Get everything turned on here. It's good to see the family in Lexington. It's good to be
able to come down here and see you again, as many of you I've
seen for a long time. You're a little grayer than I
am. But that's genetics. That's genetics. I'm older than you think. Turn to, we'll go to 1 Thessalonians
first. 1 Thessalonians. And then we'll end up probably
in the book of Job, and James, and then Peter. A young man asked me several months ago, he said, how do you go about
getting and preparing a message? And I replied to him, I have
learned that the best messages are the
ones that work on me, not the ones I work on. You can tell
the ones I work on. I promise you. It'll be .1 ABC,
.2 ABC. Those are the ones I work on.
But I've learned that the ones that bless me the most are the
ones that I've lived, I've experienced. And I hope that's what this one
is tonight. I started out with a totally different message and
this one just kept staying with me. I was reading in Job chapter
7 and he says in chapter 7, is
there not an appointed time to man upon
earth? Are not his days also like the
days of a hireling?" Another translation of that is
this, is there not an appointed warfare to man upon earth? And I remembered something I'd
said to my wife probably two or three years ago,
some things that happened to the family. I said, this is a
life changer. It's a life changer. I said,
I'll never see life like I see it now. I'll never see it like
I've seen it. I don't see the world, I'll never
see the world again like I've seen it, or seen." I said, this
is a life changer. And when I read this the other
night, Job said, is there not a warfare appointed, an appointed,
an appointed. The warfare that you had out
there today is appointed. It's appointed. And when I read
this, this title kept staying on my mind. These are life changers. Life changers. Things that come
along that will never leave you the same again. God appoints
them. God sends them. We'll see a little
bit of that in the book of Job. It's just like it just comes
out of nowhere and you're just knocked off your feet. And it changes you. But the change,
and here's what I want us to get a hold of through this whole
message. If not, I missed it. The change is that we might know
God. It's to bring us to know God. Not know some things about God.
not know some facts, more facts, but to literally have a relationship,
a rich communion with God. You cannot go to war, you cannot
go to war and remain the same, can you? you cannot be shot at. Someone trying to take your life.
I've never been in that kind of war. I've never been in a
war where bullets are flying all around me and the enemy is
literally trying to take my life. But you can't go to war and remain
the same. You can't lose limbs. You can't lose an arm and a leg
and it not totally affect you. Can't do it. Can't do it. Listen
to this. Ephesians 6, 12. We wrestle not
against flesh and blood. We wrestle not, we contend not
with flesh and blood. Anybody have a little riff going
out there of somebody? Somebody upset your day? Somebody
messing with you? You think that's just flesh and
blood? Is that all you see? But against principalities, against
powers, against rulers of the darkness of this world, against
spiritual wickedness in high places, that's what we wrestle
with, that's what we contend with, that's the warfare we are
in. That's the warfare, and you'll
never be the same when God puts you into it. Now, let's start with the first,
I want to start with the first life changer, the first real
life changer. Go to 1 Thessalonians chapter
1. Paul writes this in verse 5. For our gospel came not unto
you in word only, listen, but also in power, and in the Holy
Ghost, and in much assurance as you know what manner of men
we were among you for your sakes. When a sinner, when a sinner
hears the gospel in power, For the first time, God sends it
to his or her heart. Not in word only. You didn't
just hear an outline. You are literally hearing from
God. The Creator of heaven and earth is speaking, and He's speaking
in power, and He's speaking to your soul, and He's commanding
life. This is a life changer. To go
from dead and trespasses and sins, to spiritual life, to go from rebellion, to repentance,
to rank unbelief, to believe in God, to go from hating God,
To love in Him? To be born of God? I'm telling
you, if you're born of God, you can never be the same again.
Never. Never. If a husband claims to
be born of God and he's mean as ever, he's just as dead as
ever. If a wife claims to be born of God and she's just as
rebellious as ever, she's just as dead as ever. is to be born of God, partakers of the holy nature. You'll never be the same. Never
be the same. Look what it did to this church.
He said here, or these people here in Thessalonica, you became
followers of the Lord. You became followers of Him. You lost your ambitions. What's your ambition now? I do believe that the believer's
ambition is this, to be found in Him, not having my own righteousness. That's my ambition. I was telling
Vicki the other day, I said there's only one thing I want. Only one
thing I want. I want to die in the faith. That's
it. I don't want to accomplish anything.
I don't want to leave. Somebody asked me, what kind
of legacy do you want to leave? Legacy? You've got to be kidding.
You know who I am. Legacy. I just want to leave
the gospel to my children and grandchildren, and that's what
I'd like to leave. But I want to die. My ambition
is to be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, and to
die believing God. Just to die believing God. And then it says, Paul writes
in verse 7, you became examples. Examples of faith. They received the gospel of much
affliction. They still received it. They
still believe God. You became examples of love.
You sent the gospel out. He said, you sent it out. Oh,
don't you want others to hear this? I want others to hear this. I want them to hear it. You became
examples of the grace of God. It's evident. It's evident that
the gospel came to you in power. You followed the Lord. You became
missionaries. You sent the gospel out. And you turn, verse 10, you turn
from your idols. We all have idols. Oh, yeah. We just don't want to admit it.
We do. Whatever you truly love is your
idol. And he says, and you wait for
God's Son. You're looking for Him. You're
looking for Him with anticipation. You have a desire to see Him.
Paul said, I have a desire to depart and to be with the Lord. These are life changers, aren't
they? You're not the same. You're not the same. Paul's a
good example. Look over in Acts chapter 9. Acts chapter 9. Here is a man
who absolutely hated Jesus Christ. And in hating Jesus Christ, he
hated Almighty God. He hated God. You could tell
him, say, Paul, you hate God. He'd bite you for that. He'd
say, yeah, I hate Jesus Christ. Or when he was Saul of Tarsus.
He hated him. To hate Christ is to hate God.
But listen to this. And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings
and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high
priest, and desired of him letters to Damascus, to the synagogues.
And if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women,
it didn't matter. It didn't matter if they were men or women, if
they had a family or children. It didn't matter. he might bring
them bound to Jerusalem. And as he journeyed, he came
near Damascus, and suddenly there shined round about him a light
from heaven, and he fell to the earth. And he heard a voice saying
unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, who art
thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus,
whom thou persecutest. It's hard for thee to kick against
the bricks. And he trembling, and he trembling, and astonished. He said, Lord, what wilt thou
have me to do? Boy, that was a change, wasn't
it? That was a change. You can't
meet God. You cannot come into the presence of God and not be
changed. You can't do it. This is the man who wrote for
me to live! that one time for him to live
was to kill everyone who named the name of Christ. And now here's
a man, the same man, who says, for me to live is Christ, and
to die is gain. Oh, it's a life changer. Life changer. What about that
demonic? He said, what's your name? He
said, my name's Legion, because we're many. And the Lord cast them out. And
that man was found clothed and sitting at the feet of Christ
and in his right mind. A believer truly is in his and her right mind for
the first time. Well, the first time. To turn your back on God, when
you hear the gospel preached, and to turn and walk away in
unbelief, is that in your right mind? No. No, that's insane. That's insane,
I'm telling you it is. That leper, That leper, he came
to him and said, Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.
And he said, I will. And he went away from there whole.
That's a life changer. He didn't have to go back to
that leper colony. I bet he probably did. I told him about the one
who healed him, or cleansed him and healed him. Just like that demonic, the Lord
said, you go back and you tell them about great things. You
tell them what I've done for you, what the Lord's done for
you. Now the scripture in John 17 says, and this is life eternal,
here it is, and it's simple, I mean simply put, that they
might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus
Christ whom thou hast sent. Knowing God in Christ as a life
changer. What would you give for that
knowledge? What would you give for that
knowledge? What would you really give to have real, genuine, true
communion with the living God? Paul said, I count all things
as loss. for the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom, now listen, I never caught
this till I was reading it the other day, for whom I have suffered
the loss of all things. I count all things as loss, but
I've also suffered, I've lost it all. Because of my relationship
to Christ, Paul said I've lost it, I've suffered the loss of
all things. And he wasn't complaining either. He wasn't complaining. Not at all. Knowing the love of God is a
life changer. And I'm going to come back to
this in a little bit. But I want you to go over to Job chapter
1. Eternal life is to know God. I want us to see something about
what it is and what God does in bringing us to know Him. Knowing God comes at a great
cost. It can come at a great cost.
For us to know God, it costs, look what it costs our Lord.
Look at the suffering. We can't even begin to enter
into the sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ. His death, He died
at the hands of an angry God. He died the death that a sinner
deserves to die at the hands of justice. We can't enter into
that. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Painful. And he did that, that
you and I, who believe God, who've been brought to faith, that you
and I might know God. You might have fellowship with
Him. John said, truly our fellowship was with the Father and with
His Son, Jesus Christ. Knowing God comes at a great
cost. Now Job knew God. He knew God and God had blessed
him. God had blessed him. God put
a hedge about him. He was rich. He had grown in
popularity. Don't you think the young men
of that place envied that man? And I have no doubt that many
of them envied him for the wrong reasons. He was the wealth and
his reputation. They envied him, a lot of them
I'm sure, envied him for the wrong reasons. And you know the
book of Job, I'm sure you've read it more than once. Those same men, those same young
men laughed at him. They wouldn't even stand up for
him when he came in the gate. They turned on him. They thought he had sinned. What
they didn't realize is God is bringing this man to the place
where he can have real communion with Him. By the hearing of the ear I've
heard of thee. That's how faith comes. Faith
comes by hearing, hearing by the Word of God. That's the beginning
of it. That's the beginning of it. Job was about to learn more about
himself He said, I abhor myself. I abhor myself. Have you ever, now be honest
with yourself, have you ever really abhorred yourself? Have
you ever really loathed, I mean loathed yourself? You look in the mirror and you
make yourself sick. That's how Job felt about himself.
God brought him to that place. He humbled him and brought him
to that place that Job might see him. And that fellowship,
I assure you, after that process, the fellowship and the communion
was much sweeter. And I assure you, those second
ten children, They sure benefited from that. Don't you think they
benefited? Don't you think Job was a lot
wiser in dealing with those second ten than was the first ten? Taught
of God. Taught of God. Job is going to
learn, he's going to come to know the God who said, I kill
and I make a life. I wound and I heal. I lift up
and I bring down. I make rich and I make poor. This is who God is. He says there in Job 1 after
verse 13, and there was a day when his sons and his daughters
were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house.
Now you know the conversation that Satan had and God had with
Satan, and I never really picked up on it. I don't know, maybe
I did and I just forgot it, but you know, it's God who brought
up Job's name, not Satan. God said, you consider myself
a Job? God's going to take this man
to another level. He's going to take Job to another level,
and He's going to use Satan to do it. And Satan's just dumb
enough to do it. He's dumb enough to attack God's
children. He's still going about thinking
he can win, and the battle's over. But anyway, here he says, And
there came a messenger unto Job, and he said, The ox were plowing,
and the asses feeding beside them, and the Sabeans fell upon
them. They took them away, yea, they have slain the servants
with the edge of the sword, and I only am capable to tell you.
And then while he was speaking, another one came and fire from
heaven fell down and burned up the sheep. And then while he
was speaking, there came another and said the Chaldeans made out
three bands and they fell on the camels and carried them away.
And then while he was yet speaking, thy sons and daughters were eating
and drinking and wine in their eldest brother's house and there
came a great wind from the wilderness and they're all dead. They're all dead. I can't explain that. I mean,
I can't explain the experience of that. That's a... I was telling my wife once, I was
talking to her about this book of Job, and his wife said, won't
you curse God and die? I said, you know, those 10 kids
were hers too. Everything he lost, she lost. Tough. Tough to lose all that. But all that was done to Job,
that God may bring him into a rich fellowship and communion with
Him. And I assure you when it's over with, Job would say, it's
worth it. I know now he'd say it. I know
now where he is now. He'd say, I wouldn't change a
thing. I wouldn't change a thing. And he said, the Lord gives. That's why many followed Christ
at that time. They got a free lunch, He gave
them a free lunch. And the Lord takes away. Well,
that's a different story. No, it's the same God. Same God,
same story. The Lord gives and the Lord takes
away. You sure you want to know Him? There was a rich young ruler.
He said, Lord, I want to follow you. And the Lord said, okay, go sell
all you have. But you can't have all that baggage
and follow me. You can't keep up. You go sell all that you
have. Give it to the poor. Don't go
put it in the bank, let it draw interest. Just totally let it
go. Hardest thing under the sun is to let it go. Let it all go. And come follow me. And that
young man, it said, he went away sorrowful because he was very
rich. He was very rich. You see, the Lord said to him,
I have no place to lay my head tonight. You want to sleep like
that? God took away everything Job
had. And if that wasn't enough, you'd
think, well, that's... Surely the trials won't get any
harder than this." Then he takes away his health in chapter 2. And I don't know how much time
went between those two severe trials. God took away his health. He let Satan do it, but he took
away his health. He sat there just scraping himself. And all of this, and even though
Job didn't even know it at the time, all of this is to bring
him, for God to bring him to himself. And to have that sweet
communion. What did it take to make the
sweet psalmist of Israel? What did it take? You know the life of David. The sword never left his house.
God let him fall severely. Although it be not so with my
house, how painful is that? And he's called the sweet psalmist
of Israel. The Lord took his reputation.
He was a man that could walk into the gate and command respect. I mean, when he walked in, everybody
would say, there's Job. And they'd stand up, there's
Job. They were high, high respect, high regard for this man. And then the kids wouldn't even
pay attention to him. They wouldn't even give him an
ounce of respect. God took his reputation away. God put a hedge about him, blessed him, made him rich. But you know the problem with
that? We start to believe our own hype. We start to think, you know,
well, I'm pretty sharp. No, you're not. No, you're not
at all. I make rich and I make poor. I was talking to a man the other
day, a rich man, talking about the riches and stuff, and I just
had to quote that scripture. I said, you know, the Lord, and
this man's not a believer. I said, the Lord said, I make
rich and I make poor. I lift up and I bring down. I do this. The earth is the Lord's,
the fullness thereof, and they who dwell therein. And he will
do with it as he will. Job came to the place where he
absolutely... This is not something he learned
in Bible class. This is something he learned
in dealing with God. He absolutely abhorred himself. To know God as Job came to know
God? This is what it took, and this
is what it'll take. Maybe not in the same exact way.
We don't all suffer the exact same thing. God brings us along
that way. That's the wisest to bring us. The path to knowing God, the
path to seeing God. He said, I've borne myself. By
the hearing of the ear I have heard thee now, I see you. I see you. The path of knowing God is often
a painful path. Often it is. Whom the Lord loves,
He chastens. My wife said, she couldn't remember
ever getting a spanking growing up. I said, honey, nobody's that
good. Nobody. I can't count the ones
I got. Whom the Lord loves, he chases. To know the love of God, would
you know the love, would you know the love of God by experience. Would you experience the love
of God? Would you? Turn to Psalm 107. Psalm 107, listen to some of
these verses. Oh give thanks unto the Lord
for he's good, for his mercy endures forever. Let the redeemed
of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the
enemy and gathered them out of the lands from the east and from
the west, from the north and from the south. They wandered
in the wilderness in a solitary way. They found no city to dwell
in. Hungry and thirsty, their soul
fainted in them. Then they cried unto the Lord
in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses,
and he led them forth by the right way, that they might go
to a city of habitation." Look in verse 23. We can't read all
of these. We don't have time. They that go down to the sea
in ships, that do business in great waters, that's what Job
was doing. Job was doing business in deep
water. These see the works of the Lord and his wonders in the
deep. Job said, by the hearing of the
ear I heard a thing, but now my eyes see a thing. These see
the works of the Lord. For he commandeth and he raises
the stormy wind which lifts up the waves thereof. They mount
up to the heavens, they go down again to the depths. Their soul
is melted because of trouble. They reel to and fro and stagger
like a drunken man. Then they cry unto the Lord in
their trouble and he bringeth them out of their distresses.
He maketh the storm a calm so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they
be quiet, so he brings them into their desired haven. Look over
in verse 39. Again, they are menaced and brought
low through oppression, affliction, and sorrow. He pours contempt
upon princes, causes them to wander in the wilderness where
there's no way. Yet saith he the poor on high
from affliction and makes his family like a flock. The righteous
shall see it and rejoice, and all iniquity shall stop her mouth. Who so is wise and will observe
these things, even they shall understand the what? The loving kindness. Would you call... I'm trying to be careful saying
this because I don't want it to come across wrong. Would you say what God did to
Joe was loving kindness? If I took my son and I took his
children away, I took his home away, took his health away, they'd
put me in jail for child abuse. But with God, see God controls
the God controls the outcome. I don't. What God does, He does in wisdom,
and He controls every minute detail of what's going on. And
it's a spiritual matter. And what we see going on with
Job is the loving kindness of God. For us to know God, there's got
to be a purging. Would you bear more fruit? Really,
would you bear more fruit? As a believer, can you say, I
wish I could bear more fruit to the Lord? Would you bear the
pruning that it takes to bear more fruit? You ever see somebody
prune something? They cut it back to look like
it's dead, then cut it a little bit more. I cut our bushes at
the house. We had these fire bushes. They're
supposed to be dwarf. It was about 15 feet tall. I mean, I don't know what dwarf
is, but it wasn't. That was 15. So I cut them down.
I mean, I cut those things down to two, three feet tall. I told
Vic, I said, I messed up. I messed those things up. You
ought to see them now. They're beautiful. Beautiful. Job became a beautiful believer
after all this was experienced by him. He became one. Turn over to James chapter 1.
I'll start winding this down. James chapter 1. Verse 2, my brethren, count it all joy when you fall
into a diverse or different temptation or trials. He doesn't say, my
brethren, I feel sorry. I feel so sorry for you. I know
things are tough. I feel so, I just feel so sorry
for you. What you're going through, what if you're going through
a real difficult time and I write you a letter and say, well, count
it a joy. Count it a joy what you're going
through. Count it all joy when you fall
into a different temptation knowing this. Look what it produces. You know the scripture says in
Ecclesiastes, it's better to go to the house of mourning than
it is to go to the house of mirth. For the living, that's those
who have been made alive in Christ. Because there's more dead people
at a funeral than the one laying in a casket. But the living will
lay it to heart. Lay it to heart. Knowing this, at the trying of
your faith, it works patience. Be still and know that I'm God. You think that happens the first
time? I was watching Animal Planet
some time ago and this chimpanzee was trying to wean away her little
baby chimpanzee. He was wanting a nurse and she
just kept pushing it away. That little rascal started throwing
rocks at her and limbs and dust and going up a tree and flipping
and screaming and I mean it was throwing a fit. That's how we start out. Trials,
they bring out what's in us. These heartaches. But eventually,
eventually they produce that peaceable fruit of righteousness.
Eventually, they produce patience. It's the Lord. Let Him do as
He will. Look over in 1 Peter. In 1 Peter 1, listen in verse
6. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though
now for a season, if need be. All that happened to Job was
a need be. All that has ever happened to
me and my family is a need be. It's a need be. If need be, you're in heaviness. Through what? Many trials. They
just keep coming. When's it going to be over? It's been years now and it's
still going. That's a trial of your faith. Being much more precious than
of gold that perishes. Though it be tried with what? You ever been burned? You ever
stand close to a fire? It burns you. Fiery trials are
called fiery trials. That's because they burn. They
leave lasting impressions. They leave lasting lessons. That's what they leave. Might
be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of
Jesus Christ. Now do you want that? Do you want that kind of
faith? Listen, I want that kind of faith,
and I want to know I have that faith. And the only way it's
going to happen is this way. It's this way. Passing through the water, it
says in Isaiah 43, passing through the water and fire are life changers. They're life changers. You'll
never be the same. When God takes hold of you, makes you his son or his daughter,
And He's going to have fellowship with you. He's going to purge
you. And you're never going to be
the same. You're not going to see the world as the same. You're
not going to see sin as the same. The whole world lies in wickedness. That took on a whole new meaning
for me a few years ago. That's on the street and in the
courts. The whole world lies in wickedness. This is what it takes to know
God. I want you to listen to this. I want you to quote this
concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. The only man who walked on this
earth that was perfect. Yet learned he obedience by the things which
he suffered. Knowing God in Christ is worth
the loss of all things if need be. if need be. I do believe that a deep, rich
communion with God in Christ comes this way. We cannot walk
with God in the world. We cannot walk with God and serve
two masters. You cannot love, the Lord said
this, you cannot love. I've been looking at this verse,
it's been sounding in my ears. You cannot love mother, father,
sister, brother, husband, wife, son or daughter more than me. You can't do it. You're not worthy
to be my disciple. Just get out of here. And He
will put that to the test. Then last of all, for you and
me to be of any use to other believers, we have to go through
this. I have to. Vicky's sister has a son. He got into drugs
a few years ago, drug problems. And I told Vicky, she ought to
run him off. She ought to run him off. Make
him leave. Don't let him come back in that
house. And then my son got into drug
problems. And I know why she didn't run
him off. I don't know why. Brothers born for adversity. I know what it is to visit my
son in jail. That's painful. Anybody in here
know what that is? I can identify with you. I know
what it is to have two sons go through divorce at the same time.
Painful. But if that's what it takes to know God, it's worth it. It's worth it. It's worth whatever he puts us
through to bring us to himself. It's worth it. I know what it
is to lose everything. I can identify with you if you've
lost everything. I can identify with you. I have no doubt, as I said, Job wouldn't change a thing now.
He wouldn't change a thing. And one day when it's over, in
chapter 10, Job said, I'm full, I'm full of confusion. I'm full
of confusion. Why is all this happening? Why
is all this happening? Well, I can't tell you all the
why's to it, but I'll tell you this. If you're a believer, it's
to bring you to Him. That you might have fellowship
with Him.