My Master's House

If only people knew the privilege of living in the Master’s house. He is so good to a servant that freedom is never considered. No one in this servant position ever wants to go outside of the luxury and peace of this big wonderful house. The Master is so powerful that there is no person who will not fall on their face before Him. Every living being outside of this house wants to show honor when a servant speaks. They listen to the servant because of his powerful Master. There is absolutely nothing that any servant will ever need or want. This powerful Master loves each one of His servants. It is certain that not one of His servants will ever have a worry about anything. Every servant holds tightly to their position because they know that all the Masters servants will someday be promoted to a family member. This is why a servant of the Lord wonders why so many people ignore the Master and continue to serve this dirty world and its terrible leader who is bound for Hell? It is a shame to serve this world.

Every Christian is a servant in God’s house. The Scriptures give us good advice on how to serve in the Masters household. Christians are so different from this world that we should support each other. It is helpful to try and remember how totally different we are. Jesus said: Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many. Matt 20:26-28 (NLT) Many of us have never actually experienced a time when the pastors and church leaders were all servants. But in God’s household the people must understand that a servant in our church will be a ruler in Heaven. In the parable of the talents Jesus said: Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. Matt 25:21 (KJV) Even if we hold a humble position in God’s house we know that being faithful to our work will be rewarded by the Lord. We all must learn to be a servant.

Jesus must be considered the only authority in the Church. Then when Christians gather together, the Lord will assemble with them. The Bible says:  For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them. Matt 18:20 (NLT) Should a servant take the lead over Jesus when the Lord attends our church meeting? When humble church members get together they must all look to Jesus for his guidance. If we have the proper attitude, as church members, the Lord will become real and precious to us. There are times in a church service that we can feel a wonderful lifting of our spirit. This boost in our spiritual life is caused by a close encounter with the presence of the Savior. Any time people who are energized by the Spirit of Jesus get together and look to Him as the authority they will feel His presence. Here is the reason: God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself. Eph 1:22-23 (NLT) We must return to church ways that honor Jesus and give Him the place at the head of everything we do.

When our church is blessed by someone who does humbly serve as a leader we should respond in the proper way. The Bible says to show them respect: Dear brothers and sisters, honor those who are your leaders in the Lord’s work. They work hard among you and give you spiritual guidance. Show them great respect and wholehearted love because of their work. And live peacefully with each other. 1 Thess 5:12-13 (NLT) A church should be full of humbleness and respect as we stay busy with the Lord’s work. Paul continues his lesson on church behavior by saying: We urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone. See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people. 1 Thess 5:14-15 (NLT) Doing good to each other is the standard that a church can be judged by anywhere in the world. We have no idea how many different ways the Lord can show us to serve. We are living in America where people own everything they need for this world. But we still must work extra hard to try and meet their spiritual needs, of which America has plenty.

There are Christians who will ask; how do I meet a spiritual need? Paul gave us some simple things we can do: Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. Do not scoff at prophecies, but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. 1 Thess 5:16-21 If we hold on to the good things of God, it can bless those around us. Servants in the household of God will always come to agreement on spiritual matters. We should always try to use seasoned Christians to take the lead in the Lord’s work. Here is an example: So we decided, having come to complete agreement, to send you official representatives…who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are sending Judas and Silas to confirm what we have decided concerning your question. “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay no greater burden on you than these few requirements” Acts 15:25-28 (NLT) These people had asked the Spirit of Jesus to guide their decisions and they gave Him the credit. This is how the church should work: with the help of the Spirit until Jesus comes back.

When the Lord’s Church began there were no denominations. This is because they were of one spiritual body:  Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit. 1 Cor 12:13 The Master has asked us to overlook the differences and the faults of each other. Being in the same Spirit we can begin to help each other find the things of truth. At times Paul felt so close to other Christians that he said: For we have the same spirit and walk in each other’s steps, doing things the same way. 2 Cor 12:18 With this attitude it is easy to love the many other types of believers. This can only begin when we are honest with ourselves. The importance that we have placed on our own thinking is limiting the real work God has for us. We must: Let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. Eph 4:23-24 (NLT) In the Master’s house we must think of others as more important than ourselves. Then we will fit into the Master’s household.

Accepting Our Church Family

In this country it has been estimated that over 6 million devoted believers do not belong to a local church. Every one of these people has excellent reasons for not joining an assembly. Does this mean that God misspoke when he commanded that we gather together with others? In an attempt to answer this question let’s look at some reasons for the local church. Jesus established the Church while He was still living on earth.  One day Jesus declared; Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. Matt 16:18 (NLT) If we overlook the many discussions about this verse we can still see that the church belongs to Jesus and that He is building it out of people. It is only possible to build with people being the stones because the Church is not a physical building but spiritual. People do have the potential to become the image of God but they must be cleaned up. This is where our local church enters into the process. Maybe we could say that our local church building is the machine that tumbles all the building stones until they shine for God.

Some people resent being tumbled among other people until our rough edges are smoothed out. However, the way that a human becomes like God is to suffer at the hands of other people and learn from God during the experience. We all know about the suffering of Jesus and yet it made Him love us all the more. At the end of His life He commanded us to follow the godly road even when people hurt us; This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. John 15:12-14 (NLT) Instead of being upset with our church people we must learn to have compassion for their failures. This will really mean something to God. The Spirit of God lives in us to help us love our church the way we should. The Bible says: Anyone who loves another brother or sister is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble. 1 John 2:10 After we have suffered various wrongs we should really try to spare others the same pain we have felt, this is part of a godly life.

Our battle at times is not actually with other people. Often it is a battle with our old selfish nature. We want to protect our own pleasures. Paul tells us; If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work. 2 Tim 2:21 (KJV) We must accept our church family with all their faults, including our own, if we ever want to be the type of vessel that the Lord can use. We will never truly accept human faults until we have given up our own rights and pleasures. There are church people that put more value on doctrines and creeds than their love for others. All law has been superseded by love. The Bible says: If we love our Christian brothers and sisters, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead. 1 John 3:14 (NLT) This verse does not say that we pass from death to life when we force the law upon other people. It says “if we love them” we have proof of our salvation. When we empty out our selfishness it will make room for God’s love.

Accepting the church family is our job. Our new eternal life is always going to be about fellowship. Similar to an earthly family we do have what is called “a common identity of origin.” Because of our new birth we actually have gained real brothers and sisters that are born into the same family. Unity of love is always possible because of the position we have gained from our common birthright. Some family’s have a member who refuses to love their siblings. They avoid the society of other people in the family. Sometimes when they remove themselves from social contact they will retire to a secluded place. In their selfishness they want to be a world unto themselves. God has asked us to live a life that reflects His love for people. Instead these people have made the decision to live in their old selfish nature. John said: If we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their Christian brothers and sisters. 1 John 4:20-21 (NLT) My friends, we must find a way to love other people no matter how difficult it seems.

Contact with family members is important for security in this world. All humans are involved in a deadly game. Long ago Adam and Eve made selfish decisions to live by their own rules. Failing to obey God, they initiated a human diversion we could call “Love lost”. When our local church gathers together we are attempting to find this “lost Love”. Lost love is the reason Cain killed Able and humans began their long history of hate for each other. By regaining love we can defeat the Devil and win the deadly struggle for our soul. This is what the Bible says about love: Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. 1 John 4:11-13 (NLT) This certainly involves our seeking the well being of our church family. Working to build a godly family should be the goal of every Christian. Refusing to be part of the local family is a sign to God and others that we placing ourselves above their needs.

When God accepts us into His family it is a new legal relationship. Our choice of salvation includes a responsibility to join God’s family in a way that honors our savior. Paul wrote this summery for us when He said; Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Col 3:12-13 (NLT) There are even believers who have great zeal but show little or no love for others. Today we must allow God to shed abroad His love into our life. If we allow His love into our life, it will overflow to the people around us. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. Col 3:14-15 (NLT) What a great plan God has for us if we will thankfully join His family. The light of God’s glory will shine from our face when we accept our church family.