You will have Tribulation, but be of Good Cheer

We will see the life of Job - his name means “One who faces all troubles and pain”. It is important to have a conscience, those who listen to the whispers of the conscience and live with a clear conscience, is truly blessed. Job 1:1 says “There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil”. Job was upright in everything he did and above all he feared God. Job lived a truthful life and thus Satan wanted to tempt him against God. Satan took God’s permission to test Job’s true faith. Job 1:8 “And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil”. God permitted Satan to test Job, and removed his holy fence. Satan attacked Job by destroying everything that Job had. In a day’s time, Job lost his children and their families, his wealth, animals, property etc. But through all these trials and tribulations, Job’s conscience was never shaken nor did he sin or blame God for the disaster in his life. Job 1:22 “In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly”.
We are well aware that the evil one comes in our life only to steal and destroy. Similarly Job was aware of this, hence he never blamed God for any of these mishaps in his life. He knew, in the end victory would be God’s. Job was clinging only to God, though his wife told him to curse God and die, he never did so, but continued to suffer his trials which Satan brought upon him. Here, we can question God, why all the sufferings only befall upon God’s children? Psalm 34:19 says “Many are the afflictions of the righteous:but the LORD delivereth him out of them all”. Yes, our afflictions will be many, but we must believe that Lord will deliver us from all our troubles. God loves us, He alone will lift us up when we fall. Job fought back with Satan and he believed that the pain would be temporary. Finally Lord will lift him and give him victory in the end. Exodus 1:12 “But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel”. Here we see the sufferings of the Israelites and we know their sufferings ended when Lord delivered them from their bondage. Similarly Job was never dejected when sufferings pressed him from all sides, he never lost faith in God’s mighty power to deliver him out of all his troubles. In the end, Lord restored Job’s losses and blessed him doubly with family, animals, property and wealth. We must remember, that if the Righteous falls 1000’s of times, Lord will lift him up!

Isaiah prophet was anointed by God for the Israelites. Isaiah means “God’s gracious one”. When God chose Isaiah to be a prophet, he was a married man with a wife and two children. He was chosen for the Israelites when Judah was ruled by 4 Kings namely Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah. Lord revealed to Isaiah the secret of birth of Jesus Christ and his coming ministry. It is during the rein of prophet Isaiah that Jesus Christ’s coming, his works on this earth and his death was revealed and prophesized to the people. Even the holy scriptures, has references of Isaiah in the books of Mathew, Mark, Luke and John. In Mathew 12:17 we see “That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying”. Those who heard Isaiah prophet’s teachings and warning and believed him, received salvation.

Jeremiah was a tearful prophet, at a young age God anointed Jeremiah as a prophet for the Israelites. Lord chose him in his mother’s womb. Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations”. Jeremiah tried to escape God’s calling many a times, but Lord told Jeremiah “Do as I command”. Jeremiah 1:6-7 “Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak:for I am a child. But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child:for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak”. When Babylon came against Israelites, the Israelites spoke against prophet Jeremiah. But, Lord lifted him and blessed him at that time, Lord comforted Jeremiah. Jeremiah 1:9-10 “Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant”. When Pharaoh’s army attacked the Israelites, they captured Jeremiah and dumped him in a well. Jeremiah 37:11” And it came to pass, that when the army of the Chaldeans was broken up from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh's army”. If we read further, till the end of the chapter, we can see the trials and tribulations that Jeremiah went through. But his faith was stayed only on Lord, who, he knew, would deliver him from all these tribulation and fight with the evil one. Jeremiah 33:16 “In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely:and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The LORD our righteousness”. Jeremiah’s victory came from God alone and he was delivered out of all his tribulations.

We can see comparison of the life of Jesus Christ, who was born for us. The only son, of God the Father, was sent into this earth to suffer for Lord’s children. While in this world, he only fulfilled His Father’s will and obeyed his command. He preached the living word, healed the broken hearted, set the captives free, made the lame to walk again and gave sight to those who were blind. He performed many miracles, the Israelites saw it with their eyes, witnessed the truth. But in the end, they denied Him and finally crucified Him. When Jesus was crucified, no one was with him, even his own disciples ran far away from Him. Even Peter who promised Jesus that he will never leave him cause he loves him very much. Denied him thrice before the cock crowed, just as Jesus prophesized. Similarly, Jeremiah’s life was the same. Israelites, heard his teachings and warnings, but when he was put into the dungeon he was alone. At that time Jeremiah reminds Lord once again, that He had told the Lord “I cannot do anything for you”, but it is the Lord who said, “He has chosen him and anointed him”. And that his help would come from Him alone.

From the beginning of this world we have seen, Abel’s first fruit offerings to the Lord, brought jealousy upon his brother Cain and in turn he had to sacrifice his life with his blood offering to the Lord. Even today, the world is the same jealous world, but it is the lives of these great prophets that encourage us to live our life by faith and put our trust in God alone.

Prophet Ezekiel served the Lord for twenty-two years. When he preached to the people, he always warned them and never made pleasing talks. Ezekiel 18:4 “Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine:the soul that sinneth, it shall die”. Every word he preached, was a clear warning from Lord. Ezekiel 36:24 “For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land”. Ezekiel’s judgment was always accurate, he feared the Lord and said ‘Right was Right’ and ‘Wrong was Wrong’. We have seen how in the Spirit of the Lord, Ezekiel brought life into the dead dry bones. He preached clearly, we must either be ‘Hot’ or ‘Cold’, but not lukewarm or else God will spew us out.

Dried and dead bones can be compared to our dried and dead spiritual lives. Today also, if we have dead and dried bones within our family, friends and society, it is our responsibility to counsel them with the truth i.e ‘Word of God’ and bring them to God’s saving grace. We are accountable for those Lord has made a part of our life. We must be true testimony to them, leading our lives with great care and conduct. Ezekiel 37:10 “So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army”. Thus God has made us accountable for the lives we meet and it is our responsibility to fulfill God’s desire for them in life. Like Ezekiel, we must not please people wrongly for our own gains, because we have to stand before our God on the day of judgment. We are also answerable to our own conscience. We see from Jobs’ upright life, God testified to Satan about Job. Satan challenged God to remove His holy fence and then see how Job would curse God. But ‘NO’ Job stood the test of time and never once blamed or cursed God for the trials and tribulations he went through. Also, we can compare the two robbers who were crucified with Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary. One had pride and ego, he challenged Jesus – If you have the power, set yourself and us free. While the other robber, was humble and acknowledged himself as a sinner and asked Jesus to forgive his sins and to remember him in paradise. This one with a clear conscience. Thus Jesus answered and told him that he would be in Paradise the same day.

Daniel was a very wise man. Lord blessed him with great wisdom. He lived a sacred life for the Lord and did not defile his spiritual and physical body. Daniel 6:28 “So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian”. Why did God give Daniel so much wisdom? Daniel 6:8 “ Now, O King, establish the decree and sign the writing, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of Medes and Persians, which does not alter”. Since Daniel purposed in his heart that he will never defile himself and make himself impure. God loved him for this. Once King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream, he wanted someone to interpret the same. He commanded many magicians, astrologers, sorcerers and Chaldeans to interpret his dream. Daniel was also summoned. He asked the King for a day’s time. During which he prayed to God and God made revelations to him and hence Daniel was the only one who truthfully interpreted the King’s dream. Daniel 6:10” Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime”.

There were some important decisions that Daniel took in his life that was against the decree of the King viz.. 1) Not to defile himself with the portion of King’s delicacies 2) Not to obey the decree that all will worship the King alone. But Daniel continued to open the windows of his room and faced towards Jerusalem and worshipped the Living God. Daniel was punished for the firm decision that he had made and was thrown into the den of lions. Daniel 6:22 “My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me:forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt”. But God sent his angels and shut the lion’s mouth. All the prophets that we have seen till now, were put through trials for serving the Living God, but they never gave up their fight and struggled with the evil one knowing well that God alone will lift them up and give them victory. Daniel 12:3 ”And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever”.

Now we will see about Prophet Zerubbabel’s life. Zerubbabel means ‘Babylon’s tender leaf’. Zechariah 4:6 “Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts”. Zerubbabel was born in Babylon and lived there. When all temples of the Israelites were destroyed, and people were running helter skelter seeking other Gods. Zerubbabel decided to build the broken temples in Israel. Though the first temple was built by King Solomon, it was not a difficult task for Solomon since his father David had accumulated all wealth to build the Lord’s temple and Solomon had to only implement this plan. But, when Zerubbabel decided to build the broken temple once again, he faced great difficulty. But as the Lord promised Zerubbabel ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts’ Zerubbabel united with the Spirit of God and built the temple.

Though we know, that God does not live in temple built by men, rather God lives within every human being, who believes in Him, loves him and had made a place for God in his heart. Thus, God lives in every heart. To make a place in our heart is not easy, we have to carry His Cross everyday in our life, only then we can become the temple for the Living God. 1 Corinthians 3:16 “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you”? Only when the spirit of God dwells in us, we become His temple. Isaiah 59:19 ”So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him”. Who will fight for us? The Lord will fight for us, when we surrender our lives into His mighty hands. Lord will lift us up in every situation of our lives, when our Faith and Trust is stayed on Him. We will lack for nothing, when Lord is with us. When the world will leave us in times of trouble, it is only our Faith in God which will lift us up. Similarly, once again we can see Jesus’ life, when He was crucified on the Cross, He was alone. Even his near and dear ones had forsaken Him out of fear of being arrested. But Father God did not forsake Him and lifted Him even in death.

Today we may be prosperous in our lives, we may have forgotten God and gone away from Him. Still we are His children, He will forgive us 1000’s of times and will lift us every time we fall. People of this world, our family, friends, relatives may forsake us, but our God never will. Romans 8:26 “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities:for we know not what we should pray for as we ought:but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered”. Our Lord is ‘Love’, it if this great Love alone that can lift us up each time we fall. It is the Spirit of God that makes intercessions for us with groanings to Father God and thus we get our victory in every situation.

Prophet John was born in a priest family. He was the son of Zechariah the priest. Mathew 11:11 “Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist:notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he”. What was John’s aim? John 3:30 says “He must increase, but I must decrease”. John preached Repentance and Kingdom of God to the people. He was a voice in the wilderness. He always lifted God higher in his life. We must also learn from John, that God’s name alone must be glorified and increased and we must decrease. John’s ministry was to preach the coming of Jesus Christ. John 1:29 says “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world”. John 1:23 “He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias”. John was only a channel to prepare a way for the coming of Christ. Eg. At a rally, people use loud speaker so that their voices reach a great distance. Hence, loud speaker here, is only a mode of communication. Similarly John the Baptist was only a channel through whom ‘Repentance and coming of Jesus Christ was preached’.

Mathew 3:1-3 “1In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea. And saying, Repent ye:for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight”. People feared his preaching and many of them repented and accepted the kingdom of God. John baptized those who repented, in the river Jordan. Jordan river bed has a lot of small and big stones, those of us who went to Israel and visited the river Jordan know that the Jordan river bed is very stony. When John saw the Pharisees and Sadducees, who did not believe and repent, their conscience was not clear, but they came forward to be baptized, He compared these Israelites to the stones and said Lord would raise the stones to praise His Holy name. Mathew 3:7 “But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” We must never have pride and ego in us. There is no greatness and goodness within us, our God alone is great and good and He alone must be glorified at all times. Our God has given us so much of happiness and peace in our lives and taken away our every burden, sorrow and pain. We must always try to unite ourselves with the spirit of God and God will lift us up in every situation of our lives.
May this message be a blessing to all those who read it.

-- Pastor Saroja M.