LOVE SLAVE

Deut 15:1-18 At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release. And this is the manner of the release: Every creditor that lendeth ought unto his neighbour shall release it; he shall not exact it of his neighbour, or of his brother; because it is called the LORD'S release. Of a foreigner thou mayest exact it again: but that which is thine with thy brother thine hand shall release; Deut 15:4 Save when there shall be no poor among you; for the LORD shall greatly bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it: Only if thou carefully hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all these commandments which I command thee this day. For the LORD thy God blesseth thee, as he promised thee: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over thee. If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother: But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth. Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him nought; and he cry unto the LORD against thee, and it be sin unto thee. Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him: because that for this thing the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto. For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land. And if thy brother, an Hebrew man, or an Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee. And when thou sendest him out free from thee, thou shalt not let him go away empty: Thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy winepress: of that wherewith the LORD thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt give unto him. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee: therefore I command thee this thing to day. And it shall be, if he say unto thee, I will not go away from thee; because he loveth thee and thine house, because he is well with thee; Then thou shalt take an aul, and thrust it through his ear unto the door, and he shall be thy servant for ever. And also unto thy maidservant thou shalt do likewise. It shall not seem hard unto thee, when thou sendest him away free from thee; for he hath been worth a double hired servant to thee, in serving thee six years: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all that thou doest.

I. MANKIND'S LOSS

• God placed man in the Garden of Eden and told him to KEEP THE GARDEN
• The River of Life flowed to the Garden and from there it went to the world

Prov 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life

• The heart is similar to the Garden.
• We must keep it
• As the River of Life flowed into the Garden, God's Words of Life come to the heart of a person.
• Our hearts which receive the Words of Life must then be protected or kept to ensure the River of Life, resultant from God's Words, flows outward to the world.
• We are God's only means to touch the world.
• The issues of life flow from the heart.

Ephe 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

• The WORD is likened to WATERS which wash

Gene 2:10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.

• God lost the heart of man in Genesis
• The Garden represents the heart of man
• Man went to intellectuality and left the heart on a lower value plain

Gene 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

• The tree would MAKE ONE WISE
• reminds us of Saul who was HEAD and shoulders above all Israel whereas David was a man after God's own HEART
• Sauls' HEAD distinguished him whereas David's HEART distinguished him.
• God prefers the HEART to be stressed and not the HEAD
• Cain's lineage were intellects

Gene 4:21-22 And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ. And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah.

• Intellect is not evil, but stress of intellect above stress of HEART is wrong.
• People can talk the Bible intellectually and astound you, amaze you, but miss the best part!
• we can fake a relationship with God, but God knows if the HEART is genuine or not.

• So God set out to do something to bring man's heart back to Him.
• He instituted LAW after a time.
• Stone tablets representing the stony HEART of man
• One was forced to be an Israelite to know God.
• One was forced to live holy and do good.
• one had to WORK
• the penalty for disobedience was often death
• man was commanded to serve God with the heart.
• live holy or die.
• homosexuality was punishable by death under Law
• adultery was punished by death under Law.
• Let us illustrate man's fate with this particular Law concerning slaves and love slaves of which we read in our text

II. THE STORY

The illustration of the servant, the poor Israelite who lost his possessions due to a debt to his brother Israelite which he could not pay.

• John owed a friend much debt and could not pay it due to his poverty-stricken situation.
• Because he was an Israelite, his friend would take John as a servant, but not a common servant.
• After 6 years John could go free and the debt would be reckoned as paid.
• John looked forward to that seventh year when he would be free.
• John's master was so kind and caring.
• He treated his servants so kindly.
• He gave John a little cabin to live in.

• After a time of working in the fields with the other men, as the women servants worked carrying in crops and water and keeping the master's house in due order, John's eye caught Mary, another servant woman.
• He spoke with her after the workday was over.
• Soon he began to love Mary
• They agreed to marry and John approached his master asking for the hand of Mary in marriage.
• The Master smiled broadly and gave them his blessings and agreed to see them married the next day.
• All the servants were invited to come while work day was put aside.
• The master had a calf killed for the feast.
• How wonderful a day John had in the house of His master!
• And he and Mary together lived in his cabin.

• John and Mary would work each day following and so look forward to coming home to be with each other again.

• One day Mary had some news for John.
• "John, I must tell you something."
• John wondered and asked what it was, with a worried look.
• "I am with child."
• John laughed and excitedly held her up in the air telling her how happy he was.
• Soon a daughter was born to John and Mary, and how they loved that girl!
• John was so fulfilled.
• And the year of release was also approaching! The year he would be free!

• Time passed and John came home excited.
• "Mary, please help me and pack my belongings."
• Mary looked puzzled, but helped.
• "This is the seventh year since I came to my master's house. I am free now!
• Immediately he ran to the master's house and noted about the duration of the period required to serve at the house, and how he had fulfilled it.
• The Master kindly showed him his appreciation for John's good hard work and gave him his blessings as he was ready to leave the house.
• And John returned to his cabin to take his belongings.
• Mary and the little girl were required to stay should John leave in his year of release, for John came to the house single and the woman and child were the master's servants.
• Sadly they watched John walk away.
• John slowed his pace.
• John's heart began aching.
• He looked around at Mary and his little girl watching him leave.
• He stopped.
• His mind thought hard about the Law.
• He was freed to leave, but he could not take Mary and his girl.
• Then he remembered!

• John marched to the master's house again.
• He told his master how he could not leave Mary and his girl, and how the master had been so kind and gracious, though he simply was forced to work for the master.
• So he decreed he wanted to remain as a love slave.

Exod 21:1-6 Now these are the judgments which thou shalt set before them. If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing. If he came in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he were married, then his wife shall go out with him. If his master have given him a wife, and she have born him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out by himself. And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free: Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever.

• John stood by the door of the master's house.
• His ear was pressed against the door-post, and an awl bore a hole through the ear.
• John signified that he would be instantly ready to HEAR any command from his master now, not because he HAD TO, AS BEFORE, BUT BECAUSE HE WANTED TO.
• The door represented his willingness to hear anything from the master's house by way of command.
• His name became that of his master.
• Mary also received this mark of a LOVE SLAVE.
• They would live all their days in the loving master's household, being cared for by the master, but not because they HAD TO, but THEY WANTED TO.

III. THE WILL OF GOD TODAY

• This story illustrates how God managed to get man's heart back.
• Man's heart left God in Eden.
• So God put out the Law.
• Man HAD TO obey God.
• After receiving so many blessings for living a good life, though a forced life, Law expired and Jesus Christ came to the world.
• A NEW COVENANT was initiated. GRACE.
• Man would no longer be forced to live holy, and capital punishment of death would not longer be the punishment of sin (though eternal loss of soul would still come).
• Should man choose to sin and be lost, God would not force man to do differently.
• BUT SOME OF US SEE HOW KIND AND LOVING THE MASTER IS, AND THE BLESSINGS HE GIVES TO THOSE IN HIS HOUSEHOLD.
• HOW CAN WE WALK AWAY FROM GOD NOW THAT LAW IS OVER AND SIN?
• SO WE CHOOSE TO BE SERVANTS OF GOD - SLAVES.
• BUT TO DO HIS WILL NOT BECAUSE WE HAVE TO, BUT BECAUSE WE WANT TO.
• WE ARE LOVE SLAVES.
• WE ARE QUICK TO DO ANYTHING HE WANTS US TO DO, BECAUSE WE WANT TO.

• I can smoke and drink liquor if I want to, but I do not want to! I love God too much.
• I can commit adultery if I want to and not have the city stone me to death, though I will lose my soul in hell, but I DO NOT WANT TO COMMIT ADULTERY.

Ephe 3:1 For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,

Ephe 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,

• In these texts, Paul discusses GRACE and serving God, as he calls himself a prisoner of God. A love slave.
• I took the master's name, JESUS< when I was baptized in water in Jesus' name.

Jesus alluded to the whole of humanity as a POOR person sold as a slave, but released upon the YEAR of release.

Luke 4:18-19 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

• The year of release was the acceptable year!
• Law is gone.
• But God still hates sin as much as he did under Law.
• And He still wants us to live holy as much as he did under Law.
• But He gives us the choice.
• And if we love Him we cannot leave Him!
• How can we leave Him? and not obey Him?

• Go to His door.
• HEAR His word.
• Be quick to receive any words he might will us to obey.
• He asks obedience. Let us do it!
• I want to stay! Willingly. God got hold of my heart!
• I WANT to do good.

Psal 40:6-8 Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened {ear bored with an awl?}: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required. Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.

2Cor 5:14-15 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

Holiness is God's will.

He will not force, but He wills that we love Him and obey! THAT is His goal in getting back the heart of man.

Do not let anyone tell you you HAVE to do this or you HAVE to do that. You do not have to do anything. But you should WANT TO. Otherwise you are lost.

Who will come to the altar and give your HEART to God?