We can end that way. The rest of us please go back in our Bibles to the beginning. Close to it, text says chapter 21. And the other passage that I mentioned is Deuteronomy chapter 15. Okay, so if you wanna be in those passages, might help you as we're gonna be going to those two different scriptures, two different texts. We're both dealing with the same thing, and that's the bond slave tonight that we're gonna look at. Have you ever mumbled or been mumbled at? All right, some of us maybe are more guilty of that than others. But the older you get, the more you really wanna hear what somebody's saying and I know anyone that's older would say amen to that. I say amen to that. If somebody answers me and they're facing away sometimes it's a little bit hard even for my young ears to be able to pick that up. I had a man say to me this past week he said can we go over here where there's not all the background noise so that I can say, you know, and hear what you're saying. It doesn't help that we've all got masks on, all right? That doesn't help us be able to hear. But sometimes people mumble on purpose. You know, there might be a reason they mumble. Sometimes you've got two young people that get in a spat, you know, and they face the judgment seat of the teacher or the judgment seat of their parents that might hear something like that. So you go and you apologize. And so they go, and the apologist goes, no. And you're like, no, no, no, no, no, no. Be clear, be clear. Say it sincerely, say it plainly, so he can run that reading event, get it out there, and say, I am sorry. They might kind of mumble on purpose. an insecure young man that has a girlfriend you know he's been waiting trying to pop the question it's just been it's been there you know he's been trying to get it out uh he might mumble and she might say well you know what did you say uh she might say did you say will you marry me she might have to ask him you know and i just say to guys obviously there's not any here really that are at the age but if somebody's gonna Say something like that. Say it plainly, right? Get it out there. It needs to be evident what you're saying. Will you marry me? As fathers, I'm gonna be preaching to the fathers, but with all scripture. All scripture is given and is profitable for everybody, no matter where you're at. And so we understand that the application tonight is gonna be broad to everybody. But my message title tonight is say it plainly. Say it plainly. Make it evident, make it very clear. Again, the text of the message are these two texts that come from the law of Moses. They have to do with civil liberty. favor of slavery. But God was in favor of protecting the rights of slaves and so there are laws about slavery in the Word of God. God did permit slavery within humankind. He even allowed for some of his servants to go through times of slavery. You've got that in the life of Joseph. You've got that in the life of the children of Israel. However, in the Bible, there was something called a bond slave. And a bond slave was somebody that came to a conviction after their time was up, and they had an opportunity to go their way after those six years of serving their master. They came to the conviction that they had to declare plainly, as it says in our text in Exodus 21, verse five, if he shall plainly say, and what he's gonna say is, I've decided to be a bond slave. I've decided to sign up to my master. for the rest of my life. And so my message tonight is this, it's Father's Day again, we congratulate our fathers. And as children, we rejoice in the fathers that God gave us on this day. But as a godly father, there are certain things that we ought to say plainly. Nobody should coerce us, nobody should have to say, what did you say and what did you mean by that? These are the things that we declare very, very plainly. And again, this is a broad application and everybody ought to be able to say these things as well. And so we must, we must speak it plainly. And so two texts, Exodus 21, Deuteronomy 15, And we need God to help us to be good fathers. And with his help, four things tonight that we need to say plain and bright. Let's pray. Ask the Spirit of God to bless as we come to the Word of God. Father, we thank you for the grace that you give. And Father, we thank you for truth. Truth that can come to us from the Word of God, can come into our hearts by the Word of God, can go out of our mouths by the grace of God. And Father, we pray for that tonight. Father, we pray for that one person that might hear this message, that in their life, they need to say these things. Father, they need to say, I love Jesus Christ. And other truths that we're gonna look at this evening. Father, we pray that they could. We pray that they would, from their heart, testify of their love for God, their desire to serve God. These precious promises and statements of truth, I pray, God, that they would come out of their mouths. Father, out of our mouths tonight as believers, I pray, Spirit of God, give us grace to not be ashamed, not be unclear, but be clear that these statements will be plain. Father, I can't speak without your enablement tonight. We can't listen. I pray for the holy hush of the presence and the spirit of God in this place. Father, we ask please that you do what we talked about in the song that we just sung. Use me now, Lord Jesus, use me as I tell of Calvary. May thy spirit move within me, bringing souls to thee. That's our desire. Lord, we really desire that. I pray empower this service by your spirit. And Father, I pray, build our church, help our church, Father, may we bring glory to God. Thank you for your help tonight. It's in Christ's name I pray. Amen. Okay, with this out, we need to say four things plainly. As I prayed about it, you probably know the first one. Say it plainly, I love you. I love you is the first thing that we need to say very plainly. Exodus 21 verse five says, and if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children, I will not go out free. Okay, let's just think about love. Sometimes we have this idea about love that's this mushy, romantic, emotional feeling. You know, and the thing is, feelings come and go. Real love, biblical love, is a choice. We know it's a choice because of the example of God and God's love. John 3, 16 says, For God so loved the world. We understand that it's not talking about the sinner. The sin must be about the sinner. How could God look at a sinner and see anything that would draw out that emotion that we think of as love? That's again, why it's not a feeling. Love is a choice. God chose to love us by his grace as sinners. Romans 5.8 says, but God commended his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. I was reminded yesterday as we knocked on doors at Milton Bridge, this village just right here, and frankly the responses were not that great. People opening the door and very quickly, you know, here's your hat, what's your hurry, you know, type idea. And, you know, the door's closing before you finish that first sentence. And I look at somebody and I think, you know, that is a heart and will against God. That's somebody that is, just frankly, very unkind. Somebody that's living in rebellion, even in just hardness. You think, how could God have affection for me like that? But God did, praise God, that God did. Love is a choice, praise God, He loves us. And then secondly about love, love is active, not passive. It's active. Romans 5.8, while we are yet sinners, Christ died for us. See, love is active. God didn't just stay in heaven. Jesus didn't just stay in heaven and say, I love you. Jesus came to this earth. He died on a cruel and rugged cross. Why? Because love is active, not passive. God would do something because of this love. John 3, 16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son. has a choice he could depart and leave his master or he can stay and serve his master and so he's a choice about that love but that love begins with a declaration that this person makes and it's a clean declaration and what it is is this I love you my master I love you, my master. And so Exodus 21 verse five, again it says, and if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master. You know, it's kind of like this, he considered his options, he looked at everything that was going on, and he thinks, you know what, I don't wanna go. I could have my liberty after six years, he had to serve for six years. At the end of that, he was free to go if he wanted. In fact, if he had gotten married and the wife was not from his master, he and his wife could go, they could go out and they could be free. But he looks at his master and he says, you know what, I've got it, it's so good. I love my master. And I'm not here today to defend slavery. But I would imagine that some slaves, if you were to ask them about their slavery, they would say it wasn't really bondage. It was liberty. It was, you know, I had great freedoms. I had great entrust given to me. I had great opportunities within that bondage as you see it. You think about Joseph and Potiphar's house. I mean, he had reign over everything. He had great privilege. Obviously, the wife sought to ensnare him and cause problems, but under his master, he was given great trust, though he was a slave. You look at Abraham's servant, a man born into his own house, Eleazar of Damascus, and in Genesis chapter 15, Abraham's looking at him and saying, is this the heir? God says, no, that's not the heir, but if he was the heir, it means this. Abraham was thinking about giving him everything that he possessed to inherit. And so again, I would say about a slave in a situation like that, yes, he's a slave, but he has incredible privilege, he has incredible opportunity, and he just looks at it and goes, I love my master. I love my master. And tonight, as we think about that, this man is saying to his master, he's saying, I have affection for you, my master. Again, Deuteronomy 15 verse 16, it shall be, if he say unto thee, I will not go away from thee because he loveth thee. There's an affection, isn't there? I mean, there is a, it's not just a statement, there's a fact, there is an affection in the heart of this man. for his master. And again, we ask ourselves tonight, do I have an affection for God like that? Because that's the picture, isn't it? God is the master, us as a servant, we can serve God because we have to, or we can serve God because we want to. We ought to say to God tonight, you know, God, I love you. You know, I pray for our prime minister, I pray for the first minister of Scotland here, but I can't say that I have affection for him. Alright? Why? Because I disagree. I disagree with their policies. I disagree with their language. I disagree with their associations. I disagree with the positions that they've taken against life, against marriage, against God. Right? I disagree with that. I don't have affection for them though I pray for them. In great contrast, there's a lady I've shared with you about, Mrs. Brooks. Her husband, Ron, was our field administrator, like Steve Anderson. When we first got to the field, they took an interest in our ministry. She, as we come into this building program, she's been praying for the last several years. She set some money aside years ago as a memorial fund for her husband that that when the opportunity came, she invested it into our building program. Praise God for her love for this church. She has said if she was here, she would come to our church, you know. And she's praying, she's active. You know what, I can say this, we have an affection for Mrs. Brooks. We agree. There is a relationship that is there. Let me ask you tonight, how do you get on with God? There's a lot of people tonight, they'd say, I disagree with God, I disagree with his policies, I disagree with his positions, I disagree with his person. Listen, tonight, they don't have affection for God. But we'd understand tonight that we ought to be able to say as a blood-bought believer that praise God, I've got affection in my heart for God. This man did, he said, I love you, my master. But he didn't just love his master, he loved his master's house, his habitation. It says in Deuteronomy 15 verse 16, and it shall be, if he say unto thee, I will not go away from thee, because he loveth thee and thine house. You know, there's places that we love. Everybody knows that last year, my grandpa was passing away just as we're getting ready to go back to the United States. We were supposed to be back, but because of COVID, we couldn't make it back and he passed away. weeks or a couple weeks before our family got back there. And so we missed the funeral, missed saying goodbye personally, we said goodbye online, and God really gave us some sweet time in that. But when I got back to Des Moines, my parents live about two miles away from my grandparents' house, and first thing the next morning after we got there, I put on my running shoes, I go for my run, I run to Grandpa and Grandpa's house, you know. It's just a special place, a 20-some birthday that place, you know, with all the family gathered there. They have an upholstery workshop down in the basement. I can smell it if I think about it. You know, it's a very distinct smell. Grandma and Grandpa's brings back a lot of memories. They got goldfish there. You know, Grandpa's think of goldfish that they were still there when I got back. And there's now all these associations and things. My grandparents out in Colorado, Grandma and Grandpa, sure they passed away years ago, but I can think about Colorado mornings, but then very quick dry heat in the afternoon and the pine smell of the mountains and I mean there's And the coal fire and things like that. There's smells and there's associations. I say I love that place I love the habitation of that location, you know Does God's habitation smell good to you? Is there something about the house of God, the aroma of God's presence? Psalm 45 verse 6 says, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of thy kingdom is a right scepter. Thou lovest righteousness and hatest wickedness. Therefore, thy God hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness among thy fellows. there's an aroma of God you know does that mean something to God's habitation, God's presence. There's a story of the dedication of the tabernacle and the presence of God coming there with Moses, meeting with Moses face to face and Joshua, the son of Nun, Moses' servant is there, but the Bible says as Moses turned to leave to go back to the camp, his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle. Why? Because Joshua said, I love the place of thy habitation. It's a great thing to be there with you again tonight. Could you say in your heart, I love my master. I love him. I love him. I love his house. I love everything about that. I can say with confidence tonight, I love my master. Secondly, a man ought to be able to say this. I love you, my wife. I love you, my wife. It says in Exodus 21 verse 5, if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife. And again, the happy goodness of a generous master that was kind enough to look at his servant and say, my servant needs a companion, and to get a wife for the man that was serving him. That was a very gracious work, similar to what God did, as God looked at Adam and said, Adam, you need to help me. And so he brought him Eve and gave Eve to him. Proverbs 19 verse 14 says, house and riches are the inheritance of a father's and a prudent wife is from the Lord. What a blessing of God to give us a wife. It says in Proverbs 31 verse 10, who can find a virtuous woman for her price? is far above rubies. That man was enriched when God in his goodness, that master in his goodness, gave him a wife and his life was enriched. He ought to look at that wife and say, you know what? I love you. I love you. You've heard about the man who was asked by his wife, do you love me? He said, I told you when I married you, I love you, and if I change my mind, I'll let you know. And we can laugh at that, smile at that, and think, that's silly, but the thing is, there's a lot of men that live like that, very sadly. It's a good thing to say those words distinctly, to say those words clearly, to say, you know what, I love you, and affirm that. Ephesians 5.25 says, husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, Colossians 3.19, husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them. It ought to be in the heart of a man to say to his wife, you know what? I love you. This man unashamedly declared it. By God's grace, so should we declare it as men. And then the third thing, he said plainly, I love you, my master, I love you, my wife. But the third thing he said is I love you, my children. I love you, my children. Exodus 21 verse five, again, He said, I love my master, my wife, and my children. This man had affection for the wife that his master gave him. He had affection for the children that God gave to him. You know, that's a great thing. In our family, we've got a lot of fun that we have as a family. We've had fun this past week. The woods had us over for a campfire. Went over and met the Loxleys at the park. We celebrated our anniversary on Thursday, 21 years. given to us that we have enjoyed and God's blessed us with six kids that we go we go to a Friday night family fun night you know get out do something be somewhere do do something as a family growing up in my home in As a child, that's the way we were. We didn't, mom and dad didn't go somewhere, kids go somewhere. It's like we're going out to do something we did as a family. Why? Because kids aren't a burden. You know, it's not something that we have to escape. We love our family and we get out and we do things together. You know, sometimes men can think it's not manly to show affection. We talked about manliness this morning in Sunday school. Young men are to be strong. That's the glory of young men. But sometimes men think, I can't, it's weak to say I love you. It's weak to show affection. Jesus was a very strong man, that Jesus was affectionate. Mark 10, 13, they brought young children to him that he should touch them. And his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased. And he said unto them, suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for such is the kingdom of God. You know, I regret today that we live in such a wicked world that you can't put your hand on a child and say, honey or son, I love you, I care about you. You know, it's a sad, it really is a sad day in which we live. So much more than do we need in our families to make sure that our children understand that they are loved, that they are cared for and share that affection with them. And so I just wonder today, are you mumbling? Or can you say plainly, I love my master, I love my wife, I love my children. That's a good thing for us to very clearly say, to say, I love you. And then secondly, to say, I serve. bond slave relationship, though they might have some application to other aspects of family or whatnot. But this is a bond servant declaration to his master, plainly say, I serve you. And so as he says that, he says, I choose to serve you. I choose to serve you. It says in Exodus 21 verse five, and if the servant shall plainly say, I will not go out free. He could have had his liberty. In fact, he could have been liberated from the responsibility of marriage, from the responsibility of parenting and fatherhood. He could have been liberated from the responsibility to his master, but he looks at it and says, it's not bondage. I choose that. I choose that. And he plainly says, I will not go out free. You know, our world is all about freedom, aren't they? It's all about being unattached, unencumbered. A woman's got to be able to have her career. A man has to be able to have his career. He's got to have his sports. He's got to have his travel. He's got to have his space. He's got to have his car. His car's got to stay clean. And so, I mean, it's cumbersome to think about marriage. It's cumbersome to think about family. In fact, that's why people wrongly refer to marriage as the old ball and chain, right? That's a poor way to speak about one of the best relationships in the building block, relationship of life, to say the ball changed. You talk about getting hitched, and in their minds that's getting tied down, right? They want their freedom. And so tonight as we think about that with regard to a master, somebody's gonna have to go against the flow of this world to say something like that. To say tonight, I choose is something that is not natural to human parts and to mankind, it definitely is against the grain. You know, sometimes we call this idea surrendering our life to the Lord, or committing our life to the Lord. For me, it was back, I wrote this down in my notes and I thought, whoa, you're getting old. It was back in 1993, I think, or 94. I was at Kanchi Tech in Wisconsin. beautiful Christian camp, similar to the idea of where Kaylee and Benson are. And I don't know who was speaking, except I think it was a missionary. And he was just preaching on this. Say to God, God, whatever you want me to do with my life, I will do. I mean, that's not a big statement. But just say that to God, whatever you want me to do, I will do. The thing is, I was scared to get up in front of people. I was scared to death to do anything. I mean, I did it because I was a pastor's kid, but it was tough. So for me to say to God, God, whatever you want me to do with my life, I will do, I mean, that is to say I'm willing to do that even if it means calling me to preach, which obviously you know the end of the story. But for me, I didn't know it then, but there was a risk, there was a fear in my heart, but I went out and I prayed with Dan Haskin, my counselor, and I said those words to God with tears, God, whatever you want me to do, I will do. See, I can have my life, I can do my thing, but that's not what life's about, is it? It's about us saying to God, God, whatever you want me to do with my life, I will do it. Mark 8 35, for whosoever will save his life shall lose it. But whosoever shall lose his life, for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save him. You know, there's a lot of young people that say, I wanna do this, I wanna do this, I wanna do this, and they pursue that, it's empty. And if they would've said to God, God, I wanna do what you want me to do, they would've found the reason that God created them, the reason that God designed them, they would've been on track in the path of God's choosing. That's where it's at, right? That's what the abundant life the Bible speaks about, it's serving God. And so we ought to say to God tonight, you know what? I serve you, I choose to serve you, and secondly, I embrace you. Deuteronomy 15 verse 16, it shall be, if he's saying to thee, I will not go away from thee. I mean, he just like wrapping his arms about his master. And he's saying, I am not gonna go away from you. You know what he had done his time. but he embraced it. It was no longer a death, it was a choice and he loved it and he was going to stick with it. You know, down in the United States, in the Southern United States, there are people called snowbirds in the wintertime. And you find them up in the Midwest or the North That cold weather begins to come and they migrate. All right, so they call it snow where as they fly down to Florida or Texas where it's warm through the winter and a lot of them are believers. There's Christian communities that gather together and it's kind of a neat thing. You think, wow, I mean, what a blessing. We got all these Christian neighbors and that's great if they keep their boots on. If they're still serving God. Because in the Bible, the Bible never says that it's okay for somebody in ministry or somebody that's serving God to retire. I like the statement, I didn't retire, I retread it, right? It's just retreading, right? Not retiring, it's just staying in there, doing something for God. I've just read this book by Dr. Bonner, Andrew Bonner, and his diary and his memoirs, and you know what, he ended well. He preached. I think he was 83 or 84. All of his, or his two other brothers that were in ministry at that time, as they got into their 80s, they were all still ministering. They were all still serving God, until they couldn't. Now there might come a time, and my dad faced this in ministry, when his memory became bad, and my dad's not that old. My dad is retired, because he had to retire. At the end of his race, in preaching, he came, he came. But you know, we ought to say, by the grace of God, you know, I embrace this. This is not temporary. You know, I am there. I will serve you. I'll keep my boots on in serving God. You know, tonight, as you think about that, have you said to God, God, whatever you want me to do with my life, I will do. And if so, have you kept it? Can you say this past week, that's what I'm doing. Every day I'm getting up, I'm saying to God, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself. God, I'm coming after you, so it's not my will, but your will. Whatever you desire me to do today by your grace, I will do it. I serve you. We ought to say it plainly. We ought to say, I love you, plainly. And then thirdly tonight, we ought to say plainly, I belong to you. day pretty well and the fear in my heart of getting married. in Fremont, Michigan, and getting married, you know? And I can remember that her pastor prayed for five minutes at the end of the ceremony before we could walk down. I've got it on tape, you can listen. It is five minutes long that he prayed, you know, for us, which praise God, but I was ready to get out of there. But I remember that day, she became my wife. She said, I do. I became her husband. We possess each other. We had children. They are our children. Again, as you think about that, our world doesn't like possession. Oh, that's bad. His wife, her husband, you know, I mean, that to the world is bad. You know, to us, that's a blessing. That's great. That's a relationship. That's a commitment. That is saying to one another, I belong to you. came to the point where he looked at his life and he was just grateful that his life had come into contact with the Master. And there was a day in his life where he's on the slave market, he's there, he can't pay his debts, there's a debt he couldn't pay, but a gracious man came along, looked at his debt, said, I'll pay it if you'll serve me. And for the next six years, He's paying off that debt to the man that loved him enough to pay that debt and take him into his home. And he was brought into a place of privilege. He was brought into a place of blessing. You know, this man could truly say, you bought me with a price. Deuteronomy 15 verse 12 says, if thy brother, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee, and serve thee six years, then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free. from thee. Again, this man had a debt he couldn't pay. This man paid it, brought him into a relationship, obviously a very loving relationship, a very good relationship, master to servant, servant to master. And that man could truly say, I belong to you. You bought me with a price. Yet tonight, we don't have to go very far to understand that there is a loving master in heaven, that by His grace bought us with the price. Praise God tonight, He didn't buy us strictly to be His servants, though we can be. He bought us to be His children. He redeemed us. He paid a great price for us. We had a debt that we could not pay. And I can say it like this tonight, Jesus Christ faced the butchery of the cross to pay the price for our sin. He was pierced. He was whipped. His flesh was ripped from His body. so that we can live. Everything that we have was purchased at a great price. Again, there's a breakdown in the analogy because we weren't brought into his home as his slave. We're brought into his home as his son. But Joe, is there anything in your heart tonight that recognizes that you are God's possession? God when God desires to do something with our life it's not like he doesn't have a right he has every right because we are his purchased by his son 1 Corinthians 6 19 says what will you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you which you have a God he our if I got in your body and your spirit. Yes, live for God. Yes, obey God. Why? Because God purchased you. You're not your own. See, tonight, there ought to be something in our heart that cries out to God. Say, God, I belong to you. Forgive me for living my life as if it's mine. Forgive me for living my life as if I have a right to say, I get to do this, or I want to do this, or whatever. God, I have no rights. Why? Because you purchased me at Calvary. You bought me. And this, secondly, You blessed me in your home. You blessed me in your home. You know, when you got saved, God gave you a spiritual home and a family in the house of God. He began to pour out blessing upon you. You know, praise God for all the good things that we've experienced in the house of God. Deuteronomy 15 verse 16 says, and it shall be, if he say unto thee, I will not go away from thee, because he loveth thee in thine house and because he is thy God. The Bible doesn't tell us much about what was going on, but it was good. This man looked at his life and he had everything apparently that he needed. He had everything that he wanted. It was prosperous. It was secure. It was good employment, good relationship. Everything there was going very well. On top of that, his master perhaps had given him a wife again Exodus 21 verse 4 if his master had given him a wife and she had born him sons and daughters this man looks at his wife and looks at his kids and says I am so thankful that my master bought me because I wouldn't You know, I can say tonight, it's by the grace of God, I love the home I was raised in. And it was a privilege to grow up in a Christian home. As parents or as adults, we ought to say, by the grace of God, that's what I want for my kids. You know, I want them to grow up in a good Christian home. But in a good Christian home, I was protected from wickedness. I was defended from that. I was blessed with the things that I needed. My parents worked hard to send me to Bible college. My dad would get up early. He would drive a bus on top of being a full-time pastor so that he could contribute. He helped do lawn care. My mom worked some secretarial work. I mean, there was a lot of extra things that my parents did because they loved us and they provided for us. You know, I say, praise God that I had a God-blessed home and God bless her. Right, I was blessed by my parents, but I was blessed by my God and what God gave to me. You know, if you're saved tonight, you've experienced that. There's so many things that we have that unbelievers don't have. We could just begin tonight thinking about the peace that we have, the joy that we have, the forgiveness that we have, the cleansing of our hearts, the cleansing of our minds, the renewing daily of our relationship with God. We can say at night, you know what, I am blessed in God's home. Psalm 16 verse 11 says, thou wilt show me the path of life in thy presence is fullness of joy. At thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore. Listen, if you want a life that is blessed, stay away from sin, stay close to God. Why, that's where it's at. If somebody hasn't abandoned their life, they haven't gotten into the life that is in obedience to God, in close proximity to God, they don't know what it's all about. But as somebody gets in there, they'll begin to see, wow, God is blessing me, God is prospering, God is meeting my needs, He's providing for me, there are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 37 verse four says, delight thyself also in the Lord, He shall give thee the desires of thy heart. Wow, I mean, God's watching. If we give ourselves to God as the okay guy, your stuff is more important than my stuff, but I'd sure like to see my stuff taken care of. delight thyself also in the Lord, he'll give you the desires of that heart. That means it's gonna satisfy. It's gonna be just right. It's gonna meet that need, that desire that I have, and it's all because of what? I belong to you. And tonight, can you see that? It's very clear that God, God, I belong to you. God, I serve you. God, I love you. And then lastly tonight, Can you say it plainly? I identify with you. I identify with you. You know, before somebody comes to Christ, they do not identify with God at all, at all. We were speaking with a young lady that we've talked about that came by this week that has recently gotten saved. And the wonderful thing about talking with her is just hearing, as my wife said, that excitement about her salvation. But she said, I can't even think how I used to think before I got saved. But it's totally different. Why? Because somebody that's not saved, they think contrary to God. The Bible tells us about that in John chapter eight, about their identity. They don't identify with God, they identify with those who do not love Jesus. And let me say this, they may say they love Jesus. If you said to somebody, you know, at their door, do you love God? Let's just make it vague and broad. Do you love God? They might say yes. But it's what the Bible says, but in works they deny him. Right, it's one thing to say it with your mouth. It's another thing what you live with your life. The fact is they identify with those who do not love Jesus. Jesus said this in John 8, 42. Then Jesus said unto them, if God were your father, you would love me. For I proceeded forth and came from God. Neither came I of myself, but he sent me. And I can say this, as I knocked on doors yesterday, if you were of God, not because I'm special, but you would love me, you would have affection for me. But they don't. Why? Because they don't identify with Jesus, they identify against Jesus. They identify with those who can't hear and understand Jesus. Verse 43 of John 8, why do you not understand my speech? Even because you cannot hear my word. Okay, this person that doesn't identify with Jesus, it's like a different language. They don't get it. If they're listening to this message, it's like, you know, Charlie Brown's teacher, you know, wah-wah, wah-wah, wah-wah, you know? It means nothing. But if somebody's saying, it resonates with them. They get it, why? Because they do know Jesus. They identify with those who do wickedness. It says in that passage, you have your father, the devil, and the lust of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning and a bold not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speak of the lie, he speaketh of his own, for he is a liar and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, you believe me now. They identify with wickedness. They're comfortable there. They're not comfortable with the truth. They're not comfortable with Jesus. And I can say it like this tonight, they're more comfortable in the pub than they are in the house of God. Why? Because they don't identify with Jesus. They identify against Jesus. They identify with those who oppose Jesus. Verse 46, Jesus says to them, which of you convinces me of sin? If I say the truth, why do you not believe me? He that is God heareth God's words, he therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God. So what's he saying? You're an unbeliever, you can't hear me? Because you don't identify with me. Now praise God, the bond slave says this, I identify with my master. I identify with him. So let's think about that identification tonight. First of all, He says this, I identify with you legally. I identify with you legally. In Deuteronomy 15, verse five, it says, if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children, I will not go out free. It says, then his master shall bring him unto the judges. It's gonna be legal. It's not just a statement. There's legalities that have to be gone through. This is a contract. This is an agreement. This is identifying judicially with his master. You know, as you think about relationships in the family, for someone to identify as a member of her family, there are legal proceedings that take place. For instance, at a wedding, two people are joined together in matrimony lawfully. There's a marriage certificate that is signed. There's witnesses that are present. It is judicially sound that they are married with an adoption. You've got a child that's brought into a family. There's an adoption certificate. You've got a child that's born into a family, what is there? There's a birth certificate. It's always lawful, it's always legal, it's a judicial process. And the thing is tonight, nobody becomes a child of God because they believe in God, or affirm the fact that this is the word of God, or affirm the fact that there is a creed that says that Jesus died for their sins, that he didn't stay in the grave, but that he rose again. They are saved judicially when they receive God's atonement, when the blood of Jesus Christ is applied to their heart by their confession of faith in Jesus. There's a legal proceeding. It's not baptism, it's not church membership, it's not being religious, it's not believing in God, right? It's that time where they humble their heart and they do what the Bible says in John 10, verse nine, that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth, the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in thy heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." It's judicial. It's atonement has been given and God sees that so that someday when that person stands before the judgments of God, God looks at it and says their name is written on the contract in the book of life. It's not blotted out of that book. You know, tonight, again, we understand this, but we have to have God's authority, judicially, in this process of identifying legally with God. John 1, verse 12 says, but as many as received him, to them gave he power, judicial, judicial, to become the sons of God. You know what, praise God, I'm looking at people, it's my understanding, who've done that. But understand what you've done is judicial. You identified with Jesus legally and brought into that relationship legally. And then secondly, Identify, I identify with you, my master, evidently, evidently. That means just publicly, right? Maybe I should have said publicly. Just in a way that makes it very clear to others. Deuteronomy 15, verse six, he comes before the judges. He shall also bring him to the door or unto the doorpost, and his master shall bore his ear through with an awe. I can't imagine what this is like. I don't think I'd like to see my kid's ears a sharp pointed metal piece and he takes his servant puts his ear up against the door or the door jamb and it takes that pointed ball takes the mallet strikes it piercing his ear as a sign publicly as people see it as that man feels it And as others see it in the future, that that man is not a slave by law in the sense of in debt, but he's a slave by choice. By choice. That he desires to stay in the service of his master. You know, think about the ear. The ear is the place where the master's commands and instructions would be received. So it's that, you know, what's gonna take in what the master is saying, what a great place to identify with this master. You know, praise God, in recent weeks, we've had baptismal services, right? In the last several weeks, we've had two, and it's a public identification with the fact that I have accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior. Coming out to a local church, becoming a part of a local church, it's public identification that I receive Jesus Christ as my Savior. This bond-slave person is not ashamed to step out and say, I identify with that group, I identify with that person that is my master. and I do it publicly so that everybody can see it. And then lastly, I identify with you eternally, eternally. Deuteronomy 15, verse 17. Then thou shalt take it all, thrust it through his ear unto the door, and he shall be thy servant forever. Okay, I'm a bond slave. I just, I want to commit to my master. And I say to him, I say, for how long is this commitment? Is it a week? Is it two weeks? Is it a month? Is it a year? Is it a decade? And the answer is, it's for life. And for us, as we think about it with God, it's forever. And so tonight, as we think about, you know, do I wanna be a bond slave? Do I really wanna identify with my master? Do I really wanna put my ear up against that door jamb and say, go ahead, strike it? I gotta be ready to say, okay, God, this is forever. This is not for a week, it's not for a month, it's not for a year, it's for life. You know, there was a young man from my church in Hudson, Wisconsin, that in his youth God had called him to preach. And he and another young man had surrendered to preach, and he grew up, he went to Bible college, but he didn't go to Bible college to preach. He ends up marrying outside the will of God, because the Bible says not to marry unbelievers, but he marries a Catholic young lady. He's out of church, out of fellowship with God, in disobedience, and working at a bike shop down in Pensacola, Florida, And a young man came in that was in military training, a Marine that had just been to boot camp, and they got in an argument. That young man came back in and put a gun up against this young man's head and sent him into eternity. Do you know what his mom, grieving for her son, said to him? She said, he and that other young man said to God, God, I surrender and preach. And she said, I believe them rejecting that and rebelling against that and walking away from that is the reason why both of them right now are already in eternity. And tonight, we understand, we say to God, God, okay, whatever you want to do with my life, you do it. To go back on that is to rebel against our agreement with God. And I say to us tonight, we ought not think tonight that surrendering our life to God and saying to God, God, I'll do whatever you want me to do, that we can give God lip service and not life service. That we have to keep our agreement to God. Ecclesiastes 5 verse 4, It says, when thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it, for he hath no pleasure in fools. Pay that which thou hast vowed. The temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. Do not defile the temple. Why? Because lest God destroy you. There ought to be a soberness in our heart tonight to say, by the grace of God, this is God's. I got to use this for God. You know, do you mumble? Do people have to say, what did you say? You speak up a little bit. You know, tonight, again, I'm preaching primarily to fathers. We ought to be able to be a godly man that can say these things, but to all of us tonight, can we say these simple things to God, but say them plainly, to say to our master, our spouse, our children, I love you. And again, it's not just what we say, It's what we do, and so we say to God, I serve you. I choose it. I embrace it. I serve you. I belong to you. To understand tonight, I'm bought with a price, and I can say that, oh God, I'm not just saying this, but I belong to you. And then to say to God, God, I identify with you. I'm putting my ear up to that door post tonight, and I'm saying, God, bore it through. Because I want this to be public. I surrender to you. Let's bow our heads tonight and pray. I just wonder tonight, I know many of you have already said to God, God, I surrender all. And you've said to God, God, whatever you wanna do with my life, you do it. You know, you can trust God tonight. I don't think you'd have to have me remind you of that, but God isn't gonna get it wrong. God isn't gonna make a mistake. God isn't gonna lead you astray. But I just encourage you, if you've never said to God, God, whatever you want to do with my life, you do it. Maybe tonight God's speaking to you about that. But I would remind you of this. If you're gonna say this to God, you gotta mean it. And if you say it to God, you gotta keep it. And I'm not asking you to do something you've already done. If you've already done it, please don't raise your hand. I know some of you have, and I praise God for that. But maybe there's somebody here tonight, and in your heart you say, you know what? I have never said to God, God, whatever you want to do with my life, you do it. And tonight, you're willing to do that, you're willing to make that decision for God. You can say to God, God, I love you, I wanna serve you, I belong to you, and so I'm gonna identify with you tonight, I'm gonna make it clear. I'm gonna make it clear. Is there anybody like that tonight? Say, I've never done this before, but I just, I'm gonna raise my hand, and I'm gonna let you know that tonight, I'm gonna surrender my life to the Lord. And I'm gonna say to God, God, whatever you wanna do with my life, you do it. Anybody like that tonight? Anybody? Again, I understand tonight many of you have already made that decision, but I want to encourage you, if you haven't made it, and God's feet in your heart, don't put it on. It's a great thing, it's a privilege to be a bondservant of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Father, we praise you for the privilege of being your servants. Many in here have likely made this decision already. And I've said to you, God, whatever you want to do with my life, you do it. But Father, if there's a young person that hasn't made that decision, I pray they wouldn't go to bed tonight without getting on their knees somewhere and saying, God, I love you, I belong to you, I wanna serve you, and so I'm gonna identify with you. I'm gonna put my ear against the doorpost. God, whatever you wanna do with my life, God, you do it. I pray they pray that tonight. Father, for those of us that have said it, God, are we living it? Do we have to repent tonight and say, I'm sorry, I forgot. I'm sorry, I've been living as if it's not true. Father, that might be the case tonight. I pray that if that's needed, that we repent and get right so that we can effectively serve you. It's in Christ's name we pray, amen. Amen.