WHO WILL THE LORD SAY YOU ARE?

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY JULY 18, 2021.

SUBJECT: WHO WILL THE LORD SAY YOU ARE?

Memory verse: "Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?” (Job 1 vs 8.) 

READ: Job 1 vs 6 - 12:

1:6: Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.

1:7: And the LORD said to Satan, “From where do you come? So Satan answered the LORD, and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”

1:8: Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God, and shuns evil?”

1:9: So Satan answered the LORD, and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing?

1:10: Have you not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.

1:11: But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face.”

1:12: And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.” So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.  

INTIMATION:

Have you ever thought of such idea or bothered about who God will say you are? Interestingly, this should be the most important question in everybody’s life, and requires a sincere answer from every one of us. This is because of the day of “Judgement” when every one will appear before Christ. The Bible says, ”For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what He has done, whether good or bad.” (Second Corinthians 5 vs 10.) And “As it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9 vs 27). 

Christ will judge each and everyone of us, both the living and the dead, and He will reward us for how we have lived. Although judgment is already working in our lives, there will be a future, final judgment when Christ returns (Matthew 25 vs 31 - 46), and everyone’s life will be reviewed and evaluated. For the believers, their eternal destiny is secure, but Jesus will look at how they handled gifts, opportunities, and responsibilities in order to determine their heavenly rewards. God’s gracious gift of salvation does not free us from the requirement of faithful obedience. Everybody, Christians and non-Christians,  must give account of how they lived before Christ.

The question is, “How will Christ see you?” Can He testify of your goodness, obedience, and faithfulness? In our memory verse, God testified about Job; He Inquired from Satan if he had seen His servant Job. God’s servants are faithful to Him in all they do. They serve Him with their whole lives. It was a great honor to Job; it placed him amongst His known servants as Moses and David. God was boastful about His servant Job, and reposed great confidence in him. 

Job was a model of trust and obedience to God, and because of God’s confidence in him, He permitted Satan to attack him in an especially harsh manner. God trusted Job not to cave in to Satan’s wicked ploys to make him doubt whom he believed. Can God say this of you? Can God repose such confidence in you as a believer? This calls for concern to each and every one of us.

Satan attacked Job with the false impression that Job was blameless and had integrity before God, because he had no reason to turn against God that had blessed him exceedingly. Ever since he had started following God, everything had gone well for Job. Satan wanted to prove that Job worshiped God, not out of love, but because God had given him so much. Although, it was an obvious falsehood about Job’s motives, Satan accurately analyzed why many people trust God. They are fair-weather believers, following God only when everything is going well or for what they can get. 

Adversity destroys this superficial faith. But adversity strengthens real faith by causing believers to dig their roots deeper into God in order to withstand the storms. How deep does your faith go? Put the roots of your faith down deep into God so that you can withstand any storm you may face.

Although God loves us, believing and obeying Him do not shelter us from life’s calamities. Setbacks, tragedies, and sorrows strike Christians and non-Christians alike. But in our tests and trials, God expects us to express our faith in Him to the world. How do you respond to your troubles? Do you ask God, “Why me?” or do you say, “Use me!”?

The conversation between God and Satan teaches us an important fact about God—He is fully aware of every attempt by Satan to bring suffering and difficultly upon us. While God may allow us to suffer for a reason beyond our understanding, He is never caught by surprise by our troubles and is always compassionate.

We should be concerned about how we live, and lead our lives hear on earth; our obedience, faithfulness, and trust in God in words and in deeds. We should also be mindful of what our fellow believers say or think of us, knowing that those who are faithful to the end will reign with Him as He judges the world. (See Revelation 2 vs 26 - 27).

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with the spirit of raw obedience to You and Your Word, that I may be found worthy on the day of judgment, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!