And we'll read several portions
of this passage, but I want to go by way of introduction before
we get into the text here. This book of Job, this book of
Job, tells of one of God's suffering saints. Job was a man loved of
God, chosen of God, redeemed of Christ. He was saved by the
grace of God, and yet he suffered very greatly during his life. In the beginning of this book,
one day the saints of God came together, said the sons of sons
of man had come together, sons of God had come together to present
themselves before the Lord. In other words, they were having
church. That's what it was. They were there worshiping God.
And it was on that day that Satan also attended. I'll tell you
this, there's not one church service that I'm sure he misses.
When the saints of God are gathered together, don't think that we
are alone, that there are principalities and powers and rulers of darkness
that are working, even now, against you. Don't think it's happenstance
that your mind seems to wander during the worship service. Don't
think it's just something frivolous. No, it is an enemy. It is a person, Satan, who is
opposing you. But when the Scriptures tell
us that Satan came also, I noticed this, that it was God who started
the conversation concerning Job. Satan didn't ask God to start
all of his evil processes against Job. It was God who initiated
the conversation. He said to Satan, has thou noticed
my servant Job? that there is none like him in
the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God and
a steward. Have you noticed my servant Job?
Oh, he's so good. Oh, he's so wonderful. Have you
noticed him? God wasn't asking for information,
was he? Satan obviously notices God's
people. But this gave him an entrance.
And God did this on purpose. Because God had decreed this
suffering for the good of Job. And after Satan sought to try
Job's faithfulness by taking all that he had, took his money,
took his wealth, took his family, his children, and left him with
a wife that said, curse God and die. Why don't you just curse
God and die? Left him with a bitter wife. and killed all of his children,
and all this in the same day, yet the Scriptures tell us that
Job was still faithful. He says, in all this, Job sinned
not with his mouth, nor charged God foolishly with his lips. Job was a faithful man. How do
you suppose you would act under such circumstances? What if God appeared to your
enemy and said, Behold, my servant, J.D. Farmer. There's none like
him in the earth. There's none. He's one that fear
God and eschews evil. Put your name in there. What
if God came and told your enemies how good you were? You think
you could live up to that? And then to prove your faithfulness,
what if God took all you had? Took all that you worked for,
all that you loved in this world, even your health, so that you
were in constant pain, so that sickness ravished your body daily. Pain came and it would not leave. And yet God says of you, behold,
my faithful servant, You think you could live up to that? Would you still be faithful to
God? Would you remain true to His
service and say like Job, I will trust Him though He slay me? Do you suppose you could bear
up under such weight? And if that were not bad enough,
Job had friends. It's not bad enough that God
took all that he had, God bragging about him before his enemies,
but also took everything he had, and not only that, gave him three
friends who were not good friends at all. These so-called good
and faithful friends said, well, you're suffering because you're
just wicked somehow. Now, Job, I know this. You seem
good on the outside. You seem faithful to God and
your words sound very good. But I know this. Suffering comes
because of your sin. God's not going to do that to
the righteous man. Only the wicked suffer, his friends
told him. Now, Job knew this to be a lie,
as do we. We know this is not true, that
calamities happen to the righteous as well as to the unrighteous.
We know that God shines his sun on the just and the unjust. The
rain falls upon the righteous and the unrighteous. We know
this. Calamities and troubles happen
to all men. And we know God is a God of purpose.
Job knew this. He knew God was a God of purpose
and that His suffering was somehow the purpose of God. He didn't
fully understand it, but He knew that. He said this in the book of Job,
Man is of a few days and full of trouble. Is that not so with
you? Have you not been of a few days
and full of trouble? Job said, man is born under trouble
as the sparks fly upward. He knew this. He knew that his
trouble was not because a result of some evil that he was keeping
secret. Believer, God has said to you
who are in Christ, He has said to you, you are my faithful servant. And He said it before the entire
world. You are my faithful servant.
You are perfect in righteousness in Christ. No matter the trouble
that we face, let us not deny what God has done for us in Christ. Job did not deny what God had
done for him. We, by the new birth, are created
after the image of God. I know this, that even believers
fall into the sin of false humility. False humility. The Scriptures tell us, who maketh thee to differ from
another? And what hast thou that thou
hast not received? And if you've received it, why
do you act like you haven't? That's false humility, isn't
it? I have received the righteousness
of God in Jesus Christ. As He is, so am I in this present
world. I'll tell you, I am as righteous
and holy as God Himself in my inner man, in the new birth,
in the new creation. And I wouldn't say it unless
God had said it. Go over to Romans chapter 3. I wouldn't dare say anything
like this unless it's true from what God tells me. Romans chapter
three, verse 20. Therefore, by the deeds of the
law shall no flesh be justified in this site, for by the law
is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of
God. Without the law is manifest.
being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness
of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ. Now, how is this
righteousness obtained? How is my righteousness earned? It was earned and merited by
the faith of Jesus Christ, not by my faith. I didn't merit the
righteousness of God by my faith. My righteousness was merited
by the faith of. Jesus Christ. Now, then, how
does that apply to me? Unto all. And upon all. Them that believe. That righteousness
which was merited by Jesus Christ is unto and upon these words
are imputed and imparted. That's what it means. Imputed,
charged. to my account. This righteousness of God is
mine because God said it is mine. He charged it to me from eternity. And now, by faith, he has imputed
it to me in the new nature in creating in me a new heart, a
clean heart, a righteous heart. I have the righteousness of God
in Jesus Christ, my Savior. have that righteousness. It's
mine. And to say other would be to deny what God has said
about me. God says it's mine. Go over to 1 John chapter 4.
1 John chapter 4 and verse 17. Herein Is our love made perfect? That we may have boldness in
the day of judgment. Because. As he is. How is he, by the way? How is the Lord Jesus Christ?
In what condition is the Lord Jesus Christ? Is there anything
wrong with him? As he is. So are we when we die and go
to heaven, is that what it says? No. So are we in this world? How are we as he is? You have his righteousness. His
righteousness has been imputed to you, imparted to you. This
is the message of God's grace. Jesus, our Savior, was made to
bear our sins in His own body on the tree. He was made sin
for us. He was made a curse for us. And
by His death, He has perfectly removed our sins from us. He has obtained our righteousness
and by His death He has obtained our redemption so that we are
free from all guilt of sin. In Hebrews chapter 10 and verse
14 it says, For by one altering He hath perfected, completed forever them that are sanctified. You have this when you have trouble. Flee to this. Flee to this truth
that we have the righteousness of God in Christ because your
conscience is defiled. Your conscience will accuse you.
And the only hope we have is to flee to this. There is no
other way to find peace as far as the east is from the West.
So far, have they removed our sins from us? Praise be to God
for his great love, wherewith he hath loved us, that even when
we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ. By grace, you are saved. When Jesus died for our sins. We died with him. When Jesus was buried in the
grave, we were buried with Him. And when Jesus Christ arose and
ascended to the throne of glory, we rose and ascended with Him. With Him. And by grace, you are
saved. We have been risen with Christ. Therefore, let us There patiently
the cross that we have been given, looking by faith to Jesus, who
is all our salvation. Do you know your faith is not
your Savior? Your faith is not your Savior.
Your faith never died for you. Your faith never was buried for
you, and your faith never rose for you. We believe in a person. My faith is in a man, in a person
who took away all my sins and gave me his righteousness. That's
my faith. So when you are tried, when you
are tested, when you're troubled, hold fast to this. Cling to it with the life of
your very soul. Cling to it. Hold fast and don't
let go. That Christ is all our righteousness.
When God gives His children life by the Holy Spirit to believe
on Christ, is it not true that we seem to
be the target now of our enemies? It's when a sinner comes to Jesus
and confesses his sin against God, sees his need of free, unmerited
mercy, confesses our need of a mediator, someone to stand
between us and God, it's then we have been wooed by the love
of God to Himself. It's then we rejoice in our spirit
that we are free from the law, free from guilt of sin, free
from the power of sin. And like Pilgrim, when Pilgrim
came to the cross, the burden rolled off his back. When a believer,
when an elect child comes to God, there is such a freedom,
there is such a free heart and spirit in the new birth. My sins, oh the bliss of this
glorious thought. Not my sins in part, but the
whole. The sins yesterday, the sins
today, and the sins tomorrow. The whole has been nailed to
the cross. I bear it no more. Praise the
Lord. It is well with my soul. This
is what a believer feels when he comes to Christ. But I'll
tell you this. Not only does joy come, but suffering
comes. Job's end was not just to rejoice
and everything be all roses. Was it? Job had a good life there
at the beginning, didn't he? He was wealthy and he had this
and he loved God. He served God. He rejoiced. But this wasn't the end of Job,
and this won't be our end either. We're going to suffer trouble.
Our Lord promises us that. And so why do you think it's
strange when trouble comes on you? When you're born again of the
Spirit of God, you're free from the guilt of sin, the power of
sin, but you're not yet free from the presence of sin. When we have the righteous nature
of God, but yet we still have the old man in us. And this is
evidenced by our desire to be holy and not able to. I long
to be holy. I long to live righteously. I
long to serve God in this body to the fullest capacity. And
yet I know this sin is mixed with all I do. And this troubles
me. Does it trouble you? It troubles
me. Therefore, we should be careful
when our troubles come, and they will, and we should be careful
to avoid the sin of Job and his friends. Now, what was the sin
of Job? The sin of Job was to declare
his righteousness without giving glory to God for it. And the sin of his friends was
obviously to proclaim prosperity comes from righteousness and
trouble comes because of some sin. Job's argument that he was a
righteous and a just man was completely and absolutely wrong
because he did not give credit to God. Go to Job chapter 33.
Now this man Elihu. He's a young man, and he's heard
everything Job and his friends have had to say about this trouble.
He's a wise young man because he waited for them. He thought
that they were the elders, and he thought he'd hear some wisdom
from them. But that's not true. He doesn't hear any wisdom from
Job or his friends, and he puts them to the task on this. And
look at verse 8. Surely thou hast spoken in mine
hearing, And I have heard the voice of that word saying, I
am clean without transgression. I am innocent. Neither is there
iniquity in me. Behold, he find it occasion against
me. He counteth me for his enemy. He put my feet in the stocks.
He make it all a market. All my paths. Job was righteous. And he was just, but he failed
to give glory. to God. How many times do we
come under attack of men or trouble and try to justify our own selves? This is wrong. Did our Lord justify himself
when he stood before Pilate? No. How many times do we try to vindicate
ourselves and go to such an extreme as we do not give glory to God? Job, instead of confessing his
sin, he blamed God for his troubles as though God was his enemy. Your troubles have come to you
not because God is your enemy, but because He is your friend. Faithful are the wounds of a
friend than the kisses of an enemy. Believer, are you in trouble?
Do you feel as though God has put some mark upon you as a foe? Are you troubled in your circumstances
of life and strive against God saying, Why me? Why me? Why not you? Do we think ourselves to be innocent
so as to be above any trouble in this world? We're not. Believer, in our troubles,
let us remember that we are still just sinners saved by grace.
When men reproach you. And accuse you. I like that. Only a sinner saved
by grace. Only a sinner saved by grace. This should be our confession
among men and among our enemies. We are sinners saved by grace
and this is the confession that he gives in Verses 15, down through
the end. He said, I'm going to go through
this quickly. He said, In a dream, in a vision, in the night, in
the deep sleep falleth upon man in slumberings upon his bed. Were we not asleep under sin
and darkness? Were we not once dead in trespasses
and sins? Yes, we confess that. Verse 16, he said, Then he openeth
the ears of men and sealeth Their instruction. Was it not God that
opened our ears to hear the gospel? To give us understanding? Do
you have understanding of God's grace and mercy? That's a gift
of God. Recognize that. Bow to it. Confess
it. He has opened our ears that He
may withdraw man from his purpose. What's the purpose of man but
to sin? Who restrained us from being as evil as we could be?
It was God. It was God who restrained us,
kept us, and hid the pride from man. It was God that preserved us
by grace and kept us from falling unto death. Verse 18, He keepeth
back his soul from the pit, and his life from the perishing of
the sword. Who kept you from death before you believed on
Christ? Who kept you? It was God. who kept you. It
was God who sustained you until the time of your resurrection,
to the time of your new birth. Verse 19, He has chastened also
with pain upon His bed, and the multitude of His bones with strong
pain, so that His life of forthbred,
His soul, dainty meat, His flesh is consumed away that it cannot
be seen. His bones were not seen stick
out. Have you ever seen a man starving
to death? How his bones that were hidden
now are made plain? Is that not what God did for
us when He convicted us of sin? Were we not chastened all the
night long concerning our own sin, concerning our guilt before
God? Those bones of sin that were
hidden, were they not now exposed through much trouble and grief
of our soul? This was God who did this. Verse 23 said, If there be a
messenger with him, an interpreter, one among a thousand, to show
unto man his uprightness, Then he is gracious unto him,
and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit. I have found a ransom." Was it not God that sent a messenger
to us, one among a thousand? And what was his message? I have found a ransom. Is that not the message we heard?
The message of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ? The one that God
sent to be a ransom? Believer, we are righteous before
God because God has found a ransom. His Son, Jesus Christ. And as long as we live in this
body, we are prone to sin and to trouble. But yet we know this. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people,
saith the Lord. Tell Israel that her warfare
is accomplished, finished. And what does this do when we
are delivered? Verse 25, His flesh shall be
fresher than a child's. He shall return to the days of
His youth. He shall pray unto God, and He
will be favorable unto Him. And He shall see His face with
joy, and He shall render unto man His righteousness. Isn't that what you found, believer,
when you call unto God? Have you not found a favorable
response? I have. I found a very favorable
response when I call on His name. God found a ransom. Christ is
my ransom. He's paid the ransom, and I feel
as fresh as a young child when that comes into my soul. I'm
refreshed. There may be trouble on the outside,
but I'll tell you there's peace on the inside. because of this
message. God's found a ransom. He's paid
the ransom. I'm free. And He's favorable. I'm favorable in the presence
of God. I may come boldly in the presence
of God and be accepted. Welcome, my son. Come and welcome. How often I neglect to be welcomed. He welcomes me and I neglect
to come. But yet when I come, I know this.
I'm favorable in His eyes. He hears me. This is our experience
as we are new creatures in Christ, we're favorable, always favorable,
and we confess our sins. We confess that our righteousness
is not of our own, but it is of his making. We confess that
his righteousness is ours. We confess our sins. And I'll
tell you this, he delivers our soul. Look at verse twenty seven.
He looketh upon men. If any say I have sinned. And perverted that which was
right. And it profiteth me not. He will
deliver his soul from going down to the pit. His life shall see
the light. I have seen. But I know this, He shall deliver
me from the going down of the pit. I know this, when my death
comes, I shall not fall off into hell, but I shall be ushered
into the presence of light because of what Christ has done for me." Where then is boasting? He said,
Job, you were wrong to boast of yourself and not give glory
to God. You're a sinner saved by grace. This is how we should
confront every trial and every accusation of the enemy. Only
a sinner saved by grace. And I don't have time, but if
you go on in that chapter, you see that this man Elihu tells
us our experience that this is not just something that happened
once to a believer, but it happens over and over and over again. Why? Because God is drawing you
to Himself. God is causing you by your troubles
to rely more on Him. Is that not the result of your
troubles every time you have trouble? Hasn't God always brought
you to rely more on Him and less on yourself and this world? That's
my experience. That's my experience. This is
why God brings trouble. God knows that the trying of
your faith worketh patience. And patience experience. And experience confidence. You
want confidence? They come by trouble. Confidence
comes by troubles. But in your troubles confess
your sins. Trust in God and Christ. who is all our righteousness.
And God will give you grace through the trouble. He'll be your help
in the trouble. I pray that God bless this to
your hearts.