September 19, 2024 • 20 mins
Is faith the key to unlocking a Christ-like life, even in our professional relationships? On this episode of The Takeaway, we dissect Ephesians 5:5-9, shedding light on the profound teachings about the master-servant dynamic. We'll uncover how embodying Jesus' unwavering trust in the Father's love can transform our daily interactions and actions. With insights from Romans 8:28 and Hebrews 12:1-2, we tackle the sensitive topic of slavery from a biblical standpoint while denouncing forced slavery and child sex trafficking. This episode promises to enhance your understanding of faith's role in pleasing God and acting on His commands.
Our conversation doesn't stop there. We explore the dual roles of servant and master in the Christian faith, reflecting on Paul's experiences in Philippians 1:12-14 and the centurion's faith in Luke 7:1-10. By emphasizing respect, integrity, and the importance of our actions in advancing the gospel, we provide a roadmap for treating everyone with God-given dignity and performing our duties as unto Christ. Whether you're a leader or a follower, this episode offers essential insights into living a life of humility and purpose. Join us for a transformative discussion that highlights the power of faith in every aspect of our lives.
Please visit www.chosenbydesign.net for more information on Pastor Harry’s new book, "Chosen By Design - God’s Purpose for Your Life."
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, welcome again to the Takeaway.
I'm your host, pastor HarryBehrens, and in today's episode
we're going to be discussingEphesians, chapter 5, verses 5
to 9, the master-servantrelationship.
Now, before we begin, I want toinvite you to share any
questions or feedback you mayhave by using the Text Us link
in the description of thisepisode, as your input is
crucial in shaping futureepisodes.
Here at the Takeaway, we arecommitted to creating content
(00:23):
that supports your spiritualgrowth, and we can only do that
with your feedback, so pleaselet us know your thoughts, as we
would love to hear from you Nowas we begin.
We saw in our last few episodeswe have seen what it means to
imitate Christ in the marriageas well as the parent-child
relationship.
In both we saw how we can drawclose to God intimately and how
(00:44):
he loves us deeply.
There is no end to his love forus and no length to which he
won't go to show us that love.
It's that same love Jesus hadwith the Father that allowed him
to trust the Father to death onthe cross.
There was nothing Jesus wasn'twilling to do for the Father,
because he knew he had theFather's best interest for him.
Jesus knew something that we sodesperately need to understand
(01:07):
that the Father loves us just asmuch as he loved the Son, and
that we can put our lives in hishands.
John 3.16,.
For God so loved the world thathe gave his only Son that
whoever believes in him shouldnot perish but have eternal life
.
We don't need to understandeverything God has for us.
We just need to understand hislove for us and that whatever he
(01:31):
commands it's for our good.
Romans 8, verse 28.
And we know that for those wholove God, all things work
together for good for those whoare called according to his
purpose.
To love God requires us toabandon the things of this world
and cling to him by obeying hisword and then putting our
belief into action, which is ourfaith.
(01:52):
Now, without faith, you cannotplease God, and without faith,
what evidence is there that youeven love him?
Faith is your basic belief inGod and does not require
understanding everything.
You only need enough knowledgeto take that first step, then
one after that, and then the oneafter that.
It's in your faith that youwill experience him more fully
(02:15):
and in turn, your faith willincrease with your love, joy and
satisfaction in him, knowingthat your heavenly father will
meet you in the darkness andshine his light, allows you to
go in the first place.
It's not a hope that he will,but a knowledge that you know he
will.
The more you experience itbeyond the first step, the more
you will increase your paceuntil you run in your faith.
(02:38):
Hebrews, chapter 12, verses 1 to2.
Hebrews 12, verses 1-2.
Therefore, since we aresurrounded by so great a cloud
of witnesses, let us also layaside every weight and sin which
clings so closely and let usrun with endurance the race that
is set before us, looking toJesus, the founder and perfecter
(03:00):
of our faith, who, for the joythat was set before him, endured
the cross, despising the shame,and is seated at the right hand
of the throne of God.
So continuing the message thatPaul started in chapter 5, for
us to imitate Christ.
We will now look at the outwardrelationship, or the
(03:21):
master-servant relationship.
We first saw that the marriagerelationship represented the
church and Christ, Then theparent-servant relationship.
We first saw that the marriagerelationship represented the
church and Christ, then theparent-child relationship
reflected the inwardrelationship or the father-son
relationship.
Now we're going to see themaster-servant relationship
representing the outward, or thechurch operating in the world.
These three relationshipscomprise the full spectrum of
(03:42):
living in and for Christ, justas he does with the Father.
That is the upward, inward andoutward aspect of Christian
living.
When we enter into all three ofthese, the way the Father wills
, our lives will be transformedinto one that is glorifying to
him and satisfying to us.
Now, starting in Ephesians,chapter 6, verses 5 to 8.
(04:03):
Bond servants, obey yourearthly masters with fear,
reverence and trembling, with asincere heart, as you would
Christ, not by the way of eye.
Service as people pleasers, butas bond servants of Christ,
doing the will of God from theheart, rendering service with a
good will as to the Lord and notto man, knowing that, whatever
(04:26):
good anyone Now a bondservant isa slave.
In some Bibles, the wordbondservant is translated as
slave or servant.
Translated as slave or servant,the Greek word doulos means one
(04:49):
who is subservient to andentirely at the disposal of his
master.
This is a slave.
Throughout history, we know,slavery has been prevalent.
Whether voluntarily orinvoluntarily, it has always
existed.
The Bible doesn't shy away fromthe topic.
Instead, it takes it head on.
Slavery is something that manhas caused, not God.
However, god's word does talkabout it, not to condone it but
(05:11):
to operate within it, similar todivorce Matthew 19, verse 8,.
He said to them because of yourhardness of heart, moses
allowed you to divorce yourwives, but from the beginning it
was not so.
Divorce was not God's desire,but because of man's hardness.
He gave us a way to deal withit.
It's not the ideal outcome, butit takes care of issues arising
(05:34):
from our sins.
Slavery is the same way.
God desires all men to be free,but because of sin it exists.
So he gives us a way to dealwith it.
Sometimes slavery is forced andsometimes it's voluntary.
We are more familiar with theforced kind of slavery,
particularly the kind that goesagainst the will of people.
(05:54):
That is not in any way aslavery the Bible condones.
We should do everything we canto abolish this type of slavery.
That would take the form ofchild sex trafficking,
prostitution and that which wesaw play out in this type of
slavery that would take the formof child sex trafficking,
prostitution and that which wesaw play out in the history of
our country People are takenfrom another country and brought
here to do the work of anotherwhile being treated like animals
.
Again, the Bible does not agreewith this type of slavery.
(06:18):
Nor do I.
We should do everything in ourpower to stop this type of
slavery and rescue those trappedin it.
The slavery talked about in theBible, on the other hand, is one
of payment or lack thereof.
For instance, people could beordered into slavery to pay off
debts.
This type of slavery hasguidelines so that all parties
(06:38):
involved are treatedappropriately.
Again, even this type ofslavery God doesn't desire, but
he realizes man will get himselfin all sorts of trouble and
needs a way to make things right.
So in this instance he could dolabor for the one he owes.
He does not become an employeewith freedom.
Instead, he is a servant who isessentially the master's
(06:59):
property until his debt is paidor forgiven.
The year of Jubilee was a lawgiven by God to ensure all men
had an opportunity to be setfree and wouldn't be taken
advantage of.
The land sold or leased wasreturned and everything was
restored to its original owner.
That shows that God's desire isindeed that he wants people to
be free.
But people will be peopletaking out loans they can't pay
(07:22):
and so on.
So the law required them tobecome servants to pay these
debts and when there was noother way to do so.
With that said, servants are toact or behave a certain way.
While in bondage, that includesthose who work freely for
someone else, that would be awilling servant or someone who
chose to be a servant or slave,not because you owe them
(07:45):
anything, but because you getsomething from it.
For us here in America, that'soften a paycheck.
That could also indicatesomeone who loved his master and
wanted to serve him, because heprovided for his servants well
and treated them like family.
The Bible has conditions forthis also Exodus 21, verses 5 to
6.
But if the slave plainly says Ilove my master, my wife and my
(08:09):
children, I will not go out free.
Then his master shall bring himto God and he shall bring him
to the door or the doorpost andhis master shall bore his ear
through with an awl and he shallbe his slave forever.
Now that stands as a picturefor us that Christ is our master
and we are his servants.
(08:29):
That is how we are to submit tohim.
It is a complete submission andnot partial in any way.
Once the servant decided to bemarked and stay his master's
servant, it was forever.
There was no going back orchanging his mind.
It was also a beautifultestimony of who his master was
or is.
It was also a beautifultestimony of who his master was
(08:50):
or is.
That someone would choose tobecome a permanent slave stated
that the master was kind, fair,merciful, gracious and loving
and that there was no place theywould rather be than in the
master's house, in his presence.
On the other hand, when peoplewere enslaved, they often
desired to be freed from it, andthey should if they could.
1 Corinthians 7.21.
Were you a slave when you werecalled?
(09:11):
Don't let it trouble you,although if you can gain your
freedom, do so.
Often, being free isn't anoption, even for us today.
In our jobs, because of debtswe owe or obligations, we must
keep working, and so we should.
We owe or obligations, we mustkeep working, and so we should.
If this is the case, then youare required by God to do your
(09:33):
work as unto Christ, as thiswill glorify him.
Colossians 3, verses 23 and 24.
Whatever you do, work heartilyas for the Lord and not for men,
knowing that from the Lord youwill receive the inheritance as
your reward.
You are serving the Lord Christ.
Again, the Bible's position onslavery is not to abolish it,
(09:53):
but to operate within it.
Slavery comes in many forms andwe as believers have first to
recognize that we were slaves tosin.
Also, romans 6, 20-23.
When you were slaves to sin,you were free from the control
of righteousness.
What benefit did you reap atthat time from the things you
(10:16):
are now ashamed of?
Those things result in death.
But now that you have been setfree from sin and have become
slaves of God, the benefit youreap leads to holiness and the
result is eternal life, for thewages of sin is death, but the
gift of God is eternal life inChrist Jesus, our Lord.
We were set free from sin butnow, as Paul says, we are slaves
(10:40):
to God and, as we see in verses5 to 8, we are commanded to be
obedient servants to our earthlymasters.
That is honorable to God, as itwill show the world our love
for him as we work withsincerity.
Here's the picture of ourrelationship with God through
the lens of slavery.
We enter a covenant with Christand become children of God who
(11:02):
are told to be obedient servantswho imitate Christ.
Let's look at John 13, verses 12to 20.
As we will see, jesus washeshis disciples feet as an example
for us to follow, starting inverse 12,.
When he had washed their feetand put on his outer garments
and resumed his place, he saidto them do you understand what I
(11:23):
have done to you?
You call me teacher and Lord,and you are right, for so I am.
If I, then your Lord andteacher, have washed your feet,
you also ought to wash oneanother's feet, for I have given
you an example that you alsoshould do just as I have done to
you.
Truly truly, I say to you aservant is not greater than his
(11:46):
master, nor is a messengergreater than the one who sent
him.
If you know these things,blessed are you if you do them.
I am not speaking of all of you.
I know whom I have chosen, butthe scripture will be fulfilled.
He who ate my bread has liftedhis heel against me.
I am telling you this now,before it takes place, that when
(12:09):
it does take place, you maybelieve that I am he.
Truly, truly, I say to youwhoever receives the one I send,
receives me, and whoeverreceives me receives the one who
sent me.
Now, why did Jesus humblehimself to the level of a
servant?
Well, probably because we areall slaves to something at all
(12:30):
times.
It's not about being free fromthe chains of this world, but
about how we operate within it,knowing we have been set free by
God.
After setting us free, we aretold to stay right where we are
and honor God, because where weare is where God wanted us to be
all along, not to be concernedwith our slavery, but to use it
(12:50):
to our advantage for the gospel.
Paul understood this as we seein Philippians 1, verses 12 to
14.
Listen to this Now.
I want you to know, brothersand sisters, that what has
happened to me has actuallyserved to advance the gospel.
As a result, it has becomeclear throughout the whole
palace guard and to everyoneelse that I am in chains for
(13:13):
Christ and because of my chains,most of the brothers and
sisters have become confident inthe Lord and dare all the more
to proclaim the gospel withoutfear.
We know that we will inheritthe kingdom when we die, but
while we are here, we are to beobedient, just as Christ was,
(13:33):
even to death for the gospel'ssake.
How we operate in this world asslaves with a joyful heart will
show this lost world that weserve a greater master than the
one that rules this world.
So show the world how much youlove the chains you are in
because they have been put onyou for the furtherance of the
gospel.
Now, if you could be made freeand are set free.
(13:56):
This also is of the Lord and itcomes with a different
responsibility, as we will nowsee.
Ephesians 6, verse nine Masters,do the same to them and stop
your threatening, knowing thathe, who is both their master and
yours, is in heaven and thatthere is no partiality with him.
(14:17):
What a great responsibility, asmasters, we are to recognize,
first, who we serve and, second,that those working for us are
from the same Lord and for theLord.
We must care for them well sothat the gospel is advanced in
serving and ruling over them.
Luke, chapter 7, verses 1 to 10.
(14:38):
We see that Jesus here marveledat a centurion who rules and
serves.
Listen to this.
When Jesus had finished sayingall this to the people who were
listening, he entered Capernaum.
There, a centurion's servant,whom his master valued highly,
was sick and about to die.
The centurion heard of Jesusand sent some elders of the Jews
(15:00):
to him asking him to come andheal his servant.
When they came to Jesus, theypleaded earnestly with him.
This man deserves to have youdo this, because he loves our
nation and has built oursynagogue.
So Jesus sent with them.
I'm sorry, jesus went with them.
He was not far from the housewhen the centurion sent friends
to say to him Lord, don'ttrouble yourself, for I do not
(15:24):
deserve to have you come undermy roof.
That is why I did not evenconsider myself worthy to come
to you.
But say the word and my servantwill be healed, for I myself
listen to this, for I myself ama man under authority, with
soldiers under me.
I tell this one go and he goes,and that one come and he comes.
(15:44):
I say to my servant do this,and he does it.
When Jesus heard this, he wasamazed at him and, turning to
the crowd following him, he saidI tell you, I have not found
such great faith even in Israel.
I tell you, I have not foundsuch great faith even in Israel.
Then the men who had been sentreturned to the house and found
the servant.
Well, remember John 13, 17?
(16:07):
.
If you know these things,blessed are you if you do them.
The only time Jesus marveled atfaith was with a Gentile who,
by his own admission, was aservant and a master.
He recognized, something thatmost do not.
We are all in this situation.
You don't think so.
(16:28):
You don't think you haveanybody that serves you.
What about a waitress at arestaurant?
Or a cab driver?
What about a cashier?
Or pastors?
Many people serve us throughoutour day and we rarely stop to
consider them or whether or notthey may be servants of the same
God we serve.
We will all be held accountablefor how we treat people,
(16:49):
whether in service or beingserved.
The purpose of all this is tofurther the gospel.
Do you look for thoseopportunities in all things, or
do you look to be served orfreed from service?
We are in a position becauseGod placed us in it, like it or
not.
How do you or will you use yourchains to share the good news
(17:10):
that Jesus is your master andhas freed you from the chains of
sin?
Do you even care to be anexample for Christ while at work
?
Do you do your job as untoChrist?
Our best witness is our actions, not our words.
Way too many Christians arecomplaining at work and looking
to take shortcuts to make theirlife easier just to get that
paycheck.
They never consider the onesthey serve and the impact their
(17:33):
actions, or lack thereof, haveon them.
That's how the world thinks, orlack thereof have on them.
That's how the world thinks.
We, on the other hand, are tocare for our leaders and realize
that God placed them over usfor a purpose, just as we were.
So do your job well and let itbe a testimony for the one you
serve, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Otherwise, keep your mouth shutand don't bother to let anyone
(17:55):
know you are Christ, so youdon't look like a hypocrite and
make the word of God powerless.
2 Corinthians 4, verse 2.
But we have renounceddisgraceful, unhanded ways.
We refuse to practice cunningor to tamper with God's word,
but by the open statement of thetruth we could commend
(18:15):
ourselves to everyone'sconscience in the sight of God.
Let's pray, father, god, thankyou so much for your word.
Thank you for the direction andthe understanding and the
correction that you give us.
Thank you for the exampleyou've given us, jesus, in
serving, being the one who ismost high above all things, who
came down and washed the feet ofyour disciples, which was like
(18:39):
the lowest of low jobs that youcould do, teaching us, god that
we should also humble ourselvesto this level of service, since
our master himself came down todo these things.
We shouldn't do anything lessthan that.
We are to come down as far asyou went down, as we deserve to
be even lower than that.
We are to come down as far asyou went down, as we deserve to
(18:59):
be even lower than that, and youhave shown us that to be the
most humbled servant is honoringto you, god, that it glorifies
you.
I pray that you would help ourlisteners today see that, to
understand that your desire tobe glorified is in our service
and how we represent ourselvesin this world.
Father, please empower us tolive this humble life, as it is
(19:22):
very difficult, as this worldtries to get us to live for our
desires, our wants, our needs,and takes our eyes off of you.
Holy Spirit, please empower usto keep our eyes focused on our
Lord Jesus.
Father, we love you and wethank you in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Father, we love you and wethank you in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Now I want to thank you forjoining us today and I hope this
(19:46):
message helped you take a stepcloser in your relationship with
Jesus and that you have abetter understanding of just how
much God loves you and wantsyou to know him.
In our upcoming episode, we'regoing to finish our journey
through Ephesians, as we come tothe end of chapter six.
Putting on the full armor ofGod, paul will wrap things up by
taking everything he has talkedabout in this letter to help us
understand how to live a lifewrapped in the armor of God, so
(20:06):
that we'd be effective warriorsfor his kingdom.
God did not leave us helpless,as he gave us everything we need
for life and godliness that isonly found in a genuine
relationship with him.
Now, before we go, I want toencourage you to send us a text
message from the link providedin the description of this
episode.
Again, we would love to hearyour feedback and questions that
(20:26):
you may have from today'smessage, as it helps us to
produce future episodes that arebeneficial to you.
In addition, please feel freeto use this podcast as a
resource to help others and toshine your light into the
darkness.
God bless, and we'll see younext time on the Takeaway.
Hello, welcome again to the Takeaway.
I'm your host, pastor HarryBehrens, and in today's episode
we're going to be discussingEphesians, chapter 5, verses 5
to 9, the master-servantrelationship.
Now, before we begin, I want toinvite you to share any
questions or feedback you mayhave by using the Text Us link
in the description of thisepisode, as your input is
crucial in shaping futureepisodes.
Here at the Takeaway, we arecommitted to creating content
(00:23):
that supports your spiritualgrowth, and we can only do that
with your feedback, so pleaselet us know your thoughts, as we
would love to hear from you Nowas we begin.
We saw in our last few episodeswe have seen what it means to
imitate Christ in the marriageas well as the parent-child
relationship.
In both we saw how we can drawclose to God intimately and how
(00:44):
he loves us deeply.
There is no end to his love forus and no length to which he
won't go to show us that love.
It's that same love Jesus hadwith the Father that allowed him
to trust the Father to death onthe cross.
There was nothing Jesus wasn'twilling to do for the Father,
because he knew he had theFather's best interest for him.
Jesus knew something that we sodesperately need to understand
(01:07):
that the Father loves us just asmuch as he loved the Son, and
that we can put our lives in hishands.
John 3.16,.
For God so loved the world thathe gave his only Son that
whoever believes in him shouldnot perish but have eternal life
.
We don't need to understandeverything God has for us.
We just need to understand hislove for us and that whatever he
(01:31):
commands it's for our good.
Romans 8, verse 28.
And we know that for those wholove God, all things work
together for good for those whoare called according to his
purpose.
To love God requires us toabandon the things of this world
and cling to him by obeying hisword and then putting our
belief into action, which is ourfaith.
(01:52):
Now, without faith, you cannotplease God, and without faith,
what evidence is there that youeven love him?
Faith is your basic belief inGod and does not require
understanding everything.
You only need enough knowledgeto take that first step, then
one after that, and then the oneafter that.
It's in your faith that youwill experience him more fully
(02:15):
and in turn, your faith willincrease with your love, joy and
satisfaction in him, knowingthat your heavenly father will
meet you in the darkness andshine his light, allows you to
go in the first place.
It's not a hope that he will,but a knowledge that you know he
will.
The more you experience itbeyond the first step, the more
you will increase your paceuntil you run in your faith.
(02:38):
Hebrews, chapter 12, verses 1 to2.
Hebrews 12, verses 1-2.
Therefore, since we aresurrounded by so great a cloud
of witnesses, let us also layaside every weight and sin which
clings so closely and let usrun with endurance the race that
is set before us, looking toJesus, the founder and perfecter
(03:00):
of our faith, who, for the joythat was set before him, endured
the cross, despising the shame,and is seated at the right hand
of the throne of God.
So continuing the message thatPaul started in chapter 5, for
us to imitate Christ.
We will now look at the outwardrelationship, or the
(03:21):
master-servant relationship.
We first saw that the marriagerelationship represented the
church and Christ, Then theparent-servant relationship.
We first saw that the marriagerelationship represented the
church and Christ, then theparent-child relationship
reflected the inwardrelationship or the father-son
relationship.
Now we're going to see themaster-servant relationship
representing the outward, or thechurch operating in the world.
These three relationshipscomprise the full spectrum of
(03:42):
living in and for Christ, justas he does with the Father.
That is the upward, inward andoutward aspect of Christian
living.
When we enter into all three ofthese, the way the Father wills
, our lives will be transformedinto one that is glorifying to
him and satisfying to us.
Now, starting in Ephesians,chapter 6, verses 5 to 8.
(04:03):
Bond servants, obey yourearthly masters with fear,
reverence and trembling, with asincere heart, as you would
Christ, not by the way of eye.
Service as people pleasers, butas bond servants of Christ,
doing the will of God from theheart, rendering service with a
good will as to the Lord and notto man, knowing that, whatever
(04:26):
good anyone Now a bondservant isa slave.
In some Bibles, the wordbondservant is translated as
slave or servant.
Translated as slave or servant,the Greek word doulos means one
(04:49):
who is subservient to andentirely at the disposal of his
master.
This is a slave.
Throughout history, we know,slavery has been prevalent.
Whether voluntarily orinvoluntarily, it has always
existed.
The Bible doesn't shy away fromthe topic.
Instead, it takes it head on.
Slavery is something that manhas caused, not God.
However, god's word does talkabout it, not to condone it but
(05:11):
to operate within it, similar todivorce Matthew 19, verse 8,.
He said to them because of yourhardness of heart, moses
allowed you to divorce yourwives, but from the beginning it
was not so.
Divorce was not God's desire,but because of man's hardness.
He gave us a way to deal withit.
It's not the ideal outcome, butit takes care of issues arising
(05:34):
from our sins.
Slavery is the same way.
God desires all men to be free,but because of sin it exists.
So he gives us a way to dealwith it.
Sometimes slavery is forced andsometimes it's voluntary.
We are more familiar with theforced kind of slavery,
particularly the kind that goesagainst the will of people.
(05:54):
That is not in any way aslavery the Bible condones.
We should do everything we canto abolish this type of slavery.
That would take the form ofchild sex trafficking,
prostitution and that which wesaw play out in this type of
slavery that would take the formof child sex trafficking,
prostitution and that which wesaw play out in the history of
our country People are takenfrom another country and brought
here to do the work of anotherwhile being treated like animals
.
Again, the Bible does not agreewith this type of slavery.
(06:18):
Nor do I.
We should do everything in ourpower to stop this type of
slavery and rescue those trappedin it.
The slavery talked about in theBible, on the other hand, is one
of payment or lack thereof.
For instance, people could beordered into slavery to pay off
debts.
This type of slavery hasguidelines so that all parties
(06:38):
involved are treatedappropriately.
Again, even this type ofslavery God doesn't desire, but
he realizes man will get himselfin all sorts of trouble and
needs a way to make things right.
So in this instance he could dolabor for the one he owes.
He does not become an employeewith freedom.
Instead, he is a servant who isessentially the master's
(06:59):
property until his debt is paidor forgiven.
The year of Jubilee was a lawgiven by God to ensure all men
had an opportunity to be setfree and wouldn't be taken
advantage of.
The land sold or leased wasreturned and everything was
restored to its original owner.
That shows that God's desire isindeed that he wants people to
be free.
But people will be peopletaking out loans they can't pay
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and so on.
So the law required them tobecome servants to pay these
debts and when there was noother way to do so.
With that said, servants are toact or behave a certain way.
While in bondage, that includesthose who work freely for
someone else, that would be awilling servant or someone who
chose to be a servant or slave,not because you owe them
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anything, but because you getsomething from it.
For us here in America, that'soften a paycheck.
That could also indicatesomeone who loved his master and
wanted to serve him, because heprovided for his servants well
and treated them like family.
The Bible has conditions forthis also Exodus 21, verses 5 to
6.
But if the slave plainly says Ilove my master, my wife and my
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children, I will not go out free.
Then his master shall bring himto God and he shall bring him
to the door or the doorpost andhis master shall bore his ear
through with an awl and he shallbe his slave forever.
Now that stands as a picturefor us that Christ is our master
and we are his servants.
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That is how we are to submit tohim.
It is a complete submission andnot partial in any way.
Once the servant decided to bemarked and stay his master's
servant, it was forever.
There was no going back orchanging his mind.
It was also a beautifultestimony of who his master was
or is.
It was also a beautifultestimony of who his master was
(08:50):
or is.
That someone would choose tobecome a permanent slave stated
that the master was kind, fair,merciful, gracious and loving
and that there was no place theywould rather be than in the
master's house, in his presence.
On the other hand, when peoplewere enslaved, they often
desired to be freed from it, andthey should if they could.
1 Corinthians 7.21.
Were you a slave when you werecalled?
(09:11):
Don't let it trouble you,although if you can gain your
freedom, do so.
Often, being free isn't anoption, even for us today.
In our jobs, because of debtswe owe or obligations, we must
keep working, and so we should.
We owe or obligations, we mustkeep working, and so we should.
If this is the case, then youare required by God to do your
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work as unto Christ, as thiswill glorify him.
Colossians 3, verses 23 and 24.
Whatever you do, work heartilyas for the Lord and not for men,
knowing that from the Lord youwill receive the inheritance as
your reward.
You are serving the Lord Christ.
Again, the Bible's position onslavery is not to abolish it,
(09:53):
but to operate within it.
Slavery comes in many forms andwe as believers have first to
recognize that we were slaves tosin.
Also, romans 6, 20-23.
When you were slaves to sin,you were free from the control
of righteousness.
What benefit did you reap atthat time from the things you
(10:16):
are now ashamed of?
Those things result in death.
But now that you have been setfree from sin and have become
slaves of God, the benefit youreap leads to holiness and the
result is eternal life, for thewages of sin is death, but the
gift of God is eternal life inChrist Jesus, our Lord.
We were set free from sin butnow, as Paul says, we are slaves
(10:40):
to God and, as we see in verses5 to 8, we are commanded to be
obedient servants to our earthlymasters.
That is honorable to God, as itwill show the world our love
for him as we work withsincerity.
Here's the picture of ourrelationship with God through
the lens of slavery.
We enter a covenant with Christand become children of God who
(11:02):
are told to be obedient servantswho imitate Christ.
Let's look at John 13, verses 12to 20.
As we will see, jesus washeshis disciples feet as an example
for us to follow, starting inverse 12,.
When he had washed their feetand put on his outer garments
and resumed his place, he saidto them do you understand what I
(11:23):
have done to you?
You call me teacher and Lord,and you are right, for so I am.
If I, then your Lord andteacher, have washed your feet,
you also ought to wash oneanother's feet, for I have given
you an example that you alsoshould do just as I have done to
you.
Truly truly, I say to you aservant is not greater than his
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master, nor is a messengergreater than the one who sent
him.
If you know these things,blessed are you if you do them.
I am not speaking of all of you.
I know whom I have chosen, butthe scripture will be fulfilled.
He who ate my bread has liftedhis heel against me.
I am telling you this now,before it takes place, that when
(12:09):
it does take place, you maybelieve that I am he.
Truly, truly, I say to youwhoever receives the one I send,
receives me, and whoeverreceives me receives the one who
sent me.
Now, why did Jesus humblehimself to the level of a
servant?
Well, probably because we areall slaves to something at all
(12:30):
times.
It's not about being free fromthe chains of this world, but
about how we operate within it,knowing we have been set free by
God.
After setting us free, we aretold to stay right where we are
and honor God, because where weare is where God wanted us to be
all along, not to be concernedwith our slavery, but to use it
(12:50):
to our advantage for the gospel.
Paul understood this as we seein Philippians 1, verses 12 to
14.
Listen to this Now.
I want you to know, brothersand sisters, that what has
happened to me has actuallyserved to advance the gospel.
As a result, it has becomeclear throughout the whole
palace guard and to everyoneelse that I am in chains for
(13:13):
Christ and because of my chains,most of the brothers and
sisters have become confident inthe Lord and dare all the more
to proclaim the gospel withoutfear.
We know that we will inheritthe kingdom when we die, but
while we are here, we are to beobedient, just as Christ was,
(13:33):
even to death for the gospel'ssake.
How we operate in this world asslaves with a joyful heart will
show this lost world that weserve a greater master than the
one that rules this world.
So show the world how much youlove the chains you are in
because they have been put onyou for the furtherance of the
gospel.
Now, if you could be made freeand are set free.
(13:56):
This also is of the Lord and itcomes with a different
responsibility, as we will nowsee.
Ephesians 6, verse nine Masters,do the same to them and stop
your threatening, knowing thathe, who is both their master and
yours, is in heaven and thatthere is no partiality with him.
(14:17):
What a great responsibility, asmasters, we are to recognize,
first, who we serve and, second,that those working for us are
from the same Lord and for theLord.
We must care for them well sothat the gospel is advanced in
serving and ruling over them.
Luke, chapter 7, verses 1 to 10.
(14:38):
We see that Jesus here marveledat a centurion who rules and
serves.
Listen to this.
When Jesus had finished sayingall this to the people who were
listening, he entered Capernaum.
There, a centurion's servant,whom his master valued highly,
was sick and about to die.
The centurion heard of Jesusand sent some elders of the Jews
(15:00):
to him asking him to come andheal his servant.
When they came to Jesus, theypleaded earnestly with him.
This man deserves to have youdo this, because he loves our
nation and has built oursynagogue.
So Jesus sent with them.
I'm sorry, jesus went with them.
He was not far from the housewhen the centurion sent friends
to say to him Lord, don'ttrouble yourself, for I do not
(15:24):
deserve to have you come undermy roof.
That is why I did not evenconsider myself worthy to come
to you.
But say the word and my servantwill be healed, for I myself
listen to this, for I myself ama man under authority, with
soldiers under me.
I tell this one go and he goes,and that one come and he comes.
(15:44):
I say to my servant do this,and he does it.
When Jesus heard this, he wasamazed at him and, turning to
the crowd following him, he saidI tell you, I have not found
such great faith even in Israel.
I tell you, I have not foundsuch great faith even in Israel.
Then the men who had been sentreturned to the house and found
the servant.
Well, remember John 13, 17?
(16:07):
.
If you know these things,blessed are you if you do them.
The only time Jesus marveled atfaith was with a Gentile who,
by his own admission, was aservant and a master.
He recognized, something thatmost do not.
We are all in this situation.
You don't think so.
(16:28):
You don't think you haveanybody that serves you.
What about a waitress at arestaurant?
Or a cab driver?
What about a cashier?
Or pastors?
Many people serve us throughoutour day and we rarely stop to
consider them or whether or notthey may be servants of the same
God we serve.
We will all be held accountablefor how we treat people,
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whether in service or beingserved.
The purpose of all this is tofurther the gospel.
Do you look for thoseopportunities in all things, or
do you look to be served orfreed from service?
We are in a position becauseGod placed us in it, like it or
not.
How do you or will you use yourchains to share the good news
(17:10):
that Jesus is your master andhas freed you from the chains of
sin?
Do you even care to be anexample for Christ while at work
?
Do you do your job as untoChrist?
Our best witness is our actions, not our words.
Way too many Christians arecomplaining at work and looking
to take shortcuts to make theirlife easier just to get that
paycheck.
They never consider the onesthey serve and the impact their
(17:33):
actions, or lack thereof, haveon them.
That's how the world thinks, orlack thereof have on them.
That's how the world thinks.
We, on the other hand, are tocare for our leaders and realize
that God placed them over usfor a purpose, just as we were.
So do your job well and let itbe a testimony for the one you
serve, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Otherwise, keep your mouth shutand don't bother to let anyone
(17:55):
know you are Christ, so youdon't look like a hypocrite and
make the word of God powerless.
2 Corinthians 4, verse 2.
But we have renounceddisgraceful, unhanded ways.
We refuse to practice cunningor to tamper with God's word,
but by the open statement of thetruth we could commend
(18:15):
ourselves to everyone'sconscience in the sight of God.
Let's pray, father, god, thankyou so much for your word.
Thank you for the direction andthe understanding and the
correction that you give us.
Thank you for the exampleyou've given us, jesus, in
serving, being the one who ismost high above all things, who
came down and washed the feet ofyour disciples, which was like
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the lowest of low jobs that youcould do, teaching us, god that
we should also humble ourselvesto this level of service, since
our master himself came down todo these things.
We shouldn't do anything lessthan that.
We are to come down as far asyou went down, as we deserve to
be even lower than that.
We are to come down as far asyou went down, as we deserve to
(18:59):
be even lower than that, and youhave shown us that to be the
most humbled servant is honoringto you, god, that it glorifies
you.
I pray that you would help ourlisteners today see that, to
understand that your desire tobe glorified is in our service
and how we represent ourselvesin this world.
Father, please empower us tolive this humble life, as it is
(19:22):
very difficult, as this worldtries to get us to live for our
desires, our wants, our needs,and takes our eyes off of you.
Holy Spirit, please empower usto keep our eyes focused on our
Lord Jesus.
Father, we love you and wethank you in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Father, we love you and wethank you in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Now I want to thank you forjoining us today and I hope this
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message helped you take a stepcloser in your relationship with
Jesus and that you have abetter understanding of just how
much God loves you and wantsyou to know him.
In our upcoming episode, we'regoing to finish our journey
through Ephesians, as we come tothe end of chapter six.
Putting on the full armor ofGod, paul will wrap things up by
taking everything he has talkedabout in this letter to help us
understand how to live a lifewrapped in the armor of God, so
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that we'd be effective warriorsfor his kingdom.
God did not leave us helpless,as he gave us everything we need
for life and godliness that isonly found in a genuine
relationship with him.
Now, before we go, I want toencourage you to send us a text
message from the link providedin the description of this
episode.
Again, we would love to hearyour feedback and questions that
(20:26):
you may have from today'smessage, as it helps us to
produce future episodes that arebeneficial to you.
In addition, please feel freeto use this podcast as a
resource to help others and toshine your light into the
darkness.
God bless, and we'll see younext time on the Takeaway.
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