I Will Be Their God

“I Will Be Their God”

One of my favorite movies is an old movie that had Bruce Willis in it when he had hair. It is the 1998 movie “Armageddon”. In that movie a giant asteroid the size of Texas was going to hit the earth. The U.S. government asks Bruce Willis and his drilling team to go into space to destroy the asteroid before it hit the earth. Of course, they do it – and save the world. 1998 must have been the year for asteroid hits the earth movies, because another move called “Deep Impact” came out that year. In that movie a big part of the asteroid was destroyed, though not all of it. The spaceship that destroyed the biggest part of the asteroid was called the Messiah. Once more, science and we as humans (guided by our government) saved ourselves!

Though these movies are fantasy they should cause us to think. What is protecting us from the asteroids of space? Though it didn’t make any news channel that I watch, on July 25^th of this year (2019) a 100-meter wide piece of rock passed within 73,000 kilometers of Earth. No one saw it until it was on top of us. You might think “so what”, but to put it in perspective our moon is over 5 times that distance from the earth. To be within 73,000 kilometers and not hit the earth is an act of God’s grace. There is no telling how much damage that could have done had it hit us … and most of us, NASA included, didn’t have a clue until it was on top of us!

What protects us from destruction every single day of our lives? Not NASA, not science, not the government. No, but GOD. The Prophet Isaiah asks a series of questions of every person in this room and on this planet. He asks:

Isaiah 40:21-23 Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? 22 It is {God} that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in: 23 That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.

It is God that created all things, and it is God Who sustains all things. He controls all things around this planet and all things around our lives. It is this God – the God Who has made and established the innumerable stars, and knows each one of them by name for He has named them (Psalm 147:4) – this immense Creator God Who wants to know you and for you to know Him. That brings us to our Scripture for today, which is:

“I Will Be Their God”

If you’ll notice I didn’t give you a Scriptural reference. Why? Because this Scripture – this promise from God – is found eight times in the Scripture.

“I Will Be Their God” Is His Promise

To whom was the promise “I will be their God” first given? It was first given to a broken man named Abram. God appeared to Abram when he was 99 years old, and in a helpless and hopeless situation. Abram had a wife he loved but he had no children to carry on his name. God had promised Abram children many years before but still he was childless. God appeared to Abram. The Bible says:

Genesis 17:3-8 … Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, 4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. 5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. 6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. 8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I WILL BE THEIR GOD.

God took the broken Abram and turned him into Abraham. What did Abram have to give God to get this wonderful promise? The Apostle tells us:

Romans 4:3 … Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

Abram did not go to Abraham because he was worthy, because he cleaned himself up, or because he made himself better. God told Abram “I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee”. Abram heard what God said and believed God. Because Abram believed God’s promise God changed him into Abraham, the father of many nations. Abram realized he was broken, and gave his heart to God, and God gave Himself to Abraham and his children. The Apostle said that Abraham …

Romans 4:19-25 … being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb: 20 {Abraham} staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; 21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. 22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. 23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; 24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; 25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

If God is your God you trust His promise. Abraham didn’t consider his broken body, but considered the God Who is able! Because Abraham believed God was true Abraham was blessed.

“I Will Be Their God” Means A Rebirth

Abram believed God, and God changed him into Abraham. God changes those who trust in Him. we read:

Jeremiah 24:6-7 6 For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up. 7 And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the Lord: and they shall be my people, and I WILL BE THEIR GOD: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.

The Christian is a person who was dead in trespasses and in sin (Ephesians 2:1; Colossians 2:13) but who, because of God’s intervention, now are ALIVE unto God. GOD MADE YOU ALIVE WITH CHRIST (Colossians 2:13). You are not bound to sin nor to this sinful world, but your allegiance is with God the Son. You are of His family …

1 Peter 1:23 … being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.

You are changed into Christ’s image by the Spirit of the Lord (2 Corinthians 3:18). God changes you, making you a new creature in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 6:15). God changes you from the inside out. The Bible says:

Galatians 3:6-9, 13-14 Even as Abraham BELIEVED GOD, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. 7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. 8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. 9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. … 13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: 14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

And again …

Titus 3:5-7 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; 6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; 7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

When you answer the call of Christ and believe on Him God works in you. Oh Beloved, when you receive Christ you receive the very hand of God. Has He not promised:

Jeremiah 32:38-40 … And they shall be my people, and I WILL BE THEIR GOD: 39 And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them: 40 And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.

I hear so often of mega-Church pastors and mega-famous music artists who once professed Christ but now have rejected Him. Beloved, those who are genuinely saved do not come one day and depart the next. Has not God said in:

1 John 2:19 … They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

The Child of Christ will no more recant their Savior than I would recant my skin! If you are genuinely saved God has said “they shall not depart from me”. I believe God is able. Praise Him! Praise

Jude 24 … Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy …

“I Will Be Their God” Means A God Directed Life

We are told in Ezekiel:

Ezekiel 11:19-20 … I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: 20 That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I WILL BE THEIR GOD.

Ezekiel 37:23 Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I WILL BE THEIR GOD.

To the world sin is IN, and a thing to make you GRIN.But to the believer sin is the offense that crucified our Savior. We do not make light of sin. Oh, see Him hanging on that tree. See His Blood running down. See His bones peeking through the lace curtain of His torn flesh. You say you are a Christian and sin is acceptable? You lie! You are not one of His, not one of our brethren. Jesus told us:

John 8:34 … Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.

If you serve sin, you are the servant of sin. This is what Jesus was telling us.

What or Who you serve tell you what
or Who your God is.

In America today we are told we are to be tolerant of all things. But is this true? The promise God gave to Abraham and their seed (which is we who have believed in Him) is “I will be their God”. If God will be our God then we are to like what He like, and dislike what He dislikes. You are not saved by works no more than Abram became Abraham by his works – buit once saved you become a person who belongs to God. You are to serve God and not sin.

So what of the hot button topics of today? Is is all right to be in homosexual relationships. Is it all right to copulate with the opposite sex without regard to marriage or commitment? What does God say?

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 … Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

Those who unrighteous or not right with God shall not inherit the Kingdom of God. They shall not go into Heaven. Who are these that are “unrighteous” or “not right”? The Apostle lists them:

fornicators – those in heterosexual sin
idolators – those who reject God for other gods
adulterers – those who sin against a married partner
effeminate – those who abuse children
abusers of themselves with mankind – those who are homosexual
thieves
covetous – greedy people
drunkards
revilers – those who mock God’s way
extortioners – those who swindle others

None of these people have any part in God’s Kingdom. But the Apostle goes on to say:

1 Corinthians 6:11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

Oh Praise God! Has not the Lord promised:

Romans 6:14 … Sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under Grace.

And again,

John 8:12 … I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

And again,

John 8:36 … If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

You may have been born broken – we all are – but God has the power to set your life aright. Our Lord Jesus came into this world to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8).

John 8:42-44 … Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. 43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. 44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

If sin is in your life – believe in God!
If your life is out of control – receive Christ as Lord and Savior!
The God Who loves you want to be with you.
God will be your God.
God has promised this in Christ.

“I Will Be Their God” Means Unending Life

God promises to walk WITH and IN those who are His. He said:

2 Corinthians 6:16 … ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I WILL BE THEIR GOD, and they shall be my people.

The Sadducees did not believe in eternal life. They believed that once you were dead, you were dead. After death – NOTHING. They approached Jesus one day and He told them:

Matthew 22:31-32 … as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, 32 I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.

Our God is the Great I AM. He lives with His people NOW, and will live with His people FOREVER.

What makes Heaven a Heaven
is NOT THE ABSENCE of something.

When people think of Heaven we all follow the same pattern of thought.

If we suffer an ailment we think

“Praise God, I’ll have NO CANCER in Heaven”.

If we are hungry and poor we think

“Praise God, I’ll NOT BE HUNGRY in Heaven”.

If we lose a loved one we think

“Praise God, my HEART WILL NOT BE BROKEN in Heaven”.

We think of Heaven in terms of ABSENCE. And it is true that Heaven will be absent many things. There will be no,

Graves
Hospitals
Tears
Suffering
Pain
Darkness
Evil people

But what makes Heaven a Heaven?

Revelation 21:3 … Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

“I will be their God”. That’s what makes Heaven a Heaven, and that’s what brings Heaven to earth. Is He your God? If not, He can be. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Repent of being your own God, and turn your life over to Him. Ask God to come to you and save you. He will. He will. May God touch your hearts with His Word!