Title: For the Glory of the Lord
Contents
title ; for the glory of the Lord
main text ; John 11: 1-4
Today, I would like to introduce people who glorified God even in the midst of problems, and I hope that you and I will be able to glorify God even in the midst of problems, rather than glorifying God with only good things. In John 11:1, verse 4, which we read today, when the Lord heard that Lazarus was ill, the Lord said, “This is not a mortal disease, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it. .” I can see what you said. In the words of the Lord, disease is a big problem, but this is an unfortunate disease that gives us confidence that we can glorify God.
Of course, Lazarus stayed two more days and the Lord finally met death, but the Lord brought Lazarus back to life because he was sick and died, so he glorified God, and he himself was glorified through Lazarus. So, I will share the grace by introducing some forefathers of faith who have met a big problem but have given glory to God. We would like to share grace through the two forefathers of faith. Through Hezekiah, who glorified God even in the midst of problems through Job and Hezekiah, we pray in the name of the Lord that we may become saints who want to glorify God even more in the midst of problems.
First, Job glorified God even in the midst of great problems. According to Job 2:7-9, Job suffered a sore throat from the sole of his foot to the top of his head because of Satan. Unable to bear how painful and painful it was, he said, “I am sitting in the ashes, taking a piece of tile and scratching myself.
In addition, thieves had already come and took all of his possessions, and while the children of seven sons and three daughters were having a feast at the eldest brother's house, a great wind blew and the house collapsed and drowned. and tormented my whole body.
And it would have been less painful for Job if he had suffered from these diseases because of his own sins. Despite his vague suffering, he was an innocent and upright man who feared God and turned away from evil. I did not blame God foolishly, and even when my wife said that she blamed God for giving me this kind of disaster and told her to die, she instead rebuked her for being a foolish woman and said that she could receive disaster because she was blessed by God. The Bible testifies that it did not.
A test like this can come when we also face big and difficult problems. In the first half of verse 10, Job said, "His words are like the words of one of the foolish women." Guys what does this mean? This is to say that Job did not fall into temptation in spite of this sinful sickness. When we do not live by faith, we think that if adversity and tribulation come, we will do so, but even though we have lived with sincere faith, if adversity and disease come, it can be a bigger test.
“What do you do by keeping the purity of your faith?” “What do you do by living by faith?” It is easy to fall into temptation, rejecting God itself and forsake faith, but Job was not like that. This is how we glorify God even in the midst of problems. Also, in verse 10, the first half says, “If we have received a blessing from God, will we not also receive disaster?” When people face certain difficulties, they do not think about the things they did well, they only think about the things they did not do well, and they only complain and complain. However, when Job is afflicted with a severe illness, he first thinks of the blessings God has bestowed upon him. I think about the grace God has given me first. If you think like that, you will be able to relax your mind even in the big problems you are facing. This is an attitude that glorifies God.
On the contrary, in the second half of verse 10, “In all these things Job will not sin with his lips.” Among man's sins, the greatest sin is committed with his lips. When a person has a problem, even those who believe in it are easy to commit crimes with their lips. However, Job did not sin with his lips even in the midst of an unfair disease. The enemy devil must have been waiting for him to complain and complain about God with his lips. We can see in Job 1:22 that it is said, “In all these things Job did not sin, nor did he foolishly grumble against God.”
Job goes one step further, in Job 6:10, “He will stretch out his hand and cut me off, but even so, I will rather be comforted and rejoice in heartless pain, because I have not disobeyed the word of the Holy One.” No matter how great the pain, I was comforted and rejoiced in the midst of this heartless pain. Even in the midst of this tremendous disease, I did not doubt the holy word of God, and I did not doubt the word of God even in the midst of tribulation. I definitely believed it. Ladies and gentlemen, we have kept the purity of our faith and we have said that we believe well, but we have prayed a lot, but when we suffer from an unknown disease, we will have doubts about the Word of God. Living according to the word makes me think of doing something. If you go further, you will reject all the words of God. But Job did not disobey God's word even in the midst of this heartless suffering. This was a great consolation for him and a great joy.
In Job 23:10, “Only he knows the way I go, and after he has tested me I will come out like gold.” Gold must also be refined to become pure gold. In this way, if we make good use of our sickness by faith, we will glorify God when our hearts come out as believers like gold. Job 42:6 says, “Therefore, I forgive myself and repent even more in dust and ashes.” Job was an innocent, upright, and shunned from evil, and had come in fear of God. But because he had pure faith, he felt his lack and was able to humbly repent to God. This is the image of a person who glorifies God even in the midst of problems.
In the name of the Lord, I pray in the name of the Lord that you and I will become saints who glorify the Lord like Job, who relied on the Lord and went out even when great trials and tribulations approached in life.
In the second matter, it was King Hezekiah who glorified God.
In Isaiah 38:1, we can see that “Thou shalt speak to thy house, for thou shalt die and not live.” 2 Kings 20:1, “Destroy thy house” can be seen. What amazing words have you heard? In 2 Kings 18:1-7, there are words that show the faith and goodness of King Hezekiah. He said that he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, destroyed all idols and high places, and prospered wherever he went because God was with me. Because he was such King Hezekiah, the sentence “You will get sick and die” is a shocking declaration. But consider how King Hezekiah dealt with such a big problem.
Isaiah 38:19 says, “But those who live will give thanks to the Lord, as I do today.” When we die, we cannot do anything to God, but we give thanks to God for making us alive again.
People forget to be grateful when they are healthy, but become grateful when they are sick or suffering. Someone wrote this on the wall! “The big problem is the grace that God has come in disguise. Verse 20 The LORD will save me, and we will sing my song on the harp in the house of the LORD all the days of our lives. It is a confession of faith to lead a life centered on God's temple.
This is a great blessing to be able to come to church and worship if you have never been able to worship when you are sick or in trouble.
We thought about those who glorified God even in this time problem. It's not good for me to have big problems. However, we realize that when we face problems with faith, it becomes a means of grace, and when we complete our problems with faith, it becomes a source of strength. Therefore, even in the face of unexplained problems, we do not complain, do not complain, do not become discouraged, do not become discouraged, but accept God well by faith, so that God becomes a grace and a means of power, thereby glorifying God.
Today, through Job and King Hezekiah, we saw the words of how to overcome problems when faced with them. When we give glory to God even in the midst of problems, God comes to us.
In that case, I bless you in the name of the Lord that the Lord will be with you with amazing grace and blessings.