In this piece, the Holy Spirit will just be reminding us again of who we are. So, this is a reminder, this is just a reminder of who we are. The Holy Spirit is bringing to our attention again who God has made us to be. And so that will start working and operating as the sons and daughters of God indeed. We are looking at “The Judge and His Judging Sons.” I pray that the Lord will help us as we move along in Jesus’ name. So, let's start by looking at who is the Judge.
Genesis chapter 18, we will start our observation from there. Genesis chapter 18 verse 25, “Far be it from You,” this is Abraham speaking to God, and we know that God called Abraham His friend. “Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do, right?”
This was the time Abraham was interceding for Sodom and Gomorrah; when God told him that he was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. And Abraham started interceding that God, what if you find 50 righteous people? And he went on and on and on and on until he realized that really God had a legitimate ground to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. But he said something here in verse 25, he said, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do, right?” So, Abraham attested to the fact, that he knew, and he came to the realization that God is the Judge of all the earth. So that's the first understanding that we came to.
So, if God is the Judge of all the earth, you will see that the Judge in your Bible is capital letter J. If God is the Judge of all the earth, Genesis chapter 1 verse 26, says, “Let us make man in Our image, and according to Our likeness,” because if God had said, “Let us make man in Our image, and He did not put according to Our likeness, there are many things that God is that we cannot become, true or false? But He said, not just in Our image, because many of us are carried away by the image of God. You will hear things like, is God male or female? Does God have an intestine? Does he have a kidney? Does he have a liver? Because what we are looking at, and what we are trying to come to the understanding of is the bodily image of man. But the Bible says, “God is Spirit”. Have you seen spirits with a kidney or intestine? God is Spirit.
Apostle Paul made us to understand, and he was looking forward to it when we would put out this mortal body and put on immortality. Because when we put on immortality, we are putting on the real complete image without limitation. The limitation of man is not his spirit, but his body. And that's why, as long as we are in this body suit called the body, we will continue to have limitations. But God is Spirit. According to Genesis 18:25, Abraham called Him the Judge of all the earth and God did not reprimand Abraham, and say, what do you mean, that's not true? So, we take this as the truth. He is the Judge of all the earth, and you are made in His image and His likeness.
So, we have learnt image, let's look at the likeness of God. The likeness of God is what gives us the opportunity to do the things that God does. So, it's not only being spirit, there is a kind of spirit you must become because if it is only being spirit, the devil is a spirit, and the fallen angels are spirits. That's why God did not just make us in His image, he made us according to His likeness. The likeness of God is what the focus of this exaltation is about.
When you are like someone, you will behave like the person. So, if you are like God, you must behave like God. If you don't behave like God, then you are not like God, permit me to use it like that. Jesus called some people liars, He said, they are behaving like their father, the devil, why? What they are doing, their likeness is the likeness of the devil. So, it's not to say, ‘God forbid, I'm not a child of the devil,’ it is not in the “God forbid,” it is in the likeness; in your behavior. What do you do that shows you belong to God? How do you behave that shows that you belong to God? There is a likeness of God that each of us must come into. The Bible called Him the Judge of all the earth, and we are made in His image and His likeness.
What is the expectation of God for us? Isaiah chapter 58, God mentioned something, and we'll pay attention to it. Isaiah chapter 58, we'll start our read from verse 6, “Is this not the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness,” When we look at this picture carefully, you will see that these are the things that judges do. What are we looking at in this piece? The Judge and His Judging Sons!
“Is this not the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke?” If you cannot do it, God will not say I've chosen it for you. He knows that He has given you the capacity. He knows that He has given me the capacity to do it.
Let's go to verse 7, “Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; when you see the naked, that you cover him, and not hide yourself from your own flesh?” See how God described your neighbour. Verse 8, “Then your light shall break forth like the morning, your healing shall spring forth speedily, and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. 9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ “If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, 10 If you extend your soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light shall dawn in the darkness.”
Now God is not repeating it for the sake of repeating it, the emphasis there is because it is important. “Then your light shall dawn in the darkness, and your darkness shall be as the noonday. 11 The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and strengthen your bones; you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.”
As we were reading it, we were saying, “Amen; Amen”. You want your life to break forth like the morning. I'm sure many of us, we want our light to dawn in the darkness, we love it, but it is a preconditioned prayer. It's a preconditioned experience; terms and conditions applied. God is the Judge of the whole earth. He judges among the people. In fact, the Bible says, He judges among the strong, the great, the mighty. But how does God judge? He judges righteously.
You will see that the judging function of God is one of the most important, if not the only function that makes God, God. If you read from Genesis to Revelation, what you will see God doing is judging. In Genesis chapter 1 from verse 1, what was God doing to the earth? He was judging the situation. Darkness, the Bible said had taken over, there was emptiness, there was voidness, and God judged the matter, “Let there be light,” and the Bible says, “and there was light”. “And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night.” He brought about a separation; He judged the darkness and called it by its name. He judged the light and named it.
So, we are looking at the Judge. And if you and I are His judging sons, then we must behave like Him. And here in Isaiah 58, He explicitly said what he is expecting from His sons. He said, “Is this not the fast that I have chosen?” Another word for that fast is, is this not the lifestyle that I've chosen? Is this not the requirement I have placed on you? Remember when Jesus said, “Come to me, all ye that labour and are heavily laden?” He said, “I will give you rest”. Yes, He said so, but did not stop there. He said, “Take my yoke, take my burden”. This is the burden of God. Another word for that fast is the yoke. Another word for that fast is the burden of God.
Why did the Bible say we are co-laborers? We are co-judges with God. If God is the Judge, and that is His work, and He said you are His co-labourer, what does He mean? You are judging with Him. Co-laborer means co-worker and what's the work of God? To judge! So, what are you expected to do when you are working with God? It is to judge with Him? No wonder Apostle Paul was very upset with a particular church. He said, “How can you be taking your matters to human courts?” The same people that oppressive you, the same people that don’t understand the yoke of Christ and the burden of Christ, you take your matters to them to judge among you. Don't you know that you will judge angels? Why? Angels are not the ones that the bible called co-laborer with God, it is you and I. Why? We are made in His image.
If you look at scriptures, when you read, you will see, the Bible says, “To none of the angels,” in the Book of Hebrews, the Bible says, “to none of the angels have He said sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool,” to none. No wonder that they were asking, what is man that You are mindful of him? Who is Francis to judge with God? Who is Joy to judge with God? Who is Omolara to judge with God? What is man that You are mindful; You are that mindful of him?
So, what is our responsibility to be co-judges with God? And this is how God wants us to judge: to lose the bonds of wickedness. I don't want to spend so much time on it because it means different things to all of us if we meditate deeply on it. But on the face of it, this is what God is saying; to undo the heavy burdens. Is this not the same assignment of Jesus?
Can we just flip forward to Isaiah chapter 61, speaking about Christ. Isaiah chapter 61, Let's start our read from verse 1, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted,” whether you call Him a healer, an apostle, a prophet, a teacher, an evangelist, or you call Him a pastor, He is what? He is doing that work as a Co-Judge with God. When Jesus made the madman of Gadara, he judged the demons in him. When the woman with 12 years issue of blood touched the hem of the garment of Jesus, the anointing of Jesus that was speaking about here, judged that sickness of 12 years.
Are we getting what the Holy Spirit is reminding us of today? This is who you are. This is who I am. He said, “To proclaim liberty to the captives,” this is just semantics; is just the use of the words. The words mean the same thing, just like we read in Isaiah chapter 58. “To proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, 3 To console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness.”
God judged in Genesis chapter 1; He called light day. So, God is saying, call the barren fruitful. Call the oppressed, free. Call the sick, healed. That's how I want you to judge. If we look at our contemporary times, when you go to a court, what does the judge do? A man comes, they accused him of something, and he says, “You are declared guilty”. And the person from that day becomes a convict because somebody judged.
When God judges you righteous, the Bible says no man can condemn you. Jesus said, “Whatever you allow on earth, is allowed in heaven. Whatever you disallow on earth, is disallowed in heaven,” whatever name you call it; how you judge it on earth is how it will be judged in heaven. Why? You are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. You are a co-judge with God on the earth. That's why the judges don't use any tool to judge, what do they use? Their mouths!
He said, “I have given you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist”. Whatever you allow is allowed. Whatever you say it is, that is how it will remain. No wonder, Jesus called that man, a man of great faith. He said, “Jesus, I'm also a man that has authority. I say to one go and he goes. And I say to one come and he comes, don't come to my house, just speak a word. I know you are a Judge. And you are not a useless judge, you are a Judge that has constituted authority. When you say, ‘Go!’ That sickness must go. When you say, ‘blessing come’, the blessing will come”. Jesus was with Peter and they asked them, “Pay your tax.” And Jesus said, “okay, on what basis should we pay tax? And Jesus said, ‘okay, no problem. Let's give to Caesar what is Caesar's. Let's give to God, what is God's. Go to the river, the first fish you find…’. As Jesus was saying it, that fish with the coin was navigating its way to where Peter will be.
The Bible says, “The hearts of kings are in the hands of the Lord, like the river of water He directs”. Are we getting what God is communicating to us? When you speak, don't think about how that thing will come to pass, you speak because you are a constituted authority in Christ Jesus. He said, “Whatever you allow,” so from here we see that God has made us in His likeness. As a judge, you can judge. He has made us speaking spirits. So, what are you supposed to be saying? You are supposed to be saying what God is saying. No wonder Jesus said, “As I hear my Father say,” that's why his judgment is always correct. So, we are made in the image and likeness of God.
Galatians chapter 4 verse 6: “And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts,” because the next question we are going to ask is, hope I will not say the wrong thing? How can I judge like God? Do I know like God? The Bible says, “Because you are sons.” As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God”. That's how you became a son of God, because you are led by His Spirit, “And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts.” Who knows the things of God, except the Spirit of God?” How will God judge the matter? You know it by the Spirit of God. How did Jesus know how God will judge the demons in the mad man of Gadara? By the Spirit of God! You know by the Spirit of God. God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts. That's why as a child of God, God does not judge from His head. God judges from His heart. God does not judge emotionally. That's why those who do not believe in the principles that God has set in place. No matter how much you cry, if you don't do what God asked you to do, you can't benefit from Him.
That's why He said, “Obedience is better than sacrifice, and to hearken is better than fatted cows”. So, be the son of the President of your nation, when you appear before God, God will judge you according to his standards, not according to your background. That's why you and I are privileged. In the Book of Peter, the Bible says, “We are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation”. A holy nation, God’s peculiar, God’s special people translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God, that is who you are.
See, He said, you know how to judge, you judge in the likeness of God, because God has sent forth the Spirit of his Son, into your heart. There is a spirit in man and the inspiration of the Almighty, we judge by the inspiration of the Almighty, it grants you understanding; understanding of what to do, understanding of what to say. He said, “In those days, you don’t need to answer by yourself. You will be told what to say”. God said to Moses, “I will be with your mouth”. So, you won't judge wrongly. This thing I said I will do, I don’t even know, who even sent me? There is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty gives him understanding, gives her understanding: you know what to do? It is wrong as a believer to be confused. The Bible says, “You have more understanding than your teachers,” why? You have the Spirit of His Son in you. Glory to God!
The second part of this message is this, Psalm 94 verse 2, after we have seen that God is the Judge of all the earth. He has made us in His image and His likeness. And he has expressed his expectations for us and how we can meet those expectations, how our lives can produce according to His expectations. Let's see another, Psalm 94 verse 2: “Rise up, O Judge of the earth; Render punishment to the proud” who is the judge of the earth? God! “Render punishment to the proud”.
Now, what I want to draw from this is that God renders, how God judges; God renders what is fit to everyone. He renders what is fit; for the proud punishment. The Bible says, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble”. God renders what is fit to everyone; to the proud, punishment, to the humble, grace. So, in like manner, you must judge.
I want to show us a Scripture also, it said, “Rise up”. So, when God is judging, God is active. You cannot be a passive judge. What does it mean? When God is judging, God sits in His court to judge.
In Job chapter 1, the Bible says that a court session was in place, and the sons of God came to present themselves. When a judge is seating, is it not that they come to present cases, what are the sons coming to do? They are coming to present cases. Daniel presented the case of Israel in a court session, and God immediately dispatched an angel. It was in one of those court sessions that the devil also came and presented his own case, God was asking him, where have you been? He said, “God, I've been going to and fro. I've been going everywhere, just observing”. And God said, ‘Have you considered my servant Job, that was where the case file of job got opened? And in that matter, God judged, “You can touch what he has. You can't touch his life”.
The devil was crazy. He became so uncomfortable that in one day, he didn’t even do it systematically. It took everything. “Let this thing be fast, I don’t want to be taking it ‘small small’ so that he will have reason to rejoice to say at least God didn’t take everything in one day. No! I want him to really blame God!” How can everything that God gave you over the years go in one day? So, it was really crazy. It took everything; his children. He didn't even allow them to die one after the other, all of them died in the same house, at the same time, the same day. All his properties, everything! The devil then said, “Let me see what he will do”.
And the bible says, “Job didn’t curse God,” and Satan kept afflicting, but in all of the afflictions of the devil, did he take his life? Why? God had judged it, “you can go, take all that he has but don't touch his life, his life I have not given into your hands”. So, God renders. God is active. As the judging sons of God, are we active?
My husband taught me this. You know sometimes I'll go and tell him something, he will say, “Ah no! that case you are bringing now has been brought to me before”. So, because he had judged it like this, go ahead. So, I always look at him in amazement until when the Holy Spirit started speaking to me, that truly that’s how to act, that is how to live. You are a judge on the earth after the image and likeness of God. Something wants to happen, you must be able to judge it. Something is happening in your locality! Was it the woman that founded Foursquare church, that she was the spiritual mayor of her locality, nothing happens in the realm of the spirit that does not pass her table. She took her place! Active! We have too many passive sons of God. God is calling us today to be active; rise up, Oh judge of the earth!
See Isaiah chapter 60 so that if that one is referring to God, see your own. Let's see our own quickly. Isaiah chapter 60 from verse 1: “Arise!” Rise up and arise, is it not the same thing? “Arise [be active], shine, for your light as come”. Arise, arise from your slumber. Arise from your sleep and be active in judging. When God said to Adam, “Tend and keep the garden,” it was a judging assignment. How did I know? God brought all the animals to see what he will call them. Let me see whether you are charged up, you are active, you have arisen to your responsibility, and the Bible says, “Whatever name Adam called them so was it”.
Some witches and wizards are operating around your locality. Declare a no flight zone! If they try, they should fall. If they try, they should be electrocuted. If they try it, let them go back with bruises. No flight zone! The king sent captain of 50 to Elijah, as they were coming, they were burning — barbecue! As they were coming, roasted! The last one said, “Please, I know you are a man of God. Please, spare us, it is not our message. We were sent. Just spare us!” And that one was spared. Those that were coming with strong heads were all roasted.
We are judges. We are the sons of the Judge of all the earth. Arise, be active, rise up to your responsibility. I need to rise up to my responsibility. You need to rise up to your responsibility. Why? Romans 8 verse 19. The Bible says, “For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God”. How do you manifest passively? Nobody manifests passively. You manifest actively.
How do we judge? We come to the place of prayer to present the cases before the Judge of the whole earth, and we start deciding the cases, “Lord! that woman has been barren for 10 years, she has been serving you, Lord, can we open her case file? What is the matter? How do you want me to step in? Lord, do you require me to intercede for her?” The Holy Spirit will put it in your heart. When the Holy Spirit puts it in your heart to pray for a nation, He is asking you, judge it! The case file of that person has been opened in heaven, judge it on the earth, enforce the judgment of God. Let Your kingdom come. Let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
If you continue to read you will see ‘Behold, darkness covers the earth and deep darkness the people, but the Lord will arise over you and His glory shall be seen on you. The Gentiles shall come to your light,’ why? You are active, ‘and kings to the brightness of your rising’.
Peter went to the gate called Beautiful, he saw that lame man, Peter and John. And the man was looking at them. And they were looking at the man, and he was expecting to receive coins from them. And they said, “See, silver and gold we don't have. But you see, we are judging sons! As we are looking at you, your case file has been opened, such as we have,” the question today is, as a son of God, what do you have? “Such as we have, we give to you. In the name of Jesus, rise up and walk”. They did not pray for his bank account. They didn’t pray that he has children. What was the need? What was the pressing thing that the Lord had shown them? And when the man was taking time, Peter grabbed his hand and strengthened him, and the man started leaping, started jumping for joy. We are the judging sons of God.
In Hebrews chapter 12, the Bible says, “We have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God; to the heavenly Jerusalem; to God, the Judge of all.” So, when you come to Him, you come to the Judge. “We have come to God the Judge of all.” Hebrews 12: 23-24, we have come to God that judges all. He is the judge of all. So, when we come before Him, what are you doing? You should be actively judging.
Lastly, what is our disposition when we judge? What is the disposition that God has given to us when we judge? 1st John chapter 3 from verse 1 to 2: “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us,” I love it. The world does not know us, and it is the truth because it did not know Him. The world does not know that He is the Judge of all the earth. That's why the world does not know us, that when we step into a room, we step in with light to judge darkness. When we arise in the morning, we judge the day, we judge the earth, we judge the sea, we judge the elements, and we judge the animals that have made themselves abode for wickedness.
A young lady was crying behind Apostle Paul, oh man of God! Oh, look at the man of God! And she had been doing it for days until her case file was opened. And Apostle Paul turned and sent out the demon. He judged her that those who were benefiting, profiting from her, they became angry, and sent Apostle Paul of town. How can you just spoil our business like that?
There are many people profiting from wickedness but God has given you and I a responsibility to judge them. Let’s take out time to read Isaiah chapter 58, to loose the bonds of wickedness. There was a woman that Jesus healed. The Bible says she was bent over for years. Can you try to do this and be doing it every day? Look at how painful it is because she had a hunch. And Jesus healed her on the Sabbath and they were complaining. I don't know, but the pharisees must be wicked. Somebody has been carrying hunch for years and she was delivered. And the only thing you could say, “why did you heal her? You should have waited for the following day”. And we still have wicked people like that, judge wickedness.
So, he said, “The world does not know us”. They don't know the God that we carry. They don't know the Spirit of His Son has been set into our hearts. “Beloved, now we are children of God. And it has not yet been revealed. What we shall be but we know that when He is revealed. We shall be like Him”. When He is revealed as the Judge, we shall be like Him. His Judging sons! “For we shall see Him as He is”. Hallelujah!
1st Corinthians 13, Apostle Paul was saying to us, “If I give all my body to be burnt, and I have not love,” love is the prerequisite to judge. “Oh, what manner of love that the Father has bestowed on us!” The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. And the Bible says concerning Jesus He saw the people, they were like sheep without shepherd, and he had compassion. Compassion is born out of love.
You see a woman under the affliction of the wicked one, as a judge, what will make you move is the love that has been shed abroad in your heart by the Holy Spirit. As a judge, it is not about you praying for yourself; Monday, yourself; Tuesday, yourself; Wednesday yourself; Thursday, yourself. He said, He has given you all things that pertain to life and to godliness. He said, “Is this not the fast I have chosen for you, to lose the bonds of wickedness”.
This is the reminder that the Holy Spirit has brought our way today. Let's be reminded of who we are and start walking in the reality of who we are. And I pray the Lord will help us and strengthen us in the name of Jesus.
