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)
Be the first to react on this!
John Wesley (1703 - 1791)
Was an Anglican cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield. In contrast to Whitefield's Calvinism, Wesley embraced the Arminian doctrines that were dominant in the 18th-century Church of England. Methodism in both forms became a highly successful evangelical movement in Britain, which encouraged people to experience Jesus Christ personally.Wesley helped to organise and form societies of Christians throughout Great Britain, North America and Ireland as small groups that developed intensive, personal accountability, discipleship and religious instruction among members. His great contribution was to appoint itinerant, unordained preachers who travelled widely to evangelise and care for people in the societies. Under Wesley's direction, Methodists became leaders in many social issues of the day, including the prison reform and abolitionism movements.
John Wesley was an Anglican cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, with founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield. In contrast to George Whitefield's Calvinism (which later led to the forming of the Calvinistic Methodists), Wesley embraced Arminianism. Methodism in both forms was a highly successful evangelical movement in the United Kingdom, which encouraged people to experience Christ personally.
Wesley believed that this doctrine should be constantly preached, especially among the people called Methodists. In fact, he contended that the purpose of the Methodist movement was to "spread scriptural holiness across England."
Throughout his life, Wesley remained within the Church of England and insisted that his movement was well within the bounds of the Anglican tradition. His maverick use of church policy put him at odds with many within the Church of England, though toward the end of his life he was widely respected.
John Wesley was the founder of the Methodist movement which grew from the 'Holy Club' of his Oxford friends into a great religious revival. An indefatigable traveller, preacher and writer, Wesley averaged 8,000 miles a year on horseback and gave 15 sermons a week. The reluctance of the Anglican clergy to lend him their pulpits led him to give some of his sermons in the open air, a decision which enabled him to reach those among the poorer sections of society who were not accustomed to going to church.