This message will be misunderstood by those who don’t know Jesus, or those who do not have an understanding of God’s Word. But, this message must be told. Slavery - from the view of humans, is not a pretty thing! In fact, it is completely an abomination! Not only to humanity, but more importantly, to God! It is evil, through and through! There is nothing about it that is good. It is the inverted, twisted version of dominion. It’s a human controlling another human, and exercising an evil form of authority over him. Slavery is prolonged cruelty. An oppressive state of persecution, injustice, brutality, degradation and exploitation. It can be man on woman, or woman on man; it can be adults on children, or children on them. It can be white on black, or black on white, or any color in between; in can be nation on nation, or civil war within a county; it can be rich on poor, or poor on the wealthy. I could go on and on about the wheel of oppression. As long as man exists, there are many spokes on it. There is no stopping the evil that humans can do, when it comes to the attribute of dominion being totally abused. Human exploitation is just another way that humans have twisted God’s truth. When humans live in sin, as we do, the flesh is the natural way that we choose. "The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants to do. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature wants to choose. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses. When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Galatians 5:17-24 While God made the master-servant relationship good; Sin has tainted it. Let’s take a step back, and see how God actually meant it. What is "dominion" referred to in Genesis 1? God is a Despot, is He not? He have absolute power and ownership. He formed us from dust, and placed us in His Garden, then He brought us to life, with His very own breath. Male and female, He made them in His image, and said they were good. Genesis 1:26 He gave them dominion to care for all that He made; "then He blessed them, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth." Genesis 1:28 He gave Adam the main responsibility and then created Eve to be a helper to Him, but at no point did He ever say, “Adam you are to have dominion to control your wife.” At least not while they were blessed. Here’s the thing, We were never created to have dominion over each other. This characteristic of bondage came after the fall of humanity described in Genesis 3. This is when we disobeyed God, and fell subject to His curse. Adam and Eve followed the the lust of their flesh; they opposed God, and received the consequence of God's judgement. Paradise Lost - instead of living the blessing, they lived according to the curse. Romans 11 says, “For God has imprisoned everyone in disobedience so he could have mercy on everyone” and does so when we repent, and return to Him. Romans 11:32 NLT So when a man is separated from God, we can automatically assume that his heart is not good. Instead of serving God, by being in fellowship with Him, he focuses on his flesh and becomes a slave to Sin. Romans 6:15-23 So here we are today, living with a death sentence hanging over our heads. Everyone will take a mortal last breath. My question to you is, "Will you live again, as an eternal being in the Kingdom of Heaven?" And if your answer is "yes," then you must know you must patiently endure the curse that has been placed upon the earth. Suffering is a Kingdom concept that means patiently enduring the trials of this world, while bearing His cross with confident hope. John 16 says, “The time is coming, in fact a time has ALREADY come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home and will leave me all alone. Yet, I am not alone, for my father is with me. I have told you these things that in me you may have peace, in this world you will have many trials and sorrows, but take heart, because I have overcome the world. John 16:32-33 Jesus came as a lamb to teach us how to live a life of servant hood; and to show us that we have a loving Master who is truly good. He teaches us about honor, and He teaches about respect. He teaches us about love, how to endure correction, and how to forgive. Hebrews 12 says, “God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening - it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong.” Hebrews 12:10-13 NLT Do you not see how badly humanity has done evil things? It does not surprise me, that where Satan has been given authority, we are subject to demonic things - like human exploitation, and child trafficking. But Jesus is Lord! He has already defeated Death, by overcoming the prince of THIS world. And the way we grow in love, is to spread His light into this dark world. Since Satan is the prince of the air, Jesus tells us that we must BEWARE. Satan is the great deceiver, he appears as light, but on the inside he is nothing but dark. Since God is good, and loves us so much, He made a way to resurrect us, and deliver us from the jaws of death. With His body, He framed the Highway to Heaven; and with His blood, He washed away the stains of our sin, while simultaneously paving the way to Him. The suffering servant leads the way. He is the example that we are called to portray. The Lord says, “A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants, and feeding them. If the master returns and finds the servant has done a good job there will be a reward. I tell you the truth the master will put the servant in charge of all he owns but what if the servant thinks, “my master won’t be back for a while" and he begins beating the other servants, partying and getting drunk? The master will return unannounced and unexpected and he will cut the servant into pieces and banish him with the unfaithful. And the servant who knows what the master wants, but isn’t prepared and doesn’t carry out those instructions will be severely punished. But someone who does not know and then does something wrong will be punished only lightly. When someone has been given much much will be required in return and when someone has been entrusted with much even more will be required.” Luke 12:42-48 Jesus uses the adjectives, “faithful” and “sensible”, to describe the characteristics of a good servant. And their main task is to take care of others, and help manage them. Jesus said, "and if the Master returns unannounced and unexpected, the servant will be cut into pieces and banished!" Just the thought of this makes me sick! Can you imagine being a Christian and not having prophetic revelation, nor a confident hope to expect him? I do not have to time to get into this, but when you get a chance read Chapter 53 from the prophet, Isaiah. 700 years before Jesus was born, the suffering servant was accurately described and foretold. Luke 12 verse 35 says “be dressed for service, and keep our lamps burning as though we are waiting for our master to return from the wedding feast.” Then Jesus says, "The servants who are ready and waiting for His return will be rewarded.” I tell you the truth the master himself will seat them, put an apron on and serve them.” Isn’t that crazy? Isn’t that amazing? When we honor God, He honors us. How is that even possible? The Creator of Breath wants to serve us. So, let’s take a moment to look intently at Jesus who is the greatest example of what a servant is. Jesus committed no sin. He was the only man to ever live who had no sin! There was no deceit found in his mouth. He was always honest, and he never went south. He did not slander or condemn. He did not bash, knock down or slam his fellow man. He uttered no threats, even when he was wrongly accused. He didn’t fight back, even when He was physically abused. He kept on trusting God, no matter what the stronghold; and He was fully committed to His Father’s cause. He did not rebel, retaliate or seek revenge. He did not justify or try to use rationalism. He left everything totally in God’s hands. He ran the race and endured to the end. So, what does this mean for us? What does this have to do with the Master-Slave relationship? Remember what Jesus said, "For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will. And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day. For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day.” John 6:38-40 Jesus knew the will of God meant He had to suffer and spill his blood; yet, He was was willing to give all that He had, because He understood His blood was the only way humanity would be forgiven, and resurrected from the dead. Jesus said, “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him. He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood. At last he stood up again and returned to the disciples, only to find them asleep, exhausted from grief. “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation.” Luke 22: 41-46 Jesus warned His students, who were also his friends, to stay awake, and not give in to temptation. He knows that in our flesh, we are still subject to the curse, and when we are complacent we easily fall into sin. We must be on guard, and stay alert. Luke 12:40 says, "You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect." And if you are not paying attention, you will be fooled by the Abomination of Desolation. Mark 13:14 God loves us, so He gives us the option to be driven by the lust of the flesh, or to chase after Him. Without Holy Spirit, we are nothing but flesh-driven humans, who constantly pursue our evil intentions. Following Holy Spirit is a choice. We get to choose to embrace the blessing or be entangled by the curse. Deuteronomy 30:19 says, “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!” As I originally said, Slavery is the upside down, turned around, twisted version of dominion found in God’s Word! It’s humanity at its worst! It's the flesh-driven form of cannibalism. Just remember, Jesus is our testimony and our witness! And as I’m writing this, I know that I carry great responsibility to care for God’s children. I know this because I write what He says. These words are not my own, they come from a Holy Spirit Heart, a heart that's been transformed. Anyway, this is the final thing I want to say, Human Exploitation and Oppression is absolutely disgusting, and can only be done when one does NOT know God. Remember, our greatest version of servant-hood is when we become a pure reflection of God’s image. And this can only be done, through eyes wide open, forgiveness and unfailing love. We take on the enemy by speaking God's truth in love, and putting on the Lord's armor, spoken by Paul in Chapter 6 of Ephesians. While this world may be cursed, and Satan is the spirit of the air, God is alpha and omega, and He is still the one in charge! Master means Hallowed is His name, and He has dominion over every living thing! Servant means we are subject to Him, and because He is Lord, we can put our trust in Him. Fellowship is a form of relationship where there is joint participation, unity and communication. Jesus said, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him." John 14:23 God‘s approval should be what drives us, not us following our own thoughts, feelings or fleshly desires of lust. Help me put an end to oppression and human exploitation by reaching out to the lost, and being a true reflection of Him.
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