By the work of redemption which
Christ finished when He shed His blood and died on the cross for the sins of
all mankind, everyone who believes in Him is restored to fellowship with God
and is regarded as righteous in God’s sight by faith in Christ Jesus, thereby
giving one the ability to pray to God without a sense of guilt and also to
become a partaker of God’s promises in His Word and a co-heir to Christ’s
inheritance as God’s First Born… Though our relationship with our heavenly
Father is basically that of Father and son; but in practice, there is also the
Master-servant and the Lord-slave sense in our walk with God… These three
practical spheres if properly understood and utilized appropriately would
ensure a more rewarding relationship in our dealings with the Almighty God…
The Son: by faith in Christ and
by the Spirit of God, we are born of God, are children of God and God is our
heavenly Father… We are therefore His sons and daughters, and as with a natural
father, He loves us, cares for us, protects us, He knows our needs, He attends
to our requests, and He meets our needs according to His will as He always
knows what is best for us though we may not always know the same nor are we
always happy with His decisions for us in the beginning in certain situations,
until we discover at the end that it was for our own good after-all… As
co-heirs with Christ, we know we have an inheritance of peace, health,
prosperity, and long-life in God; and being His righteousness in Christ and
taking advantage of our redemptive rights, we do not beg for that which is
rightly ours, rather we come boldly before God’s presence asking our desires of
Him according to His Word, in the name of Jesus by faith, with confidence and patience;
knowing He will do as He has promised, just as a natural son will ask of his
natural father… The Word states clearly: “…But as many as received him, to them gave he
power to become the sons of God…” John 1:12 (KJV) “…And because you Gentiles
have become his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts,
and now you can call God your dear Father. Now you are no longer a slave but
God's own child. And since you are his child, everything he has belongs to you…”
Gal. 4:6-7 (NLT) “…For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the
sons of God…” Rom. 8:14 (KJV)… Pray to God with the mentality of a son!
The Servant: we are not only sons
of God, we are also servants of God and Jesus is our Master… The vital
characteristic of a true servant is complete obedience to his master’s
instructions with humility and without analysis, reluctance or eye-service…
Jesus Christ our perfect role model exemplified this virtue during His work on
earth, as He would always publicly declare His unity with His heavenly Father
and to work only according to what the Father wills and not His own works…
Jesus displayed this practically in His dealings with His disciples and
followers and also urged them to do the same by always bearing the heart/mind
of a servant of God and of others in whatever they do… Therefore, we also as
servants of God have a divine responsibility to always do that which is God’s
will and not our own will notwithstanding how uncomfortable we might feel about
it… A humble and obedient heart of a true servant is God’s expectation of us if
we must be the true sons of our Father bearing in us His nature of love and
self-less service towards God and others as Christ had… Though as with a
natural servant, we always have a choice to either do the Master’s will, our
own will or even to decide not to serve the Master any longer, as God is never
a task master nor is Jesus a forceful Master, but He desires our total
surrender and willful obedience for our own good and to receive His rewards… And
just as a natural son serves His earthly father not because the father provides
all his needs alone, but because he is his father and he owes him his obedience
and loyalty as a due and legal obligation of which the father has the right to
correct, instruct or discipline him in love if he defaults; same applies in our
service to God our heavenly Father, we serve Him and do His work because it is
our duty as His sons, not just for His rewards, because true sons get
inheritances not wages or payments… The Word says: “Live as free men, but do
not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.” 1Pet.
2:16 (NIV) “…Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for
the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from
the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving…” Colo. 3:23-24
(NIV) “…In the same way, when you obey me you should say, 'We are not worthy of
praise. We are servants who have simply done our duty.'…" Luk. 17:10 (NLT)…
Work for God with the mentality of a servant!
The Slave: as children of God, we
ought also to be love-slaves of Christ… A slave is not simply a servant, but a
bondservant who accepts to be ruled over by a lord not for the sake of reward
but out of a sense of total loss of self-will because he acknowledges that his
choices and will has been bought over by his lord so he has no choice but to live
for his lord; in essence, his life is totally owned and controlled by his lord…
The slave is not just a servant with a restricted self-will but a servant so
addicted and sold out to his lord’s will that he has lost his self-will; he is
bonded permanently to his lord and has no freedom of choice or choice of
freedom… We must recognize that Christ purchased us from Satan’s kingdom with
His own blood and as such we do not belong to ourselves anymore but have become
not just God’s sons and servants, but also God’s property… As Christ’s
love-slaves, God expects of us to grow to a level of maturity in bearing His
divine nature of love that our self-will has no place in our daily decisions in
life; a point where we hardly need to ask what His will in a matter is because
the thought of doing the opposite doesn’t even come to our minds; when we not
only do God’s will as a conscious act but we live His will as a way of life;
when we grow from doing God’s will to living God’s will; when God’s
supernatural life becomes natural to us; when God’s way becomes not just a way,
but the only way we can think of choosing; when we just can’t but love not
because we always feel like it, but because we do not know how not to love;
when our whole being is submerged in devotion to Jesus Christ our Lord that the
thought of disobeying His instructions hardly comes by; it’s a life completely
sold-out to Christ and His gospel… The love-slave will gladly give his life for
his lord when need be… As with the early Apostles and Disciples of Christ and
others who ended up as martyrs for Christ’s sake; they died for their faith not
simply as servants of Christ but as slaves of Christ; their self-life, earthly
rewards or material possessions meant nothing to them; they would gladly give
all including their lives, for the sake of Christ and the gospel… This is
surely beyond a simple natural decision, but the out-working of the empowerment
of the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit at work in them who had shed the
self-sacrificing love of Christ in their hearts… The Word says: “…Do you not
know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you
have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price.
Therefore honor God with your body…” 1Cor. 6:19-20 (NIV)… The Apostle Paul, a
perfect example of Christ’s love-slave boldly said: “…But whatever was to my
profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider
everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus
my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I
may gain Christ…” Philp. 3:7-8 (NIV)… Live for God with the mentality of a
slave!
Truly, there are many
self-proclaimed sons of God and servants of God, but only few have grown to
become slaves of God; because self-will is often the driver of the decisions
and choices many make in everyday life; and the praises of men, earthly fame
and material possessions matter much to many than anything or anyone else… Of a
truth, how we live and what/who we live for, matters more to God than the
prayers we pray to Him or the works we do for Him…
Sons live mainly for the
inheritances; Servants live mainly for the rewards; but Slaves have no life of
their own, they live only for their Lord!... Don’t only be a son and a servant
of God; strive to grow into a love-slave of Christ!
Nice Day Friends!
#GodIsStillInCharge
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