He Lives
We can maintain our faith in the midst of suffering by knowing Jesus as a personal and intimate relationship and believing that God's promises are true for us.
John Wesley emphasizes the profound faith of Job, who, despite immense suffering and loss, declares, 'I know that my Redeemer lives.' He draws parallels between Job's trials and our own struggles, highlighting that faith can flourish even in the darkest times. Wesley encourages believers to cultivate a personal relationship with Jesus, our Redeemer, who not only lives but also intercedes for us. This faith is not just an exception but can be the norm in our lives, reminding us that the One who overcame death is with us in our trials. Ultimately, Wesley calls us to trust in God's promises and adjust our lives according to His teachings.
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I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. Job 19:25 One need look no further than Job in the Old Testament to see someone around whom floods rose and against whom winds raged. The Lord himself describes Job as a perfect and upright man who fears God and shuns evil (Job 1:8). Job loses first his children, then his wealth and finally his health. As he sits on a rubbish dump scratching his sores with bits of broken pot he experiences estrangement from his wife, his friends and his God.
His wife wants him to dump his religion which she felt should have protected him from such calamity; his friends insist that the reason for his hardship must lie in something he has done and they bring him no comfort; and his God seems distant and uninvolved. This experience is not unique to Job- perhaps you can identify with it or know someone who does. How do we get to that place where from the midst of pain and suffering we can make a statement of faith like Job's: "I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth."?
Do you want to get to such a place, or are you at such a place? The good news is that every one of us can be in such a place in our faith walk. In fact such a faith can be the norm for us, not the exception and it begins with knowing Jesus the Redeemer as Jesus my Redeemer, a personal and intimate relationship. This relationship is based on and made possible by the fact that this Redeemer, who has become my redeemer, lives. He lives! This is our faith, that the One against whom the floods rose and the winds raged, the One who died is the One who lives; the One who seemed overcome was in fact the overcomer.
The redeemer Job looked forward to in faith is the Redeemer we look back to in faith and the work He did in Job is the same work He longs to do in us. Believe that God's promises are true and for you and commit yourself to adjusting your life as God speaks to you through His Son's Sermon on the Mount. I know that my redeemer lives And ever prays for me; A token of his love he gives, A pledge of liberty. (Collection of Hymns Number 373)
Sermon Outline
- I. The Reality of Suffering
- A. Job's experience of loss and hardship
- B. The common experience of pain and estrangement
- II. The Source of Faith
- A. Knowing Jesus as a personal and intimate relationship
- B. The fact that the Redeemer lives
- III. The Power of Faith
- A. Job's statement of faith in the midst of suffering
- B. The work of the Redeemer in our lives
- IV. The Call to Commitment
- A. Believing God's promises are true for us
- B. Adjusting our lives according to God's word
Key Quotes
“I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.” — John Wesley
“He lives! This is our faith, that the One against whom the floods rose and the winds raged, the One who died is the One who lives; the One who seemed overcome was in fact the overcomer.” — John Wesley
“I know that my redeemer lives And ever prays for me; A token of his love he gives, A pledge of liberty.” — John Wesley
Application Points
- We can apply Job's experience by committing ourselves to adjusting our lives according to God's word and believing that God's promises are true for us.
- Knowing Jesus as a personal and intimate relationship is the key to maintaining our faith in the midst of suffering.
- Believing that God's promises are true for us is essential to our faith walk and can bring us comfort and strength in times of hardship.