I pray that the Lord Jesus Christ, will quicken his word unto us and enable me to share this eternal thought which i have received with you all, I am thankful to God for the opportunity to be able to share words that can edify my brethren today, and also to the admins who entrusted me with this privilege, may the Lord bless you all in Jesus's name. My subject today will be titled: 4 levels of Relationship. We will talk about the different levels of relationship that we can have with the Lord and see how they differ from each other, and i pray that this subject will press our hearts to seek for a higher form of relationship with our beloved Groom.
Luke 17: 7 - 10
7 But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat?1. The servant level of relationship.
8 And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink?
9 Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not.
10 So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.
Now this is a dictionary definition of the word servant, a person who performs duties for others, especially a person employed in a house on domestic duties or as a personal attendant. In the above verse where our Lord is speaking, we can already identify some of the characteristics or traits of what a servant is. Now here are some things that we know about servants...
- They are employed
- They are paid
- Their duty is to serve
- They have a servant to master relationship with their employer
- They can be fired
Now there are many more others things we can see from that, but lets start with this. As we are focusing on the relationship aspect, we see that servants don't have a close relationship with their employer, he is their master.In the same way, the master does not have special care or closeness with his servants.Just as the statement in the above scripture shows. Servants serve the master, and they also KNOW the master but only to a certain extent, If they have a kind master, they know it, if he is hard and unmerciful, they know it, if he is Patient they know it... do you get it? Servants can know the character, the attributes of the master, they can know how he is, and how he likes his servants to be, and what makes him angry...And they can USE that to their advantage.
Matthew 18: 23 - 27
23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.Here we see a merciful and compassionate king, who forgave the debt of his servant.The servant recognized how the king is, and humbled himself and begged him and his master forgave him.But the Lord could also have done otherwise to him as we see later after he showed himself unmerciful.
24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.
25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.
Matthew 18: 32 - 34
32 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:The servant level of relationship allows for certain things and benefits indeed but it is the riskier of all of the levels, but still remember, there is a RELATIONSHIP. Now, some good servants can also be promoted for their good works.
33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.
Luke 19: 15 - 19
15 And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.16 Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds.17 And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.18 And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds.19 And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities.Yes, some servants can even have authority from the master to do certain things that even some other servants can't, and some servants manage other servants. But there is one thing servant don't have and don't know, They don't know what the master does, they don't know his personal plans, his mind, his thoughts, They don't really know his heart, and they don't know his mind. So all that they can ever do is serve. The master does not talk to them about his personal issues and life. Now lets apply it to our reality, to the church.
This is the lowest level of intimacy for those in the field of Jesus Christ. It does not include the people of the world, they are complete outsiders.
At this level, the people have a desire for God for one reason or the other, and decided that he was better than the world. They know God, in that sense that they know his attributes, they know he is, they know his character and they know they can fully rely on it. This level of people serve a lot, they try to do things but they do it in their own righteousness, without knowledge because their level does not allow them to do otherwise. They have gifts of the spirits, which i will name rather as equipment, because that's more of what spiritual gifts are. These people can experience miracles, wonders, have great testimonies of God's grace, favor, power, faithfulness, etc... and they imagine that that is what it means to know God.
In the natural, a servant has no PERSONAL relationship with his master. The master is who he is, and the servant can benefit from that and experience it and know what kind of master he is serving, but he remains a servant. Servants have the possibility to ask for requests, favor, help, and the better the servant, the easier it will be to obtain it, based on who the master is by himself. Masters can also reward good servants by promoting them or giving them more honor. But the servant never get to really know the mind of the master, and the master never considers the servant as someone he has a relationship with.
In this category, most are tares, that will be burnt. They are those who think they know God while he says "i don't know you", they are those of Mathew 7, those who will be greatly disappointed by Christ's reply to them. They are the denominational believers, caught up in the nicolaitan hierarchy system. There are people who truly want to know God there, but they are caught up in this system, and all they can have is that servant level of relationship. Now there is mercy for them and time to bring forth good fruits, but the time will come when there will be time no more.
Luke 13: 6 - 9
6 He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none.Matthew 13: 30
7 Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?
8 And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it:
9 And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.
30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.Watch out for the completion of this post........
Note: The Above topic was taught by Bro Landry
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