Testified By God
Both in the Old
Testament and in the New Testament we read about saints about whose conduct God
Himself had borne testimony. Let us examine a few of these witnesses:
Hebrews 11:5-- It was by faith that ENOCH was taken up
to heaven without dying—“he disappeared because God took him.” For before he
was taken up, he was known as a person who pleased God. What did Enoch do to earn
this unheard-of privilege?
He did this by
walking with God. The Bible says he walked with God for a time of 300 years! If
he not known God’s perfect will and fulfilled it, had he not been obedient to
Him and please Him in all that he did, this kind of fellowship would have not
been possible. (Amos 3:3 Can two
people walk together without agreeing on the direction?) God was so pleased
with Enoch that He not only allowed him to walk with Him but immortalized his
memory by taking him all the way to heaven with him by-passing the death route.
The Holy Bible doesn’t say much about this saint’s long, colourful life but, interestingly,
Jude 1:14 contains a surprising
claim that Enoch had prophesied about the Lord’s Second Coming saying, “Listen!
The Lord is coming with countless thousands of his holy
ones”. I am sure Enoch would be there too.
Nowadays, Christ’s
followers find it difficult to have a continuous walk with God. This is because
they forget that friendship with the world is enmity with God (James 4:4). The life down here is a
battle, says Paul “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against
the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s
darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms”(Ephesians 6:12).
Genesis 6:8—NOAH, however, found favor in the eyes
of the LORD.
…. Noah was a
righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God. Genesis 7:1 Then the LORD said to Noah,
“Go into the ark, you and all your family, because I have found you righteous
in this generation”
Noah was the only
person God found to be righteous on earth at a time when wickedness was great
on earth and every imagination of the thoughts of man’s heart was nothing but
evil. Violence was the norm and God regretted having created man. Today we hear
people saying it is not possible to live a saintly life on earth with so much
evil, violence and blood-letting staring at our face. But Noah, through his
faultless life, proved that it was possible. If so, it is possible for us also,
particularly when the Holy Spirit is indwelling us. Also, it is comforting to
remember that “as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became
more abundant” (Romans 5:20).
Numbers 12:3--Now MOSES was very humble—more humble
than any other person on earth.
Moses was brought
up in the pharaoh’s palace, trained in statecraft and was expected to become
the next pharaoh. If any man had a right to have a swollen head, Moses did. But
40 years of harsh shepherd’s life among the sands of Median’s desert had
mellowed him. The Bible calls him the humblest person in the world. After his
encounter with God who spoke to him from a thorn bush, he dedicated his whole
life to the Lord’s service. “There has
never been another prophet in Israel
And the LORD said
to them, “Now listen to what I say: If there were prophets among you, I, the
LORD, would reveal me in visions. I would speak to them in dreams. But not
with my servant Moses. Of all my house, he is the one I trust. I speak to him
face to face, clearly, and not in riddles! He sees the LORD as he is (Numbers 12:6-8). Moses spoke to God for
forty days and forty nights. This speaks volumes about his prayer life. Our
prayer life elicits God’s witness. How long do you speak to Him? What would God
say about your prayer life?
Job 1:8--Then the LORD asked Satan, “Have you noticed my
servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless—a man of
complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil.”
God gave Satan a
phenomenal testimony about JOB. Job was a man of God. He rose up early in the morning and offered
burnt offerings according to the number of his children. This marks his praising
and prayer. Job never sinned with his lips or blasphemed God when he suffered. Job
realized we don’t possess anything God had not given us. As he lay there with
his “flesh clothed with worms and encrusted with dirt; his skin cracked and
festering” (7:5); his wife and
friends accusing him and in terrible distress, he didn’t loose faith in God. “Though
He slays me, I will hope in Him” he declares in faith. He expresses the hope,
“But I know that my Redeemer lives, and in the end, He will stand upon the earth.
Even after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh, I will see God”.
Unlike his four
friends, he spoke the truth about God that God appeared personally to commend
him. Face to face with God, surprisingly, he didn’t complain; the subject of
sickness and pain never came up. He
prayed “My ears had heard of You, but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I
retract my words, and I repent in dust and ashes.”
Daniel 9:23--The moment you began praying, a command
was given. And now I am here to tell you what it was, for you are very precious
to God.
God sent an angel
to DANIEL to give him the message that he was beloved of God. What was Daniel’s
witness that moved God to engage in an unusual act of this kind? Daniel was
an exile in a foreign land, but chosen for government service and was eligible
to eat from the royal kitchen, but turned down that privilege, because he
feared he might be defiled by consuming their food and wine, and chose
vegetables instead. (Daniel 1:8). When
a royal decree that no other God except the emperor Darius should be worshipped
for thirty days was in force Daniel went ahead and fearlessly prayed three
times a day to the living God. For this “crime” he was thrown into a lions’
den, but the animals didn’t harm him. His dwelling was not with the flesh (2:11). He also pleased God by confessing
his sins and that of his people and remained a powerful witness for Yahweh.
God blessed him
and testified about him “I have found DAVID, son of Jesse, a man after my own
heart, (Acts 13.22)
Psalms 34:1--I will praise the LORD at all times. I
will constantly speak his praises. King David worshipped God with all his
heart, sang praises to God and danced in His presence. Three times a day, he
meditated and prayed. He had the law in his heart (40:8). He sought to know the mind of God and understood His will.
He prayed that God might teach him to do His will. (143:10). which shall fulfill all my will”.
Matthew 7:15—And a voice from heaven said, “This is
my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.”
When THE LORD was
in the flesh, He strived always to know His Father’s will and fulfill it. He
made it clear to the public that his action and speech were His Father’s, not
His own (John 8:29). His agonized prayer at Gethsemane
was “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup
pass from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will”. When he knew what the
Father’s will was, He received the “cup” from His hand and drank deep its ugly
contents to the last drop. Strengthened by this knowledge He proceeded boldly
and embraced the cross.
Jesus said “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is
wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in
torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it
won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock (Matthew 7.24, 25). Our lives must be built upon Jesus, the Rock.
When we live by the Word of God every day, the Word will give witness to us.
When the Books are opened in heaven—the Book of Life (Revelations 20:12, 15); the Book of Remembrance (Malachi 3:16); and the Word of God (the
Bible) (John 12:48)—these will
witness about God’s children. St. Paul
What about us?
Will God give witness about us? We must examine our lives for its style. We
should be led by the Spirit of God (Romans
8:14, 16) and possess the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22, 23) in order to be His witnesses in this world.
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