WHO WILL THE LORD SAY YOU ARE?

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY JANUARY 03, 2022.

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: Matthew 16 vs 13 - 17:

16:13: When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”

16:14: So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, Some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

16:15: He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

16:16: Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 

16:17: Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.

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 everyone’s life, and requires a sincere answer from each of us. This is because of the Day—the judgement Day when every one will appear before the Lord; ”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.) “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 any of us? Can God repose such confidence He had in Job in you? This calls for concern to each and every one of us.

Satan wanted to prove that Job worshiped God, not out of love, but because God had given him so much. Satan felt that Job 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, and should God withdraw His blessings and protection around him, Job will deny or turn his back on God. Athough, 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 the believer’s tests and trials, God is with him and his triumph is guaranteed. God expects us to express our faith 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 with our troubles and is always with us in our challenges. His compassion for His children never fails. 

Jesus was also mindful of who people say He was during His earth walk. He inquired from His disciples who people say He is. However, He was concerned about whom His Father says He is, and eventually, when Peter answered correctly, He noted that this was revealed to him by His Father in heaven.  We should also be mindful of who our Father in heaven says we are. 

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 lead a life worthy of Your crown of glory and be found worthy on the Day of judgment, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!