It is so good to be with you
again and so good to see you. I trust God will be pleased to
meet with us together these three services. Open your Bibles with
me to the book of Job. Job chapter 1. Job chapter 1. I believe God has given me a
message distinctly for you this hour. And I hope tomorrow night
and Sunday morning to preach to you again both services from
this book of Job. So I encourage you sometime tomorrow,
if you can get Paphir to do so, read these 42 chapters at one
sitting. It always helps to read a book
of the Bible all at one time. It helps you to understand it.
And I know that's a little more than most folks want to read
in one setting, but I would recommend that you read these 42 chapters
and go over them and ask that God will be pleased to teach
us as we look at some things in the book of Job. Job chapter
1, verse 8, the Lord God challenges Satan. And the Lord said unto
Satan, hast thou considered my servant Job? that there is none
like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that
feareth God and deskeweth evil. Now as we read the book of Job,
we should always read it with this in mind. Everything we read
about this man named Job, as it is recorded in the inspired
volume of Holy Scripture, is an inspired piece of history. The history of this man Job. The only man whose life history
is one whole book of the Bible is written to describe him for
us. God inspired this book here. to be for us a life history of
his servant Job. And the man's whole history as
it begins here. Job was already grown, married,
had wife, children, wealth and influence. He was a man of some
years. But the history begins with this
full-grown, mature man. And God challenges Satan. And
says, hast thou considered my servant Job? That's where the
whole history of Job, as it's given in this book, begins. Have you considered God's servant
Job? That's what I want us to do. The title of my message,
if you're taking notes, and always recommend folks take notes, is
Lessons from the Life of Job. lessons from the life of Job. This is a gripping story. It's
a fascinating drama. More than that, the book of Job
was an inspired narrative of the life and trials of a righteous
man in this world. That's the whole of the book.
It is an inspired narrative. of the life and trials of a truly
righteous man, one who walked with God all the days of his
life from the time that God called it until the time God called
him home. And his life was a life of righteousness
and a life of trial. That's the way life is in this
world. I recall years and years ago,
Brother Scott Richardson and I were preaching here together.
And Scott made this statement. He said, life in this world ain't
much. It begins with a slap on the
bottom, and it ends with a shovel full of dirt in your face, and
everything in between is bumps and bruises. That's a pretty
good description of life in this world. Job's life was a life
full of bumps and bruises. Bumps and bruises caused by ordained
by, ruled by, and blessed by His God and our God. The book
of Job begins a new section of scripture. When you read the
scriptures you need to bear this in mind. What we have in the
volume of scripture as it is organized for us providentially
is not the order of sequence in which things were written.
But it is arranged as it is by divine providence in certain
sections and some things are in the latter part of the book
that actually should historically be in the front part of the book.
Job is probably the oldest of the inspired writings. Job was
probably written before Genesis. Job lived probably during the
age of Abraham. So what we're reading here is
something about a man who lived well over 3,000 years ago. And it's full of instruction.
The first five books of the Bible, commonly called the Pentateuch
or the Law, the five books of Moses, go from Genesis through
Deuteronomy. And then Joshua through Esther,
forms what's commonly referred to as the historic books. In
those books we are given the events of history, that is living
parables designed and worked out by God in his good providence
that explain and illustrate for us what's going on in our own
lives. When you read Joshua through
Esther, those historic parables, They're parables. That means
they're stories. They're true stories. But they're
true stories about the earthly lives of different people that
picture for us our own experiences of God's grace in this world.
And then the poetic books are Job through the Song of Solomon
and the Little Book of Lamentations between Jeremiah and Ezekiel. And the poetic books are always,
I have found anyway, And I go somewhere and I start to leave
a sick room or leave a family and read scripture, pick up one
of their Bibles. And for believers, the poetic
books are always the ones that are thickest. Job, Psalms, Proverbs,
Song of Solomon, Ecclesiastes. They're full of the experiences
of men. in their closets, worshiping
God. And those books are particularly
precious to God's people, I think, for this reason. They allow us
to go with men who worship God into their closets and hear them
say exactly what we feel and think, but we just can't find
words to express or we're afraid of being that honest before God. Go with David into his closet.
Lord, is your mercy cling gone forever? You ever felt that way? I have. I don't know that I've
ever said it, not to God or anybody else, with these lips, but many
times in my heart. We're allowed to go with God's
saints into their closets as they worship God and learn from
them about our own worship of God. Tennyson said the Book of
Job is the greatest poem of ancient or modern literature. Martin
Luther considered the Book of Job the most magnificent, sublime
portion of scripture found in the volume of Holy Scripture.
But the book of Job is also historic. It was everything here actually
happened. The events that transpired actually
transpired. So when you read these things,
sometimes you read things that you just think that that just
can't quite be exactly right. It's exactly right. It is a historic
narrative of Job's life. And it answers a question. A
question that plagues both the believer and the unbeliever.
The unbeliever asks the question from unbelief and with ignorance. The believer asks the question
with confusion and pain. Why do the righteous suffer? Why do men and women who are
loved of God, chosen of God, redeemed by the precious blood
of God's darling Son, called by God the Holy Spirit, sanctified,
justified by His grace. Why do these people, who are
the peculiar objects of God's favor, suffer in this world? What's the purpose? What's the
purpose? Why do the righteous suffer?
Well, you read the book of Job and you see quickly that Job
suffered by the assaults of Satan. He suffered by the accusations
and misunderstanding of miserable friends. He suffered from the
words of his own wife and he suffered from the affairs of
his life arranged by divine providence. But if you ask Job, Why are you
suffering these things? Why did you lose so much all
in one day? Why is all this misery and woe
come upon you? Job always traced the source
and calls to the God he worshipped and trusted. Look at chapter
19 verse 21. Everywhere we turn in these 42
chapters when Job speaks of the reason for his adversity He always
declares that he suffered what he suffered because God did it
chapter 19 verse 21 Have pity upon me Have pity upon me. Oh ye my friends for the hand
of God Has touched me look at chapter 23 Verse 10 He speaks in plain, unmistakable
words. The Lord God, he knoweth the
way that I take. When he hath tried me, I shall
come forth as gold. Now, though the Word of God is
neither a book of science or history, whenever the Word of
God speaks of scientific or historic matters, it is always precise,
magnificently precise. We have before us in the book
of Job that which is probably, as I said, the very first book
written by divine inspiration. And yet no other book in all
the Bible has as much to say about scientific matters as Job
does. Look at chapter 20, 26 rather,
verse 7. Job 26, verse 7. He stretches forth the north
over the empty place. Now watch this, and hangeth the
earth upon nothing. He hangs the earth at yonder
on nothing. Here we are hanging in the midst
of this universe on nothing. What could possibly more accurately
describe the stability and the position of this planet on which
we live in space? Job's contemporaries remember
were heathens. They were barbarians like those
down in the earth, where Abraham came from, idolaters. And we
all like to trace our family tree. It's a big business these
days. I just wrote Bobby last week and asked if One of our
governors named Buckner might be kin to the family. But I don't
trace my family tree. Every time I start to bump into
it, Adam falls out. But it's a big business. We like
to think about it. Our ancestors, oh man, the nobility of our ancestors. Our ancestors as Gentiles were
all barbarian idolaters. They were barbarian idolaters.
Most folks in Job's day presumed the earth was flat. And they
did so for almost 3,000 years. Presumed the earth was flat.
And they presumed it was carried on the broad shoulders of one
of their gods, or on the shoulders of a huge elephant, or on the
back of a huge turtle. Those are just things people
thought in their brilliance. Job said, God hung it on nothing. And here we are. And explains
the position and stability of this planet better than you'll
read in any science book. Look at chapter 38. Chapter 38.
We'll be skipping around a little bit in Job. Look at verse 7. When the morning stars sang together,
and the sons of God shouted for joy. What's that talking about? Stars singing? Stars singing? Job tells us something
here that the all wise scientist never dreamed up for thousands
of years. He tells us that light gives
off sounds that no human ear can hear. When the light shines,
the morning star sings praise to God who gave light. Look at
chapter 38 verse 24. By what way is the light parted,
which scattereth the east wind upon the earth? Now remember,
Job didn't have a telescope. But he speaks like a man familiar
with spectrum analysis. He wrote this 3,000 years ago. Look at verse 31. Canst thou
bind the sweet influences of Pleiades? Are loose the bands
of Orion? How did he know about Pleiades
and Orion? He didn't have a telescope. He
wrote this 3,000 years ago. And he tells us plainly, contrary
to our modern environmentalist brilliant folks, who think that
somehow or another, man can turn the cold bitterness of winter
into the warmth and sun of springtime. Or he can turn the warmth of
the summer into the cold bitterness of winter. That's not man's domain. I don't care if you drive diesel
engine trucks with no mufflers on them the rest of your life
and everybody backs up on the freeway from here to Los Angeles
and keeps the motor running 24 hours a day. You're not going
to control the environment. That's God's domain. God's domain
alone. What we have in our hands here. I've said all that for this reason.
Every time you pick this book up Remember you have in your
hand the word of God Not a word from God the word
of God Nothing else can explain the existence of this book Except
holy men of old spoke as they were moved, carried along by
God the Holy Ghost who inspired every word of Holy Scripture. The existence of this book cannot
be explained on any other basis. So when you hold the book of
God in your hand, don't ever approach it with the idea of
trying to prove what's written in this book by carnal reason
or even by science by logic or even by history Lester if we
believe God we bow to the book and when you believe what God
says you understand what he says and until you believe what he
says you will not understand what he says We understand that
the worlds were framed by the word of God. How do we understand
that? Because we believe God. We believe God. Now, you have
an option. You sure do. You can believe. You can believe that somewhere
millions, maybe billions of years ago, something just started happening. This thing started moving. And
then there was an explosion! And things started to wiggle
in water. But then it kept wiggling to
become fish. But then started, waters began to dry up and started
flopping from pond to pond until it developed legs and started
walking. You say, Butch, nobody believes that. Read what science
says. I'm telling you exactly what
brilliant, intellectual, sharp, highly educated men of renown
say concerning creation. That is one giant leap of folly. No, God created this thing and
God rules this thing exactly according to purpose. The heavens
declare the glory of God. The firmament showeth his handiwork. Day unto day shall utter speech,
and night unto night shall acknowledge. There is no speech nor language
where God's testimony in the heavens are not heard. But it's
not my purpose here tonight to demonstrate the veracity of scripture.
I want to talk to you about things in your day-by-day life in the
knowledge of our Redeemer. In Job chapter 1 and chapter
2, we are allowed to go behind the scenes to see what was happening
and why. Remember, when you read these
chapters, Job didn't have this luxury. He didn't have the luxury
of looking back and say, oh, now, now I understand. Long consideration,
weighing all this thing now in the light of all the scriptures,
after 3,000 years, now I understand what was going on. Job didn't
have that luxury. We're looking back at what's
recorded in the book by the Spirit of God to teach us what was going
on behind the scenes. here we're told and told by God
himself that Job was a righteous man a Believer a sinner saved
by God's free grace. Look at verse 1 There was a man
in the land of Uz Whose name was Job and that man was perfect
and upright One that feared God and eschewed evil Verse eight,
and the Lord said unto Satan, hast thou considered my servant
Job? There is none like him in the earth, a perfect man, and
an upright man, one that feareth God and askeweth evil. Over the years, there's been
lots of debate. Folks have the idea that Job was a lost man
until you get to chapter 42, and then from there on, dealing
with a believer. God begins the book, telling
us Job is a perfect man. He's an upright man. He's a man
who fears God and excuses evil. But preacher, how on earth can
you explain the things Job said? I started in trouble. You ever
heard the things I've said? I started in trouble. How could a believer
think like that? Don't you pay attention to how
you think? Job was a believer, a saved man. A man saved by God's
free grace is a man who has two diametrically opposite natures
called flesh and spirit. The old man and the new. And
the old man never gets any better. And he's always at war with the
spirit, the new man, Christ in you, the hope of glory. But God
begins the book by telling us twice, Job is a perfect man. An upright man, one who fears
God and he says no to evil. He eschews evil. Now Job was
not a perfect man by nature any more than you admit. Job was
a sinner born of Adam just like you admit. He was a man made
perfect by the work of God's free grace in Jesus Christ the
Lord. Made perfect in free justification. being accepted in the beloved
who is the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world.
He said, but brother Don, those things hadn't happened yet. Have
you never read the book? Well, they had happened. Well,
they hadn't really happened. That was just in God's purpose.
Do what? God's purpose is the accomplishment. What we see in
time is just the outworking of God's purpose made manifest.
Jesus Christ stood as the Lamb of God before the world was slain
by God, accepted by God, and we were accepted in the beloved
because we were made the righteousness of God through the sacrifice
of His darling Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And Job was sanctified. That means he was regenerated.
He was born again. He was given a new nature. So
is Job's character described. that the Lord God ranks him side
by side with Noah and Daniel. He speaks of the righteousness
of Noah, Daniel, and Job. These righteous men who served
God. Look at verse 3. Job was a man
greatly blessed of God. Blessed with grace. And we're
told in verse three, he's a man to whom God had given greater
wealth and greater honor than that possessed by any man in
the East. In verse five, this man, Job,
this mighty, wealthy, powerful man made intercession for his
sons and daughters. He prayed for and offered sacrifices
for his sons and daughters. Now, learn this. The Lord God
is absolutely the sovereign monarch of the universe ruling all things
and all events exactly as he will all the time, even Satan. I don't know how to explain or
what to make of everything written here. But I do know that this
passage of scripture is an assertion of God's sovereignty. The sons
of God, talking about God's angels, came to give a report to him.
You remember what angels are? They're ministering spirits,
Hebrews 1.14. Sent forth to minister to those who shall be the heirs
of salvation. Somebody asked me, do you believe
in guardian angels? Bunch of them, bunch of them. They sit on my shoulder all the
time. And they always have. Ministering
to those who shall be the heirs of God's salvation. preserving
and keeping and watching over and directing the affairs of
the lives of men and women chosen of God from eternity until the
appointed time of love when they're called by his grace. It was God
who took the initiative when the sons of God came up and Satan
comes to give a report with the angels. I like that picture.
I like that picture. All the angels of God coming
to report. This is what we've been doing.
And the Lord says, Satan, what you been doing? He's, I've been
going to and fro in the earth. And the Lord says to him, have
you considered my servant Job? It was God who gave Satan permission
to do what he did with Job. And God who told Satan exactly
what he could do and exactly what he couldn't do. Learn this, my brothers and my
sisters. Satan is not God's rival. He's God's devil. He's ruled by God. He doesn't wiggle, but by God's
permission. Now, look at Job's trials. Beginning
in chapter 1, verse 13. Through the rest of these first
two chapters, it's impossible for us to put ourselves in Job's
place. It's impossible for any of us
to form any right idea of what Job must have felt. I've known
some folks who suffer some difficulties. I have some friends, I have some
friends, whose lives are wracked with pain emotionally and physically,
in their home, in their bodies, incessantly. Folks who are God's
people. Believing men and women. But
I've never met anybody in my life who experienced the things
Job did. So next time you get to feeling
sorry for yourself, and next time I start to complain and
feel sorry for myself, you remind me to do this. Go back and read
Job chapters 1 and 2. Let's just read it. Beginning
at verse 13 of chapter 1. There was a day when Job's sons
and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest
brother's house. They were having a party. And
there came a messenger unto Job and said, the oxen were plowing,
and the asses feeding beside them, and the Sabaeans fell upon
them and took them away. Yea, they have slain the servants
with the edge of the sword, and I only am escaped to tell thee.
And while he was yet speaking, I mean, he hadn't even got out
of the room. There came also another and said, the fire of
God is fallen from heaven and hath burned up the sheep and
the servants and consumed them and I only am escaped to tell
thee. And while he was yet speaking,
he hadn't got out of the room yet. There came also another
and said, all of now give a report to Job. The Chaldeans made out
three bands and fell upon the camels and have carried them
away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword. And
I only am escaped alone to tell thee. While he was yet speaking,
there came also another and said, thy sons and thy daughters. Uh-oh. Now he's getting home. They were
eating and drinking wine in their elder brother's house. And behold,
there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smoked the
four corners of the house, and fell upon the young men, and
they are dead. And I only am escaped alone to
tell thee." Oh, how do you respond to that? Oh, God, teach me to
respond like Job. Then Job arose, and rent his
mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground,
and worshiped. and said, naked came I out of
my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither. The Lord gave,
and the Lord hath taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
In all this, Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly. Chapter 2. Again, there was a
day when the sons of God came to present themselves before
the Lord. And Satan came also among them to present himself
before the Lord. And the Lord said to Satan, from
whence comest thou? And Satan answered the Lord and
said, from going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up
and down in it. And the Lord said to Satan, hast
thou considered my servant Job? You remember what I asked you
last time you gave a report? Remember what's been done to
him? Have you considered my servant Job? And Satan said, the Lord
said, there's none like him in the earth. A perfect and upright
man, one that fears God and eschews evil. And still he holdeth fast
his integrity, although thou movest me to destroy him without
cause. Verse four, and Satan answered
the Lord and said, skin for skin. Yea, all that a man hath will
he give for his life, but put forth thine hand now and touch
his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.
Let me get my hands on his body. Let me destroy his health. Let
me work on his mind. God, he'll curse you. And the
Lord said to Satan, behold, he's in your hand, but save his life. So went Satan forth from the
presence of the Lord and smoked Job with sore boils from the
sole of his foot, even unto his crown. And he took him a puncher
to scrape himself withal. and he sat down among the ashes.
Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine
integrity? Cuss God and die. That'd just be the most unbearable
yoke of all. That'd be the hardest thing of the whole bunch. His
wife, his companion. That woman who bore those children,
that woman he'd been with all those years, that woman with
whom he worshiped God. She said, Job, it's enough. Cuss God and die. Get out of
here. Just get out of this misery.
But he said unto her, thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh.
What? Shall we receive good at the
hand of God and shall we not receive evil? In all this did
not Job sin with his lips. Then beginning at verse 11 in
chapter 2 and going through chapter 31 we see Job's conflict with
his friends Wonderful friends they were We we've all had friends
like these three fellows look at verse 11 When Job's three
friends heard of all the evil that was come upon him They came
everyone from his own place, Eliphaz, the Timonite, Bildad,
the Shuhite, Zophar, the Nehemiahite, for they had made an appointment
together to come and mourn with him and to comfort him. And when
they lifted up their eyes afar off and knew him not, they lifted
up their voice and wept, and they rent everyone his mantle
and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven. So they
sat down with him upon the ground, seven days and seven nights,
and none spake a word to him. That's astonishing. Here sits
Job. His wife said, won't you cuss
God and die. He's lost his health. He's lost
everything he owned. He's lost every child, sons and
daughters. There he sits alone, boils, covering
his body, sitting there scraping himself. And his three friends, when they
looked at him, were so shocked, they sat down beside him for
seven days and didn't say a word. Now that's not stretching it,
that's just what we read in the book of God. They didn't say
a word. For they saw that his grief was
very great. Satan's work was nothing compared
to these three self-righteous reformed legalist Job's name
means persecuted and they made sure he lived up to his name
It was not their doctrine that was wrong. In fact, you will
see Hardly anything if anything in their doctrine that was wrong
the whole of their era was their attitude Eliphaz means my God
is fine gold He was the first one to speak. In chapter 4, verses
12 through 16, he had a vision. And because he had a vision,
he assumed that he, by that vision, had an authority to send in judgment
over God's servant. Then Bildad, his name means confusing
love. He well named. He thought himself
a scholarly intellectual and he backed up his words with the
authority of a long list of forefathers who just simply could not be
mistaken. You can see it in chapter eight, verse eight. And then
Zophar, his name was Sparrow, little bird. He was described
by someone as one of those irksome people we all hope never to meet
again. Fresh out of seminary, who knows
everything about everything. He's a young fella and he had
the world by the tail on a downhill pull and there's nothing he didn't
know. Job described those friends considerably better than I would
have. He called them miserable comforters. They were fully convinced
that Job was a hypocrite. Job, old boy, you're hiding something. Hey, we're going to get it from
you. You're hiding something. They were convinced that Job,
because of some secret evil that was in him, had brought on himself
horrible judgment from God, as if to suggest that God punishes
his people for sin. Hear me, children of God. God
doesn't punish us for our sins. He chastens us. There's a huge
difference. There's a huge difference. I
raised just one child, and when folks start asking me about advice
about raising children, I tell them I don't qualify. I just
had one child, and he was a girl. So I can't qualify for telling
you how to raise children. But I'll tell you what I did
with that one little girl. I often caused her considerable pain
on her backside. I intended to make her hurt. I intended to make her cry. But
I was never angry when I did it. Not once. Her mother will
bear me witness. Not once. Not once. Well, why
did you do it? Oh, if you could just see her
now, you'd see why. Because I wanted her to be just
the lady and mother and wife she is. And God in his providence
has blessed me with that desire. But not to punish her. No, no, no. God punished our sins, Lester,
in his son. He punished our sins in his son.
He's not gonna punish them in us. Oh no, never, never, never,
never, never. He chastens us all. What God
did for Job, he didn't do to Job, he did for Job. Will you hear me? Pete, I suppose,
forgive me, you and Bessie are the two oldest ones here, I presume
tonight. You don't have to answer, that'd be all right. But y'all
been around long enough to have experienced a lot of heartache
and a lot of pain. That's just part of life. But
God didn't do it to you, he did it for you. for your good, for his glory,
for the benefit of his people by you in all that you experience. Let us be careful when we look
at people suffering adversity, God's people suffering adversity. You think you've got quick, easy
solutions to complex, trying problems? Speak little and listen
quietly. and just help. Speak little,
listen quietly, and just help. I like the story, the little
boy's neighbor had lost his wife and his son. The old man's living
alone. He often would just cry. He missed
him so much. And the little boy had been over
visiting with him a little bit. And he came home, and his mama
asked him, said, John, where you been? He said, I've been
over next door. She said, what you been doing?
He said, nothing. She said, just help. Just helping
Mr. Smith. She said, what you been
doing? I said, I've been helping him
cry. That's good enough. That's good enough. Speak little,
listen quietly, and do what you can to help. Elihu, his name
means he is my God. He comes on the scene in chapter
32. And you hear Elihu speaking with Job through chapter 37.
Elihu was a young man. but this young man had a message
from God and you read Elihu's words in those chapters 32 through
37 and you hear the words of a young man who rebuked Job's
friends for their self-righteousness, their harshness, their mean-spiritedness
and he rebuked Job. He rebuked Job for justifying
himself before such men. Now, that's exactly what's happening
in between chapters. When Job speaks to Eli, or speaks
to Bildad and Zophar, he speaks to those fellas and they make
an accusation, it's not so, and he'd defend himself. He'd defend
himself. He'd maintain his righteousness and declare, no, I'm right. I
didn't, I ain't right. I ain't right. I just had a friend
this past week, a very dear friend, He was just hankering to prove
himself right. And he asked me about it. I said,
I wouldn't do it. But I'm right. I said, well, you made me. What's
going to benefit you to prove it? How's it going to be of any
help to you or anybody else? All it's going to do is cause
difficulty. Just leave it alone. Well, I want to know I'm right.
Isn't it enough for you to know you are? You have to defend yourself. One of our ladies asked me, told
me two or three years ago, She said, do you ever read the stuff
folks write about you on the internet? And I just smiled at
her. I don't pay much attention to
it. I don't read much. Other folks tell me about it. Well,
don't you think you ought to defend yourself? No. No. When I do, I'm showing weakness,
not strength. When I do, I'm behaving in the
flesh and ungodly, not in the spirit and faithfully. I'm God's
servant. God can protect my name if he
wants to. And if he doesn't, that's alright,
I'm his servant. God can defend my reputation if he wants to.
And if he doesn't, that's alright, I'm his servant. I'm not in the
business of defending myself. I'm in the business of promoting
God's glory. God teach us to do that. God
teach us to do that. Elihu spoke great words of instruction
to Job and to us about God's salvation and God's chastisement
and the way God exercises his grace delivering chosen sinners
from going down to the pit. Let's begin reading chapter 33
verse 13. I'll wrap this up quickly. Why dost thou strive against
him? For he giveth not account of any of his matters. For God
speaketh once, yea, twice, yet man perceiveth it not. In a dream,
in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men and
slumberings upon the bed, then he openeth the ears of men and
sealeth their instruction that he may withdraw man from his
purpose and hide pride from man. Tell me, my brother, my sister, Go back and read your own biography. How many times do you have reason
known to you for which to give thanks to God that he turned
you from your purpose? I'm going to! And Louis, if God
had let you, you would. You'd be in jail. He turned you
from your purpose. Thank God for ruling and overruling
everything, or he don't. He does this and seals up the
instruction, turns man from his purpose, verse 18. He keepeth
back his soul from the pit and his life from perishing by the
sword. He's chastened also with pain upon his bed, and the multitude
of his bones with strong pain, so that his life abhorreth bread,
and his soul dainty food. His flesh is consumed away, that
it cannot be seen, and his bones that were not seen stick out. Man gets old, and his muscles
wither, and there's nothing but skin hanging on his bones. Yea,
his soul draweth near to the grave and his life to destroyers,
if there be a messenger with him, an interpreter, one among
a thousand, to show unto man his uprightness. Not man's uprightness,
God's uprightness. If God just, oh, here you are
in your old age, you're decrepit, you can't eat, you can't keep
any food down, and the muscles all turned, just withered flesh
hanging on your bones, and you're weak as a wet pup, and your teeth
are falling out, and you take a fall and break a bone, but
if God sends a messenger and shows you his uprightness, oh,
then he's gracious to him. Read on. He's gracious to him,
and he saith, deliver him from going down to the pit, for I
found a ransom. His flesh shall be fresher than
a child, He shall return to the days of his youth, an old man
born again by God's Spirit, filled with life. He shall pray unto
God, and he will be favorable unto him, and he shall see his
face with joy, and he will render unto man his righteousness. He gives that man his righteousness. He looketh upon me, and if any
say, I have sinned and perverted that which was right, and it
profited me not. He will deliver his soul from
going down to the pit, and his life shall see light. Lo, all
these things worketh God, oftentimes with man, to bring back his soul
from the pit, to be enlightened with the light of the living.
If you want a commentary on that chapter, read the 107th Psalm.
God delivers his own. both in saving grace and in his
continual grace from trouble after trouble. Then in chapter
38, the Lord God confronts his servant Job. God spoke to Job
out of the whirlwind. Just imagine. Y'all seen these
tornadoes been sweeping through southern Alabama the last few
years? Have any of you ever actually seen the wind? The mess it stirs
up? those funnel clouds forming.
Have you ever seen one? Can you imagine sitting where
Job is and all of a sudden you see a whirlwind stir up and you
hear God speak. God spoke to him out of the whirlwind
and when God spoke to him out of the whirlwind he spoke with
irresistible convincing power of his spirit and the Lord affectionately
applies to Job what his messenger Elihu had declared. You see,
faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. The Lord
graciously showed Job his greatness, his glory, his solitary majesty
as God, and his marvelous grace. And when he did, Job repented.
Look at chapter 40, verse three. Then Job answered the Lord and
said, behold, I am thine. And I talked to Larry about how
good I am, and I talked to Terry about how good I am, and I talked
to Pat, and I talked to Bobby, and I talked to Sandy, and I
talked to everybody, but I'm talking to God now! But no pretending
here. Behold, I am vile. Everything about me. This is
what it is to confess your sin. Confession your sin, not going
to a confessional booth and telling some priest that you did something
you weren't supposed to do. Confession your sin, not walking
down in front of a Baptist church and telling A preacher or a congregation,
you've done something you ought not do. Confessing your sin will
allow you to ripen your heart open before God and acknowledge
what you are. And if a man confesses his sin,
what does the book say? If a man confesses his sin, God's
faithful and just to forgive his sin and to cleanse him from
all unrighteousness. Your pastor and I were trying
to remember a verse of the hymn by Joseph Hart last night at dinner.
What comfort can a Savior bring to those who never knew their
woe? A sinner is a sacred thing. The Holy Ghost has made him so.
Find me a sinner. I'll show you a man loved, chosen,
redeemed, and called by God. Find me a man who before God
acknowledges that he's vile. He said, I'm vile, what shall
I answer thee? I will lay my hand upon my mouth. Once have
I spoken, but I will not answer ye. Twice, but I will proceed
no further. Chapter 42. Then Job answered the Lord and
said, I know that thou canst do everything, that no thought
can be withholding from thee. Who is he that hideth counsel
without knowledge? Therefore have I uttered, That
I understood not. Things too wonderful for me,
which I knew not. Here I beseech thee, and I will
speak. I will demand of thee, and declare
thou to me. I have heard of thee by the hearing
of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor
myself. I repent in dust and ashes. Then you get down to chapter
42, verse 7. Job forgave. his three accusing prayers. Eliphaz,
Bildad, and Zophar. And he prayed for him, made intercession
for him. And in chapter 42, the Lord blessed Job. The Lord gave
Job seven sons and three daughters, the prettiest girls in the whole
country. And he gave him double of everything he had before. How did he get so rich? Well,
everybody saw him getting a piece of gold, or a piece of money,
or a cow, or a sheep, a little lamb, or you, a jackass. Now she asked, Job, need anything
else, buddy? Everybody saw it. Everybody saw
it. He didn't ask for anything. God
just opened the heavens, poured out his blessings, and Job was
made twice the man he was before. My name is Job. Vile. Vile. Vile. But God spoke to me out
of the whirlwind and showed me my Redeemer. And I know that
my Redeemer lives. And at the last day, He's going
to stand on this earth. I'm going to see Him with these
eyes. And I'm going to speak His praise with these lips. And
I'm going to do this for myself, not another. He's the day's man
that I must have because I can't justify myself. He's the one
who takes hold of God and takes hold of me and brings us together. My name's Job. I've been redeemed. I've been called by God. Let
me tell you something about me. I'm perfect. Christ is mine. He's made of
God unto me wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.
And I fear God. And I keep saying no to ungodliness
and worldly lust because I'm born of God. A perfect and upright
man who fears God and excuses evil. And God graciously stripped me of
everything. I mean, he stripped me of everything.
He put me in the dust and forced me to make my headquarters in
the dust for a good long while. And then he lifted me up by his
grace. And I'm so blessed of God. The riches of God are mine. I spent a good while looking
at that this morning, late last night and this morning. The riches
of God in Christ, the exceeding riches of His grace, the riches
of His glory, the riches of the glory of His inheritance, all
the bounty of the eternal God is mine in Christ Jesus the Lord. Would you like to have it? Would
you like to have it? on the Son of God. Believe on
the Son of God and all the riches of God's grace and God's glory
are yours in His Son. Oh God help you to believe Him.
Amen.