follow His examples. That’s why He says in John 13:15-16

John 1:15-16

15 For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. 16 Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him.

The Master demands that we serve as bondservants the way He served. And in Philippians 2:5, the bible says:

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.

That mind of the Bondservant is what He expects us to have. The Master wants us to have the mindset of a bondservant. And with this mindset He demands that we serve as He served the heavenly Father – sacrificially. Is your service for the Master sacrificial or do you serve the Master at your own convenience? Today we have come in Christendom to a time when sacrifice has become an anathema – no body speaks of sacrifice anymore; because everybody wants for prosper. God wants to prosper His people – no doubt; but, sacrificing to the kingdom is the example that Jesus has set for us. He wants us to serve humbly – in humility. There are some who would not serve in certain positions in the House of God because it is a humble position. They want to serve God in the place where they would be seen; in the place where they would be visible. You ask them to do certain things in the House of God, they feel you are insulting them. The Master wants us to serve in purity of heart. Without purity no service will be acceptable in the sight of God.

Beloveth, what is the state of your mind? What are the contents of your thoughts? Are they pure? And He wants us to serve Him in much prayer. Serving Him sacrificially, serving Him humbly, serving Him in purity of hearts, serving Him with much prayer – this is what it means to say I love my Master.

Those who went before us served Him with the same mindset. Let me give you some examples of those who have gone before us.

The Apostle Paul

In Romans 1:1, we read,

Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God

A bondservant

Apostle Peter.

In 2 Peter 1:1

Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:

Peter! He said he was a bondservant of Christ.

Some other examples that have been set for us by those who went ahead of us: James,

 

In James 1:1

James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,

To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad:

Greetings.

James a bondservant.

Finally, in the interest of time: Jude.

In Jude verse 1,

Jude 1

Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James,

To those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ

Those who went before us

Let me conclude with the response of the bondservant.

Are you a bondservant of Jesus Christ? You become a bondservant of Jesus Christ the moment He redeems you from slavery of sin in the experience of the new birth. Have you had this experience of the newbirth? Have you had this experience of becoming a bondservant of Jesus Christ? If you have not, today is your day. And please make sure that you do. And if your experience of the newbirth is genuine you will say yes indeed, I am a bondservant of Jesus Christ. And if you say, yes indeed, you are then your life is no longer your own for He paid a very high price for your life.

The songwriter puts it, my life is not my own. To You I belong. I give myself, I give myself to You.

Having given yourself to Him as a bondservant, your ears should be opened. Your ears should be opened to hear His voice. Your ear should be tuned, not to the pleasures of this world but to the Word of God. And your primary motivation for serving Him should be love, not fear, not the desire for rewards, not the desire for competition: Love would be your motivation.

Are you a bondservant of Christ who can say by the way you live and serve, I love my Master?

Before we go, let me share with you the words of this servant of God, RM Edger, based on Deuteronomy 15:16. He says, “We are the Lord’s slaves after having become the Lord’s freemen. He delivers us from the slavery of sin. And then He introduces us to His service. And lo, we find it in so blessed that we insist on our ears being bored or pierced and our being made His slave forever. Now obedience is the slavery of love.”

I love my Master. Can you say dear I love my Master above all persons and above everything in this world? And can you say with the psalmist in Psalm 73:25

Whom have I in heaven but You?
And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You.

I love my Master.

Shall we pray!

PRAYER

In this moment of prayer, reflect dear one – reflect on your relationship with the Master. Can you truly say, that the way you live, by the thoughts you think, by the things – the words you say, can you truly say, I love my Master? Have you experienced the salvation that Jesus Christ gave to the world when He became a bondservant of the heavenly Father? He paid the high price. Have you received Him as your savior? If you have, not this is your time; and if you have, please make up your mind from now on to live in such a way that those around you will know that you love Your Master.

And those of you who are giving your life to the Lord Jesus, just pray a simple prayer, and tell Him: God, I am a sinner; please forgive me, Jesus – Lord Jesus come into my heart and take full control. And Lord as they destroy every work of Satan in and around them now in the Name of Jesus Christ. Let them experience You indeed. Let old things pass away. Let all things become new in their lives in the Name of Jesus Christ. Are they sick? May You heal, may You touch them now O God, at that point where they need Your touch, in the Name of Jesus Christ. Let the time they will spend this weekend in Your presence be very fruitful, be very meaningful. May it be  memorable time – a memorable time in their lives and in their experiences. Thank You, blessed Lord, thank You…in Jesus’ wonderful Name we have prayed. Amen!

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