ONLY ONE MASTER

THIS IS TABLE ROCK FELLOWSHIP – PASTOR RYAN LADEN

Only One Master

What does it mean to you to hear that the Lord Jesus has called you to be exclusive in regards to whom you serve and worship?

What ideas come to mind when you think about being exclusive in your choice to obey and serve one master?

This is the calling that lies before us as we again look into the message of Jesus as heard in the Sermon on the Mount. Listen again to the call of Christ on your life.

“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”

Matthew 6:22-24 NIV11

Why Not?

Why can we not serve two masters equally? Jesus says that we will grow to love one and despise the other over time, and that this duality of servitude is destined for destruction. Why is that?

There is the obvious answer, we cannot serve God and another because this is not God’s will for us. That is a true statement well supported throughout scripture.

It is also true that when two masters make demands on your time, energies, and resources that you will eventually become trapped between the two. This conflict will create a crucible of decision. Whichever one you choose to serve will receive your loyalty while the one you turn down will receive your enmity.

Hosea and Gomer

There is a book in the Old Testament that is simply known by the name of the prophet that God used to tell a long story about the need for fidelity between the Lord and his people. This is the book of Hosea, a message that is challenging for those who have learned to seek the middle ground on every subject.

In this book we hear the story of how the Lord called the prophet Hosea to go out and marry a woman who was known around town as an adulterous woman (euphemism for a prostitute). The purpose of this marriage was to illustrate to the people of Israel how they had turned away from the Lord and sought the love of other gods and pleasures.

The interaction between Hosea and his wife Gomer is not fit for TV. He pursues her, and she runs off with other lovers. He welcomes her back, only to be once more on the receiving end of what it feels like to be with someone who is trying to serve two masters.

Conclusion

In the conclusion of this prophetic adventure the Lord speaks to his people and reminds them that they will reap what they sow; that their infidelity in serving two masters will lead them into terrible outcomes that could have been avoided by serving the Lord God Almighty as their one and only master.

“But I have been the LORD your God ever since you came out of Egypt. You shall acknowledge no God but me, no Savior except me. I cared for you in the wilderness, in the land of burning heat. When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me. So I will be like a lion to them, like a leopard I will lurk by the path. Like a bear robbed of her cubs, I will attack them and rip them open; like a lion I will devour them— a wild animal will tear them apart.

You are destroyed, Israel,
because you are against me,
against your helper.”

Hosea 13:4-9 NIV11

Now

· Now is the time to examine your fidelity before the Lord.

· See that there is only one Master and one King over you and he is the Lord God Almighty.

· Acknowledge his right and submit to his leadership.

· He is your Savior and Redeemer and is the only one who can or will work on your behalf.

Bonus

There is a great message in Hosea that the Lord gave to the people about their coming day of salvation. This message speaks to the work of Jesus Christ and is worth your time:

“Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds.

After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence.

Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.”

Hosea 6:1-3 NIV11

Prayer
 

Thank you, Jesus,
for being the gift of God that binds up our wounds
and brings us healing in your beautiful work on the cross and in your eternal life, as seen in your resurrection.

In Christ,

Ryan Laden

OUR MISSION AS A CHURCH

“TO ENCOURAGE AND EQUIP EACH OTHER IN LOVE TO KNOW JESUS AND MAKE HIM KNOWN”

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