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| Jesus The Master |
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| Written by Dell Young | |||
| Wednesday, 31 December 1969 23:59 | |||
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Our study begins in John 11:20. ?Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house. Then sai...
Our study begins in John 11:20. ?Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house. Then said Martha unto Jesus, ?Lord, if
thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.? Jesus saith unto her, ?Thou brother shall rise again.? Martha saith unto him, ?I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.? Jesus said unto her, ? I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believeth thou this?? She saith unto him, ?Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.? And when she had so said she went her way and called Mary her sister secretly, saying ? The Master is come and calleth for thee.?
We want to study on what should be one of the most important questions in the Bible for us as individuals. When we talk about all of the things that God has done for man, something we cannot forget and something we cannot leave unsaid is God had a plan for man even from the very beginning of time. And that plan included his own son, the Lord Jesus Christ. When John began this book, he introduced Christ to us in a way that no other writer had. Mark said in simplicity, ?This is the beginning of the gospel of Christ.? Matthew began with the geneology of Joseph. Luke began and continued with the geneology, this time of Mary. They did this in a different way than John did. He introduced Him in this manner: ?In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehended it not.? So this was the way that this man, referred to as the beloved disciple, who lay his head on the breast of Christ at the last supper that they enjoyed together, and who asked the question when Christ made the statement that someone would betray him, ?Lord, is it I?? He was also one of the last disciples to see the Lord alive in that he was gathered with the three Marys at the foot of the cross of Christ when He left this earthly life. So John had an important role as a servant of Christ. He had an important role as a disciple of Christ. And yet he saw Him in an entirely different light that the other writers did and John is seldom quoted by the other people that make up the letters of the New Testament because of his approach to Christ. But he wanted to present Him to us as He was. The Living Word of God. This is the way he saw Him. This is what he believed Him to be. There would be no other man or representative of God who could represent God as He did because He was literally the Living Word of God. Now, when he is relating the things that happened to Christ in his life, as in this incident, when Jesus had heard that his friend, Lazarus, had died, and he came into this land where he lived and he met with Lazarus? sister, Martha. And she questioned him, ?If you had been here, my brother would not have died.? And Christ told her about the resurrection and she believed that. She said, ?I know that he will be resurrected at the last day.? Christ taught her a great lesson. But then she turned and went to her sister Mary secretly saying to her ?The Master is come and calleth for thee.? And this is the greatest message in the book - ?The Master is come and calleth for thee.? There should be nothing in this world more encouraging to us than that. And when he speaks of Him as the Master, he doesn?t do this in a shallow kind of way. He refers to him as John truly saw Him. The Master in the strictest sense of the word. Now, when we go to the dictionary for the definition of the word master, we read it in many different ways. Basically, a master is one who is in control. We have man-made masters. We have master mechanics, master electricians, master pilots for river boats, and master captains for the ocean liners. We refer to them as masters and we require of them a certain education and certain experience and when these people finish these qualifications, then they proudly wear the term ?master? that we, as other human beings, bestow upon them - but they are masters of only one skill. We may be a master mechanic, we may be a master electrician, we may be master of a boat, but a master is one who controls. Not just the ship, not just the mechanisms or electrical parts. A master is one who controls whatever situation presents itself. He is in control. Some of the greatest of the Bible...we can go to many places. I like the 11th Chapter of Hebrews, for the writer here names and makes personal to each of us many of the old Bible patriarchs and matriarchs speaking of them as examples to us that we should follow after to be pleasing unto God. He speaks of Noah, Abraham, Sarah and Barak and many of the old ones who have gone before us and each one of them has a piece of the Old Testament to teach us something more about God. Look at Abraham: the father of the faithful; Job: an example of those who are oppressed and who show calm patience; David, a man after God?s own heart: Adam: in the Garden of Eden. At the completion of the earth, God made man, a complicated creature, whom the Lord looked at as a motivated ball of dirt. He told man, ?This is all yours. You rule over it. The beasts of the field, the fowls of the air, the fishes of the sea, and the ground itself. You rule over this.? He pointed out to this man that he had the capability to become a master. But he lost control and all these others lost control. Adam lost control when Eve gave unto him of the fruit and he did eat. Abraham lost control when he went down into the land of Egypt and told the Pharoah that Sarah was his sister and not his wife. David lost control when he saw Bethseba bathing on the rooftop. Gideon lost control when God came down and spake to him and wanted him to lead the people into a fight and he waivered before God as though he didn?t know for sure if God was speaking to him; he needed a sign from heaven. And the next morning he got up and went out into the area around his home and there was a fleece that was sopping wet and yet all the ground around it was dry. He said, ?Try this again.? He got up the next morning and the ground around the fleece was wet and the fleece itself was dry. Then, and only then, did he agree to go and lead God?s people in that battle that God wanted him to. Saul was the first king, and being a king, should have been a master. But he could not master the people. He would listen to their voice before he would listen to the voice of God. He would make excuses to Samuel as to why he didn?t carry out the commands of the Lord and that excuse was always the same. It was either ?They?, referring to the people or it was ?David? referring to him. That got in his way to keep him from being a master. Now, when John introduces Christ into the world, he doesn?t give us any room for doubt in our minds as to what God had sent here to save us. You?re not looking at a novice. This that came into the world was something that was there in the very beginning. Remember when God said in Genesis 1, ? Let us make man in our image...? He had company here. He has someone he was talking to. He had someone in on the plan. ?Let us make man in our image, after our own likeness.? In the beginning was the Word. The Word was there. The Word had a part in everything that was made. There was nothing made that He didn?t have a hand in the making of. He didn?t send a novice into the world. He didn?t send someone into the world recommended by the world. And this is one of the greatest blessings that we have. We vote for a lot of people. We?re in trouble right now because we voted for a lot of people. The prophesies that were made a long time ago about a Redeemer who would come into the world was about one that would come into the city of Jerusalem and set up again the throne of David and his kingdom would be from the rivers to the seas and from the seas to the end of the world. Here was a power that was going to rule over the whole world and so that?s what the Jews looked for. When the carpenter?s son showed up, they couldn?t see Him. They would have voted for a king that could turn over the wicked Roman Emporers and take over the ruling of the world as they had seen with the kings of their own nation. So it was good, that we as a people, didn?t have a vote. Everyone would have wanted something different. And no one would have recognized that all of it could be in this one person. So God made the choice. Here is the one I am going to send into the world. I?ll not only send Him into the world, but I?ll acknowledge Him as my only begotten Son and I?ll introduce Him to the world myself. Whatever anybody should say, John the Baptist certainly made many references to Christ as ? He that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear...? He made these references to Christ, but he had no choice as to who or what power was coming into the world. God made that choice. And He chose...through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and through the beloved disciple, who referred to Him, simply as Master. Now, the prophets had called Him Emmanuel, the Root of Jesse, the Star of Bethlehem, the Star of Judah, and a Saviour, and a Redeemer. But God called Him a Master. The Master...one who controls. It was after His baptism, recorded in Matthew 3, that we read that this Master was lead into the wilderness where He fasted for 40 days and 40 nights and afterward He was an hungered. I can imagine! Satan came to him. Satan, himself, came to the Lord. He derided Him, not trying just to tempt Him into doing something wrong, but to make Him ashamed of Himself and His Father, and this would press him into doing something wrong. ?If thou be the Son of God, command these stones be made bread.? This would be tempting. It was too tempting for Abraham, it was too tempting for David, it was too tempting for Gideon, and Barak and all of them down through the years. They went to a point and then it was too tempting. But it didn?t tempt Christ. Christ said ?Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.? Hunger for bread is easily satified - especially if you have the power to turn the stones into bread. It can fill up a hollow place. But if we hunger and thirst after rightousness, there is only one source for food. We have to turn to the Lord. But then, Satan wasn?t through. He took Him on a high pinnacle and told Him to ?cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give His angels charge concerning Thee: and in their hands they shall bear Thee up, lest at anytime Thou dash Thy foot against a stone.? And Jesus said simply,?It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.? Jesus had no reason to show off. God sent Him to do something and He would complete the task and would not tempt God in the process. And so Satan took Him to an exceeding high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and he offered all of this to world with one condition: ?All these things will I give Thee, if Thou wilt fall down and worship me.? Jesus said ?Get thee hence, Satan...? Now we have just these three examples to work with and we need to think about this... John, later in his three short letters, also gave us some good teaching and part of these teachings were things that draw us away from the Word of God. The three things are the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye and the pride of life. This is all that we are tempted by. James 1:14 makes it even more plain...?But every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.? Jesus is the Master of Satan. Shortly after being tempted by Satan, He was on the shore teaching to people and the press of the crowd was great. He told His disciples to get the boat and when they had brought it, they drifted away some from the shore. When He went to join them, He walked across the water to the boat. Sometimes, we talk about this and laugh at a man called Simon Peter, but we need to put ourselves in Peter?s shoes before we laugh real loud and understand what that was. They saw Him coming on the water and ?were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying ?be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. Peter answered him and said, Lord if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said,?Come?.? Well, Peter stepped out of that boat, his faith faltered, he started to sink and the Lord saved him. We laugh about that sometimes...he had to jump to get out of the boat but didn?t have enough sustenance to walk on the water! I don?t know if I would have ever gotten out of the boat! Another instance he and the disciples were in a ship, there was a great storm and his disciples woke him saying :Lord, save us: we perish.? He said simply ?Peace. Be still.? There was a great calm on the ocean. Jesus is the Master of the elements. When John sent His disciples to Him inquiring ?Is this the one we are looking for, or do we need to look for somebody else??, He told them ?You go again and tell John the things you have seen and heard. The blind see, the deaf hear, the dumb speak, the lepers are cleansed, the dead are raised and the poor have the gospel preached unto them.? Jesus is the Master of all illnesses. He walked up to the tomb of his friend Lazarus as we read in John 11 and he said ?Come forth,? and Lazarus did, binding clothes still on him. Walked out of that tomb. Jesus is the Master of death itself. But I see another picture. This time on the cross of Golgotha where three men are hanging having been crucified by the Roman court and they are hanging up there simply waiting to die and the Lord is in the middle. A thief on this side and a thief on that side. One thief is in sympathy with him and ?said unto Jesus, Lord remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. Jesus said unto him, ?Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.?? Now, this man is going through the worst misery that the human body has ever been exposed to and He could just speak and 144,000 angels would come down and lift Him off that cross. All He had to do was just open His mouth and ask God this and it would happen. But when He opened His mouth, He said ?Father, forgive them. For they know not what they do.? Jesus is the Master of Himself. Before He left here, like the conversation that He had with Martha, He gave this message to every one of us in all different ways so that everybody could understand it. Since my childhood, I?ve heard the religious divisions blamed on this one thing more than anything else...we just don?t all see the Bible alike. We do. But, we don?t all accept it alike. It?s not a matter of understanding, it?s not a matter of ability to read, and it?s not a matter of education. We go searching the Book for all kinds of different reasons and if we want it bad enough, God will send us a strong delusion and we?ll believe a lie. That?s the reason we don?t all see the Bible alike. Because the words are all the same to us no matter what language it is written in. We do all see the Bible alike, but we go into studying with all kinds of preconceived notions and ideas and we are trying to prove them and if we try hard enough, we?ll find in our mind acceptable proof of some of the most ubsurd things that man has ever come up with. When a Master asserts Himself as the only begotten Child of God Almighty and there is but one purpose He is in this world and that is to save a lost and dying world from an eternity in hell: when He makes this claim to the whole human race, then we, as people, need to listen to that Master. We can tempt Him, we can fuss with Him as His own people did and try to cross Him up, we can ask Him all kinds of trick questions, but that Master can handle these situations, and He always has. Now, we present ourselves as students when we come to a study of the Word of God. We want to learn. And if we want to learn, the best place to learn is at the feet of a Master. Paul said he was brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, one of the greatest educators at the time. He was brought up at the feet of this great teacher and great lawyer and this man that had this power to impart learning from himself to his students, but to do that Paul had to see himself as a student. He could question Gamaliel about theories and he could question about old laws as compared with the current laws, but he could never contest him as a student. We can only contest Him when we convince ourselves that we have suddenly become the master. The Galatian people are a prime example of this. Paul went into that country of people starved and hungry for some knowledge of God. They flocked to him and did the things he told them to do to become a part of the great family of God. They fell in love with the apostle Paul and extolled him and acknowledged him as a master. Paul left that country and another came in. He taught a doctrine opposite of that of Paul and the people accepted him in the same kind of way. They knew more than Paul now because somebody told them something else. ? We?re the master now. You get that near sighted fellar back here and we?ll teach him something.? Their whole attitude changed because all of a sudden they got smarter than they ever thought they were going to be. If we go into the Bible looking for the truth, we?ll see the son of Joseph as a Master...not as a carpenter?s son. And this is what we need to look for. Have that respect. Understand that truth. If Christ is the Master, then what He says and what He does is completely correct in the eyes of God. The Hebrew writer started out that book...?God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;...? That?s the Master that we?re talking about tonight. This was not somebody that came in and brought something new and something different; this was not somebody who came in just to upset the old Jewish signs and prophecies...He came here to save the world. And what He said to me and to everybody else in the world is ?Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.? ?Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any man will hear My voice and open unto Me I will come in and sup with him and him with Me.? This is the Master trying to make His presence a part of our lives. It was the Master who said ?Where two or three be gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.? This what we want. This is what we pray for. This is the reason that we come together in the name of that Master, so that He will be here with us and we?ll have that strength, guidance, comfort and can understand the simplest kinds of passages. ?Repent and be baptized everyone one of you in the name of Jesus Christ...? We all know that passage of the Scriptures and, we Camellites, lean on the that passage pretty hard. But that is not all of that passage of scripture. That passage goes on to say ?and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.? Know why the Master came. He came here to die for us. Know why He left. ?If I don?t leave, the Comforter will not come unto you.? He tells us we need that Comforter. ?When He comes, He?ll guide you into all truth.? He?ll talk to you about sin and rightousness and judgment. There?s a little plaque that you see in offices and sometimes in our kitchens. It talks about things we see we can?t do anything about, things we see we might be able to do something about and Lord, give us the judgment between the two. And He says, the Holy Ghost came here to do that a long time ago! He talked about right, talked about wrong, and talked about the ability to know the difference. Is that a rough message for us to understand? This is what He gave us. That, His life, His blood and His body. So the Master is coming. 2 Thessalonians 2:14.......?Whereunto he hath called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.? The Master is come and calleth for you.
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