It is so good to be with you.
It's just a real delight. I trust that God will be pleased
to meet with us. Turn with me, if you will, to
the oldest book of the Bible, the book of Job. The book of Job. Last night, Brother Tony and
I were chatting a little bit. He came out. Shelby and I had
dinner late, and he came out and had some coffee with us.
You've got to ask me about the book of Job. And so I went back
to the room with a book of Job on my mind, and I've been studying
that book today and last night, and I believe I have a message
for you. We don't really know who wrote this book. It might
have been Moses, but probably Job himself wrote the book. It
describes the experiences, the life experiences of a man who
walked with God and worshiped God in a day when very few people
did. a day when most people on the
earth didn't have a clue who God is. Some suggest Job lived
in the days of Abraham. Others suggest he lived in the
days of Enoch, perhaps the days of Noah. That really doesn't
matter. But whatever the time, Job worshipped
God and worshipped God in spirit and in truth, trusting Jesus
Christ, his Redeemer, just as you and I do. Some have suggested
that Job was not a saved man when you open the book and wasn't
converted until you get to the end of the book, but that certainly
isn't the case. The Lord God spoke of Job and
declared plainly that he was a just man, a perfect man, one
who feared God and discussed evil. Now, I stress this because
it is impossible to understand the book of Job unless you know
who Job is. Job was a man who worshipped
God. This man Job was one who is sometimes
misunderstood by folks who read what he said in justifying himself
before men. But when he justified himself
before men, you have to understand to whom he was speaking and why. Now, when Job spoke of himself
to God, he said, if I justify myself, my own mouth will condemn
me. He said, my own words are perverse. I dare not justify
myself before God. But when men falsely accused
him, accused him of lying about God, accused him of lying about
his relationship with God, accused him of treachery and deceit,
Job said, I'm righteous. I'm not guilty of what you suggested.
I am not the man you're declaring I am. These men, these three
miserable comforters, these physicians of no value, who came to speak
to Job, sat in judgment over Job and condemned him as a guilty
man, unjust and unrighteous, who had been a hypocrite all
his days. Though God himself declares that Job is righteous. Now let's look at the scriptures.
Turn to chapter one of the book of Job. This man, Job, was a faithful,
faithful servant of God. Verse 8, chapter 1. The Lord
said to Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is
none like him in the earth, a perfect man and an upright man, one that
feareth God and askeweth evil. Wow. I reckon if God said that
about Job, Job was a perfect man, one who feared God and eschewed
evil. Not perfect in his behavior,
no. Not perfect in himself, no. Perfect
in his Redeemer. Perfect in the perfection of
Christ perfect in his representative and substitute perfect in his
head This man Job feared God and despised evil. He was a man
whose faith Was tried like you and I cannot imagine we think
of our trials and we have By comparison hangnails that bother
us a lot Job had some trials God took away all his children
in one sweep. Took them all away. God took
away his health. Finally, his wife looked at him
and said, why don't you just cuss God and die? No point in
going on. He lost his reputation and his
influence. This man who had been of tremendous
influence, this man who sat in the gates and folks came and
sought counsel from him, now Job is one who is looked at by
all men as the offscouring of the earth and no man regarded
him. And then he was accused, falsely
accused of evil by men who claimed to be his friends. At times,
Job showed signs of weakness. frustration and belief. But don't be too hard on Job,
you do too. And I do too. Job, however, even
in his lowest times, when his faith was weakest, when he was
most heavy-hearted, when he was most gloomy, when he had reason
most to be in despair. In his lowest times, he worshipped
God, maintained his integrity, and believed God. He said, naked
came I out of my mother's womb, naked shall I return thither.
The Lord gave, the Lord hath taken away, blessed be the name
of the Lord. And then we read in chapter 1
verse 22, in all this, Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly. God make me a man with such grace. In chapter 13, verse 15, he said,
though he slay me, yet will I trust him. But I will maintain my own
ways before him. Chapter 19, listen to this. Sometimes
people get the idea that these Old Testament saints kind of
were ignorant about the things we know so much about. This man
Job, I remind you now, this man who lived at least as early as
Abraham, probably much earlier than Abraham. This man who is
here writing to us in the oldest book of inspiration. Listen to
what he says about Christ, our Redeemer. Job 19 verse 25. I know that my Redeemer liveth. Know that he shall stand at the
latter day upon the earth and Though after my skin worms destroy
this body yet in my flesh. Shall I see God? When he stands
at the latter day on the earth He's gonna raise me from the
dead and I'm gonna stand before him in this body of flesh and
see God looking on my Redeemer verse 27 whom shall I shall see
for myself and mine eyes shall behold and not another, though
my reins be consumed within me." And in the midst of his heavy,
heavy trials, Job acknowledged God's sovereignty and bowed to
God's will, acknowledging God's dominion over everything, acquiescing
in the doings of his God. And in the end, God honored Job. Oh, how he honored Job. He made
even Job's enemies to know and acknowledge that the Lord God
accepted him. And Job was blessed of God, having
twice as much as he had had before. He was given honor such as he
had never had before. And God set him up high on the
earth as he had never set him before. This man, Job, who worshiped
him. Now, having said all that, turn
with me to chapter 14 and hold your hands right here in chapter
14. Hold your Bibles open at Job
14. Job was answering Zophar. Zophar, who had accused him of
lying against God. He said in chapter 11, he said,
Job, you've lied against God. You've lied about your relationship
to God. You've deceived us. You've not told the truth. And
in chapter 14, Job raises six huge questions, questions that
demand an answer, questions that every thoughtful human being
must seek an answer to. And the answer to these six questions If God can cause you to know
the answers by experience, you will walk through this earth
with joy in your soul and peace and confidence such as Job had
in the midst of his heaviest trials. If we are wise, we will
give thoughtful consideration to these six big, serious questions
about the most serious matters there are. Life, death, and eternity. Here's the first one. Chapter
14, verse 1. Man that is born of woman is
a few days and full of trouble. He cometh forth like a flower
and is cut down. He fleeth also as a shadow and
continueth not. And dost thou open thine eyes
upon such a one? Dost thou open thine eyes upon
such a one? Well, what's so big about that
question? This question arose from Job's consideration of his
own frailty, his brevity, the utter insignificance of his being,
the brevity, the frailty, the utter insignificance of humanity. You mean, Brother Don, you intend
for us to understand that we're insignificant? I can't tell you
how insignificant, how meaningless. I recall watching one of those
old westerns, and a young fellow got to thinking he was something
else. And his daddy said to him, said, son, stick your hand in
that bucket of water. And he stuck his hand in the
bucket of water. He said, take it out. He said, show me where it was.
He said, that's just about how important you are. That's just
about how significant you are. Man is utter vanity, insignificant,
meaningless. We all like to think we're somebody.
We like to think that our lives count, that some part of this
world depends on us. And in actual sense, of course,
certain things depend on us. They depend on us because God
has so ordered it. Even in spiritual matters, it
can be said that certain things depend on us because God has
so ordered it. But once a man starts to look
beyond his nose and sees that the first cause of all things
is God, not you. The first cause of all things
is God, not me. Then man looks upon himself,
seeing that all things are of God, and asks in utter astonishment,
dost thou look upon such a one as me? Man that is born of woman
is of few days. The longer I live, the more thankful
I am that that's true. Wouldn't you hate to live in
this world in its present condition for 969 years like Methuselah
did? I'm thankful that the days of
our years in this day are three score years and 10 as a general
rule. I'm thankful that life in this
world generally is but a brief existence. Yet we ought to learn
to recognize, even in this brevity of our lives, to apply our hearts
to wisdom. We're reminded over and over
again how brief we are. These days pass as a weaver's
shuttle. They pass like ships in the night. Apply your heart then to wisdom,
not to learning. To wisdom. Not to education. To wisdom. not to developing
skills to wisdom. Apply your heart to Christ. Set your heart on the son of
God. Nothing else really matters.
Set your affection on things above where Christ said it on
the right hand of God, not on things on the earth. The few
days we have upon this earth because we are sinners are full
of trouble. The word trouble here is one
of those many words used in the scriptures that has various shades
of meaning. It might be translated trouble
because sin and trouble always go hand in hand. Where sin is,
trouble is sure to follow. The word might be translated
commotion because the lives of men in this world at best are
like the troubled waves of the sea in constant turmoil, in constant
commotion, in constant stir. Everything is always a little
uneasy here. Everything in this world is always
in an uproar just as soon as you think things are now the
way they ought to be and everything going exactly like it ought to
be then Everything collapses around you and you're in a commotion
again The word might be translated trembling The reason for man's
restlessness To a very great extent is the trembling of his
soul Man lives Trembling every day. Trembling at the prospect of
death. Trembling at the prospect of
meeting God in judgment. Trembling at the prospect of
eternity. You might be sitting where you
are and you think, well, Brother Don, you just don't know me.
I'm not trembling. You don't know yourself. I know
what this book says about man. There is in every man by nature
a fearful conscience that holds the truth of God down in unrighteousness,
suppresses the truth of God, but your conscience keeps you
trembling all the time at the prospect of meeting God. A man
whose life is troubled whose life is but a momentary existence
in this world of woe, is as insignificant as the withered flowers after
the first winter freeze. Look at verse two. He cometh
forth like a flower and is cut down. He fleeth also as a shadow
and continueth not. In the light of these things,
Job was simply overwhelmed. Do you, the God of glory, look
on such an insignificant thing as I am? What is man that thou
art mindful of him? Are the son of man that thou
visitest him? Dost thou look upon such a one
as I am? Indeed he does, and looks upon
us in favor. God Almighty opens his eyes upon
such sinful wretches as we are in electing love from old eternity. He opened his eyes upon us and
visited us in his redeeming grace. He opens his eyes upon us and
opens his hand in daily providential goodness, in the saving operations
of his mercy, and in the exercise of his preserving power. He continually
looks upon us. Here's the second question. Verse
3, and bringest thou me into judgment with thee? What a horrible realization this
is for every human being to come to. Sooner or later, you and
I must face up to the fact of divine justice divine judgment Now I know People try their best
to put this out of mind People try their best to convince themselves. There's no judgment. No eternity
when a man dies. He dies like a dog That's all
there is to it Let me know when you get it put out of your mind
Let me know Let me know when you really think about dying
and you really think about meeting God and you really think about
eternity. Let me know when you can do so
with ease and no Savior. Let me know. No, no. There is in every man a horrid
fear of the reality he cannot deny. Soon you and I must meet
God in judgment. The Word of God declares it.
History illustrates it. I know it's not popular these
days to tell the truth about God, about anything. People ask all the time, they
want to ridicule folks who believe God. When we have hurricanes
such as we have this season of the year in various parts of
the country, tornadoes in our part of the world, earthquakes
in other parts of the world, and you say, well, you don't
think that's God's judgment, do you? No, I don't think it,
I know it. It's just the foretaste of judgment. sickness and death are but the
foretaste of judgment. These things come to pass because
God continually warns us and warns us irrefutably that judgment
is sure. And your conscience bears witness
to these things. But more than anything else,
Calvary declares it. When God found sin on his son, He withheld not the fury of his
anger and wrath and justice, but rather poured out all the
horrid wrath of his infinite justice upon his own darling
son when he was made sin for us until at last justice was
satisfied. And God says to Jacob, fury is
not in me. But Calvary demonstrates clearly
we must meet God in judgment. But notice what Job says. He
doesn't ask, bringest thou me into judgment before thee. That's
horrible enough to consider. He says, bringest thou me into
judgment with thee. Now here are two facts. Oh, God
make you to hear them. God stamp them on your heart
with such indelible force that you cannot cease to hear these
two facts until you find refuge in Christ, the Redeemer. There
is a day appointed by God. When you and I shall be brought
into judgment before his August throw. We must all appear before
the judgment seat of Christ that everyone may receive the things
done in his body according to that he hath done whether it
be good or bad knowing therefore the terror of the Lord we persuade
men we urge you flee away to the Savior find refuge in Christ
the Redeemer hold your hands here in Job and turn to Revelation
20 Revelation chapter 20 Verse 11, I saw a great white throne, and
him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven
fled away, and there was found no place for them. And I saw
the dead, small and great, stand before God, and the books were
opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of
life. The dead were judged out of those
things which are written in the books according to their works
Now wait a minute brother Don we believe salvation by grace
and our works don't have anything to do with it You're exactly
right, but you're gonna be judged according to your works You're gonna be judged according
to your works Well, we believe Christians are going to be judged
according to their works after they're saved, and the unsaved
folks are going to be judged by their works altogether. That's
not what it says. You're going to be judged according
to your works. According to your works. Exactly according to strict
justice. According to that which is written
in the books. But God declares concerning His
own, In Jeremiah chapter 50 and verse 20, he says, their iniquity
shall be sought for and they shall not be found. and their
transgressions, and there shall be none. For I know whom I pardon. I know whom I forgive. Well,
how can God judge us according to our works? Our works are the
works of His darling Son. And just as Job stood perfect
before God, all who believe on God's Son stand perfect before
Him. And in judgment, God can find
no reason but to accept us in Christ the Savior with a perfect
smile of approbation. Come, ye blessed of my Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you before the foundation
of the world. Read on. They shall be judged
the books were opened and another book was open which is the book
of life and the dead were judged out of those things Which are
written in the books according to their works and the sea gave
up the dead Which were in it and death in hell delivered up
the dead which were in them and they were judged every man according
to their works and Death and hell were cast into the lake
of fire This is the second death John said just before that in
Revelation 20 verse 6, Blessed and holy is he that hath part
in the first resurrection. The first resurrection. That's
the new birth. That's regeneration. We've been
raised from the dead. Own such. What does it say here? The second death hath no power. Hell has no power. This is the
second death, and whosoever was not found written in the book
of life was cast into the lake of fire. All right, that's the
first thing. There's a day appointed when
we shall stand before God's august great white throne to be judged
of him. Here's the second thing. In that
great and terrible day, The standard of judgment will
be God himself. God himself. Never will forget my first trip
to Ashland, Kentucky. Well, my first trip to go there
and preach. I'd been there a time or two, visited Brother Mahan.
Brother Mahan asked me to come up and preach for him on Wednesday
night. And the first person that met me in the auditorium, was
Brother M. Adkins and his wife Ruth. They
were chartered members of the church. They were old folks then. And we chatted a little bit,
and they introduced themselves. And Ruth said to me, I was, what,
26 years old? She said, Brother Fortner, how
good does a man have to be to get to heaven? And I looked at
her, and I said, as good as God? And she beamed from ear to ear. How good? How good? Gary Perkins, you've got to be
as good as God. What does he say? It shall be
perfect to be accepted. Look in Revelation 21, if you're
still there. Revelation 21, verse 27. There shall in no wise enter
into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination,
or maketh a lie, but they which are written in the Lamb's book
of life." The standard of judgment in that
day is God himself. All right, back to Job 14. understanding both the brevity
of life and the certainty of divine judgment. Job asked this
next question, verse 4. Who can bring a clean thing out
of an unclean? Not one. Seeing his days are determined,
the number of his months are with thee, Thou hast appointed
his bounds that he cannot pass Turn from him that he may rest
Till he shall accomplish as an hireling his day Let me give
you the brevity just a brief statement concerning what Job
says in verses 5 and 6 Every human being Has an appointed
place on this earth and And God has set the bounds of your habitation,
both the place you shall live and the days you shall live. And at the appointed time, Brother
Dwight, you're leaving here, and me too. And no doctor's going
to make it any longer, and no risk is going to make it any
shorter. At the appointed time, we're leaving this world. For
some, that time is more brief and nearer than for others. But
at the appointed time, we shall leave here. God Almighty has
fixed these things from eternity. Prepare to meet God. But I want
you to look at this question. Who can bring a clean thing out
of an unclean? And then the answer is given,
not one. Literally, it would probably
be better translated as another question. Is there one? Who can
bring a clean thing out of an unclean? We've been considering
what man is. Vanity. More useless than a flower
after the first freeze that's cut down. Useless. Utterly useless. And unclean. Man drinking iniquity
like a thirsty man drinks water. Man who from the inside out is
corruption and pollution. Who can make him clean? Is there one? Bless God, there
is one. Just one. His name is Jesus Christ,
the Son of God. His name is Jehovah Sidkenu,
the Lord, our righteousness. And He makes us clean by three
mighty works of grace performed for us and in us. He has redeemed
us by the precious blood of His own life laid down as our substitute. When He died in our stead, He
paid all the debt we owed. But blood atonement will never
bring you to glory in and of itself. You've got to have something
else. You've got to be regenerated. You've got to be born again.
Man must have a new nature or he cannot enter into glory. You
can't enter in with flesh and blood. It won't happen. That
which is born of the flesh can never enter into heaven, can
never enter into the kingdom of God. You must be born of the
spirit. But this body is going to glory. You don't really believe that,
do you? I sure do. This body is going to glory. Christ didn't
just redeem my soul. He redeemed my body. This body
is going to glory. It requires still a third work
called resurrection glory. And I know that in the latter
day, my redeemer is going to stand on this earth and in my
flesh with these eyes, I'm going to see God. Because he redeemed
me. He made me clean. He gave me
a clean record with redemption. He gave me a clean nature with
regeneration. And he gives me a clean body
in resurrection glory. Who can bring a clean thing out
of an unclean? Is there one? Oh, yes. His name
is Jesus Christ, the Lord. Now, look at verse 7, Job 14.
Start reading verse 7. Here's Job's fourth big question. there is hope of a tree if it
be cut down that it will sprout again and that the tender branch
thereof will not cease though the root thereof wax old in the
earth and the stalk thereof die in the ground yet through the
scent of water will it bud and will bring forth boughs like
a plant but man dieth And wasteth away, yea, man giveth up the
ghost. And where is he? Where is he? As the waters fail from the sea,
and the flood decayeth and dryeth up, so man lieth down and riseth
not, riseth not till. Don't miss that word. Man lieth
down and riseth not till the heavens be no more. They shall
not awake nor be raised up out of their sleep. Oh, that thou
wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret
until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set
time and remember me. Man dieth and wasteth away. Yea, man giveth up the ghost. And where is it? If he dies without
Christ, he's in hell. That's where the rich man's found,
lifting up his eyes in Luke 16. If you die without Christ, while
your body rots in the ground, awaiting the resurrection, you
spend endless day and night of darkness in the torments of the
damned in hell. People want to argue about what
hell is. My God, I don't even want to
think about what hell is. And whatever your worst imagination
is, you haven't come close yet. If you die without Christ, hell
will be your portion forever. And in the resurrection, your
body and soul will be united and cast into hell forever to
suffer the wrath of God. But for the believer, things
are different. When the righteous die in faith,
though their bodies are in the grave awaiting the resurrection,
they're with Christ in heaven. We know that if our earthly house
of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God and
house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." Now, I don't
know everything I believe about that. I don't know everything
that passage says, but I'm convinced, contrary to many that I read
after and highly respect, I'm convinced that as soon as we
leave this earth, we are not floating around on clouds strumming
harps. I just, I can't imagine that.
That might be all right for you, but I'm not interested. I just
can't picture myself doing that. Paul is telling us that immediately,
as soon as this body is dissolved, we have, can I say, a temporary
body? A tabernacle not made with hands,
eternal in the heavens. This temporary body shall be
joined with this resurrection body in the last day. But we
are immediately with Christ in glory, just as He is in glory
now. Immediately with Him. Accepted
of Him. Blessed of Him. With no tears. and no sorrows of any kind. And these bodies will lie in
the earth and wait until all wrath is over and God will raise
us up again in resurrection glory. And when God takes the righteous
from the earth, no man lays it to heart. Merciful men are taken
away and none consider that the righteous is taken away from
the evil to come." When God takes the righteous, don't mourn and sorrow as those
who have no hope. Don't do that. Don't do that.
You say, well, Brother John, that's easy to talk about. No,
it's not. I've been there. I've been there. Folks that are
dear to me die who didn't know God, and folks dear to me die
who do. And God tells me that when the
believer dies, he doesn't die. That's what he said, isn't it? He that believeth on me shall
never die. shall never die. He uses the
term death just to accommodate our weakness, speaking merely
of this body. This body dies. The believer
is taken away from sorrow to come. Taken away from trouble
yet to come. Taken away from all that is yet
to follow until the end of time. Don't sorrow, envy the maybe,
but don't sorrow, as others who have no hope. No, no. I was telling Brother Anthony
last night or today, one, I forgot which it was we were chatting,
my mother and dad lived here in Bluntville, lived here for
the last, oh, 15, 20 years of their lives. We went down to
the funeral home, Bluntville, and the old man who was running
the funeral home, he was trying to sell my sisters on some stuff,
you know, and I got tired of listening to his yik-yak and
thought I'd go home a little early. And so I said to him,
I said, listen, man, I forgot his name, I called him Mr. Whatever-It-Was,
I said, mother's dead. And her body is going to rot. It doesn't matter what you do
to it, it's going to rot. It may not rot for 20 years,
but it's going to rot. And that's the way it ought to
be. So you're not selling me on this expensive vault. It ain't
going to happen. That doesn't matter. The body
goes to the earth and returns to the dust. But the believing
sinner goes to Christ in glory. And God wipes away all tears
from their eyes. Alright back here in Job, Job
chapter 14. Here's the fifth question. If a man die, verse 14, shall
he live again? All the days of my appointed
time will I wait till my change come. Thou shalt call and I will
answer thee. I think I know where that's written.
John chapter 5 in verse 29 verse 28 All there in the grave shall
hear the voice of the Son of God Thou shalt call and I'll
answer thee Thou wilt have a desire To the work of thine hands. Oh,
yes for man dies He'll live again Christ will come and call for
him because he has a desire to the work of his hands and Now,
I've been hurrying to get to this one. Give me just a couple
of minutes here. Here's the sixth question. The answer to it's
so delightful, I can't send you home without it. Does thou not
watch over my sin? Look at verse 16. For now thou
numberest my steps. Lord, you mark my every step. That's not given as a matter
of fear and terror, not for God's people. Our Lord spoke these
words of comfort to God's elect. He said, the very hairs of your
head are all numbered. This is not spoken to be a threat
or a terror. This is spoken for your comfort.
Now, Lord, you number my steps. They've all been numbered and
ordained of you before the world began. Dost thou, thou who numbers
my steps, dost thou not watch over my sin? What's he talking about? I read
everything I could read on that today, and honestly, I didn't
read anything good from anybody. Everything I read on that suggested
that Job is saying, the Lord is watching my steps, and he's
been in a good humor, and now he's sunk low, and he's speaking
out of despair, and he says, the Lord is now dealing with
me and all my sorrows because of my sin. Hear me, children
of God. God chastens His own for their
sins because He loves them. But God never deals with you
who trust His Son after your sins. He dealt with His Son one
time for our sins. Now hear that. You got that?
That's right, isn't it, Pastor? That's exactly right. Well, what's
He mean here? Dost thou not watch over my sin. The word throughout the Old Testament
translated sin is the same word that is translated one other
way throughout the Old Testament. It's translated sin offering. It's the same word. Same word. Get your concordance and look
it up. It's the same word. Maybe Job is saying Does thou
not watch over my sin offering? Did not the psalmist say, if
thou, O Lord, shouldst mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But
there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared. O
thou, God, now numberest my steps. And whatever they are, wherever
they take me, into whatever heartache or trouble, into whatever pain
or loss, thou watchest over my sin offering on the mercy seat
where you promised you would dwell with me forever. Are you
sure that's what he's saying? Let's see. My transgression is
sealed up in a bag. Thou sewest up My iniquity. The picture is when a man is
lost at sea. Brother Anthony was talking about
this, about his own burial. He was wrapping it up in a blanket
and sewed it up and sticking it in the ground. That's exactly
what they did at sea. That's exactly what they did.
They'd stick you in a bag and they would sew it up. and then
drop it in the sea. God Almighty stuck our sins in
a bag of forgetfulness and sewed it up and dropped it in the sea. of infinite forgetfulness and
he watches always Christ our sin offering on the mercy seat
and is merciful to us because of the sin offering and he will
at last bring us to glory through Christ our sin offering and our
substitute. Amen.