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Job asks, “What is man, that thou [God] shouldest magnify him? And that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him? And that thou shouldest visit him every morning, and try him every moment?” (Job 7:17–18, my italics).

Hebrews 12:1 tells us that the world is encircled by a cloud of witnesses who are with Christ in glory. My question is, what does this great crowd bear witness to? And who is their witness meant for?

This cloud of witnesses speaks to our generation, by their lives and their words as recorded in Scripture. I believe they have three things to say to us:

Matthew tells us Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables: "All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world" (Matthew 13:34-35).

What is "destiny"? In simple terms, destiny is God's purpose for your life. It is your appointed or ordained future. Destiny is what God has predetermined you to be and to become, in His divine will.

I get sad when I read of the many godly men and women in Scripture who missed their destiny. God chose a destined work or ministry for each of them - but they ended up aborting His plan. They started out right, moving for a while in the power of their calling. But in the end, they died in shame and ruin - missing God's destiny for their lives!

When you hear the word "violence," what comes to mind? You probably think of the incredible things you hear on the radio or see in the newspapers:

"Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

“And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it" (Matthew 7:24-27).

The apostle Paul warns that "in the last days perilous times shall come" (2 Timothy 3:1). He then describes in detail the terrible conditions we will face in the last hours of time:

"For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God" (2 Timothy 3:2-4).

To humiliate means "to reduce one's dignity and pride," to humble. I intend to show you in this message that God humiliates those He loves! In fact, unless you have experienced this divine humiliation, you are not ready to be fully used by God; you are not prepared to receive of His fullness.

God has provided a source of life for the whole world. Not mere sustenance, but life in its fullest measure — Jesus called it abundant life.

God sent manna to sustain life in the wilderness — He sent His Son Jesus to sustain life in our day. Jesus said, "For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world" (John 6:33).

There is a thrilling Old Testament story that best illustrates what it means to be kept by the power of God. It is found in 2 Kings 6.

Benhadad, King of Syria, declared war on Israel and marched against them with a great army. As his forces advanced, he often called his war counsel into his private chambers to plan the next day's strategy. But the prophet Elisha kept sending word to the King of Israel, detailing every move of the enemy troops. On several occasions, the Israelites escaped defeat because of Elisha's warnings.

"...Let us run with patience the race that is set before us..." (Hebrews 12:1)

The very word race suggests competition. God's people are likened to runners in a long distance race, competing for a prize. The prize being a glorious revelation of the knowledge of Jesus Christ.