What do we learn from Job? What does the grace of God teach
us concerning this man? We'll read the first three verses,
and then we'll deal with them shortly. Job chapter 1, verse
1. There was a man in the land of
Uz, whose name was Job. And that man was perfect and
upright, and one that feared God and eschewed evil. And there
were born unto him seven sons and three daughters. His substance
also was 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 she-asses, and a very
great household, so that this man was the greatest of all the
men of the East." Now, most of you know the story of Job. If
not, we'll touch on a few things that came his way. But what do
we learn here? The Scriptures tell us that all
Scripture is given by inspiration of God. and is profitable for
doctrine, reproof, for edification, and for teaching. All the scriptures,
wherever it's at, New Testament, Old Testament, makes no difference.
These scriptures was given by the inspiration of God. God moved
upon men, and he caused them to write these things down, and
he caused them to put them in a book. And now we have it right
here, the written word of God. So what are we to learn? Teach
me thy way, O Lord. Teach me what you taught Job,
or that I may learn some things from what Job went through. We
learned that this was a great man, a great man of wealth. He was a man with a large family.
He had ten children. They don't say how many grandchildren
he had, but I'm sure that he probably had grandchildren. He
was a man of influence. with his servants and with his
friends throughout the country of the East there. He was a man
of good health. But we also learned that in one
day, everything that he had was suddenly taken away. You imagine,
you imagine. Everything you had in one day
is wiped clean. This man of great wealth suddenly
became a man of great poverty. Everything he had was gone. This
man that had these 10 children, a great family, and the scripture
says a great household, many servants, many servants, a great,
great household. Suddenly, his 10 children was
gone in an instant, in a heartbeat. And we read farther down in the
book of Job, in Job chapter 2 and verse 9 and 10, that even his
wife, after these things come upon Job, the scripture says
he shaved his head and he fell down and worshipped God. And
his wife came to him and said, Job, you've lost everything.
Everything you've had is gone. Why don't you just curse God
and die? But what did Job do? This man of great influence was
suddenly looked down upon. His friend looked down upon him
and said, Joe, what have you done? What did you do that would
cause God to afflict you this way? This man of great health
was suddenly stricken from head to toe with boils and sores to
the point that even his friends didn't recognize him. Who is
this man? Look at him. Oh, look at him.
What a pitiful mess he's in. But what are we to learn from
Job? If these kind of things comes our way, how are we going
to deal with them? How will we deal with them? We
see Job, that he's a man not trying to hide his sorrow. He fell down and shaved his head
and worshiped God and sacked cloth and ashes, poured ashes
upon his head to show his submission and his willingness to worship
God. He wept before God. He wept before
God. And he wept before his friends
to the point that they come and circled around him Job, what
are you doing? Have you lost your mind? Have
you lost your intelligence? What are you doing, Job? God's people are a people with
a tender heart. He went before God. When we're
called upon to bear this rod, how will we deal with it? When
suffering and trials and tribulations come our way. I doubt very seriously
that if any of us will ever suffer as Joe did, I doubt very seriously
that our children is gonna be taken in one day. It could be,
it could be, but we pray not. When troubles and trials comes
our way, what are they for? What are they for? Every one
of us here today deals with troubles and trials, heartaches and sicknesses,
pain, whether it be family problems or whether it be health problems
or whatever it is, but why do we suffer? Why do we suffer? One reason why we suffer, and
I believe this is what happens most of the time, God sends his troubles and his
trials and his tribulations upon his people, to wean them, to
wean them from this world, and to cause them to depend more
upon Christ. You and I are here just for a
few days, and the scripture says man that is born of woman is
a few days and full of trouble, full of trouble. And we experience
that, whether it be trouble in the mind or in the flesh, we
experience this. But how do we deal under these trials? How
do we face these things up? What happens to us when troublesome
trials come our way? I'm thankful that I've never
been put in that situation or I'd have to suffer much, especially
for the preaching of the gospel. I'm thankful that God has seen
fit not to put these heavy burdens upon me at this time, at this
time. They're coming, I'm sure, as
of all men will. But I hope that when, and if
I am called upon these things, to suffer persecution and trials
and tribulation, I want to be something like Job was. I want
to be something like Job was. I want to worship God, even in
the troubles and the trials and the afflictions that come our
way. Job, here in the midst of all the intervals, all these
trials, and all these tribulations, he made this statement. The Lord
gave, and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
Can you and I say that? Can I say that? If we do, it's
only by the grace of God that deals with us and deals in us.
We learn from Job that in his troubles and sorrows, he did
not speak in an unworthy manner against God. He did not dishonor
the name of God. Praise him, praise him for all
the great things that he has done. But we are also to praise
him, praise him when he taketh away. When he taketh away our
health. When he taketh away our wealth.
when he takes away our ability, our strength, our whatever we
have. Not only are we to praise him
in good times, but we are to praise him in what men call bad
times. Job fell upon his face and worshipped
God. We read in Job chapter 13 and
verse 15, Job said, though he slay me, Yet will I trust him. Yet will I trust him. Is this
our attitude? Can it be our attitude? It can
be if we look to Christ by faith. We know that in everything that
happens, the scripture says this is the will of God in Christ
Jesus concerning you. Nothing comes our way by mistake.
Nothing, these winds that came through and blew the house down
upon Job's ten children. That wasn't a mistake. That wasn't
just a bad accident. These Chaldeans that came through
and herded up all these livestock and drove them away, they stole
them. They just didn't happen to be there. These things were
brought about by the hand of God. Men don't see that. You say, well, God gives us good
things. Satan takes things away. Oh no,
no. If you read through this book
of Job, the Lord gave Satan permission. He gave Satan permission to take
these things from Job. He gave Satan permission to touch
Job's body. He gave Satan permission that
he may afflict Job from head to toe. Why do these things happen? If Greece presses you to the
ground, worship there. That's what we learned. Whatever
state Job was in, we found him worshiping God. We found him
bowing to the providence and the power of God. If trials lay
you low, worship there. If the blessings of God lift
you on high, worship there. But whatever state we're in,
let us be found worshiping our God. We read in Psalm chapter
62 and verse 8, David said, trust in him at all times. Ye people,
pour out your heart before him. God is our refuge. He is the only strength that
we have. He is the only help that we have. He is the only sufficient one
that we can lean upon and depend upon. What's the old song say? Family and friends may fade and
fleed, but oh no, Christ will never leave us. He will never
forsake us. The scripture tells us, I will
be with you and I will go with you even unto the ends of the
world. The time of troubles and trials should not only be a time
of worship, but also a time of teaching and consideration. When
you and I go through this thing of sicknesses, and we will, we
will, it should be teaching us, look not to the flesh, but look
to Christ. Depend not upon the flesh, depend
upon Christ. Consider not the weakness of
the flesh. Consider the strength of our
Savior. He's able to save us. If His
whole body got returned to the dust of the earth, that just
weren't meant to be. But oh, what happens to the Spirit? It ascends into the mercy seat
of God, and there it abides with our Lord and Savior forever and
ever. We read in Psalms chapter 42, David, under a trial and tribulation,
he wrote these words. Why art thou cast down? Why art
thou cast down, O my soul? Why art thou disquieted within
me? Why do we have these things of
depression? We have these things of self-pity
and sorrow. Why? We are the children of God. We are heirs of God and join
heirs with Jesus Christ. We are precious in his sight. Why art thou cast down, O my
soul? Why art thou disquieted within
me? Hope thou in God, for I shall
yet praise him from the help of my countenance. O my God,
my soul is cast down within me. Therefore, Will I remember thee
from the land of Jordan, and from the Hermonians, and from
the hill of Miser? Deep call upon deep as the noise
of thy waterspouts. All thy waves and thy billows
are gone over me. Oh, I'm under deep troubles and
trials and tribulation, David said. But yet the Lord will command
his lovingkindness in the daytime. And in the night his song shall
be with me, and my prayer unto the God for my life. I will say
unto God my rock, the God of my life, why has thou forgotten
me? Why has thou forgotten me? Why
go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? As with
a sword in my bones, my enemies reproach me. Why, they say daily
and to me words, your God. Why art thou cast down, O my
soul? Why art thou disquieted within
me? Hope thou in God, for I shall
yet praise him. I shall yet see him who is the
health of my strength and the health of my countenance, and
he's my God. He's my God. He will perfect
that which concerneth me. He will always be with me to
hold me up. He will always be with me to
raise me unto the heights of glory. And He will always be
with me to push aside this thing of sin and troubles and trials
and tribulations. Paul said, when I am weak, then
am I strong. When I'm weak in this flesh,
I can't look to the flesh. I can't depend upon the flesh.
I must look somewhere else. And when I look outside of myself,
I see my Redeemer who has taken away all the things that does
so easily beset me. All the sin and the reproach
and the misery that comes in this flesh. He's taken these
things away and He has caused me in Christ Jesus to be an heir
of God and a joint heir with the Lord Jesus Christ. Job is
a man of God, a man of faith, a man of well learned in the
scriptures, but this book, this book is here to teach us something.
It's written here, this is not just a story to fill these pages,
it's a story to tell us and to teach us something about the
goodness of our God. So let us learn these things.
Let us learn at least these four things as we study what Job went
through. Let us learn, first of all, life
is brief. Life is brief. Most of us are
getting older. Well, all of us are getting older. All of us have no promise of
tomorrow. All of us have no surety that
we will wake in the morning. Life is but a vapor, brief. Job's family was a family that
they're eating and drinking, the scripture says down in the
latter part of this chapter, eating and drinking in their
eldest son's house. And bang, that was gone within
an instant. Life is brief. Life is brief. Our life here on this earth is
just for a moment. It's just for a moment. We read
in scripture in Job chapter 14, verse 1 and 2, it tells us, man
that is born of a woman is a few days and full of tribal troubles.
He came forth like a flower and is cut down. He fleeth also as
a shadow, and continueth not. Life is brief. James said in
the book of James, in James chapter 4 and verse 14, he says, Whereas
ye know not what shall be on tomorrow. For what is life? What is our life? It is even
a vapor that appears for a little time and then it vanishes away.
It's like the fog of the morning. You get up on a clear, crisp
morning, you see the fog. And as soon as the sunshine rises,
the fog is gone. That's our life. That's who we
are. But oh, for the child of God, we are to consider our life here
on this earth. We are to consider our walk.
We are to consider it but as a journey. As a journey. And
at the best date, we won't be here long. Who was it that wrote
the old song? We sung it in religion. We don't
sing it much anymore. The song says, this world is
not my home. I'm only passing through. Well,
that's what it is with this life. It's just a journey. We're here
today and gone tomorrow. We have no hope of tomorrow. But, oh, to those who are in
Christ, those who look to Christ by faith, we have a promise. We have a promise from God, our
Heavenly Father, that we shall live forever in the very presence
of God. We shall live throughout eternity. The scripture calls it everlasting
life. We shall live forever in the
presence of our God. worshiping, honoring, and giving
glory unto Him. For the child of God, this world
is but here for a moment, and then we're gone. We read in Romans chapter 8 and
verse 18, Paul said, I reckon, I reckon that the suffering of
this present time are not worthy to be compared with the joy that
shall be revealed in us. We may suffer here for many years
in the flesh. We may not have much in the flesh. But, oh, this suffering cannot
be compared. It cannot be compared with the
joy which shall be revealed in us. When we look upon him face
to face, when we see him as he is and we're made just like him,
then these old troubles and cares and trials that we bear in this
flesh shall never be remembered. There's no tear, there's no crying,
there's no sorrow, nothing but joy. But while we're here, This
life is brief. Our hope is in Him who has redeemed
us. And that joy awaits us. It awaits
us. The scripture tells us that joy
awaits us. And we shall have it. We shall
have it. The next thing that Job learned
was earthly possessions are frail. Now this is a hard, hard thing
to get here. It's a hard thing to get through
our minds. Earthly possessions are frail. When a child is born
into this world, what do they possess? Nothing. Nothing. Who was it? Was it David said,
naked came out of my mother's womb and naked shall I return. A child comes into this world
with nothing, naked. And when they live their life,
50 years, 60 years, 70 years, 100
years, what do they leave this world with? Nothing. Nothing. What do we take out of this world?
Nothing. We leave this world the same
way we came, with nothing. Nothing. That's the nature, that's
the natural man. That's what they have, and that's
what they possess. Oh, and this is what the Lord's
teaching Joe. Earthly possessions are frail
and fleeting. They cannot be depended upon. Possessions cannot be taken any
farther than this world allows us to take them. But oh, once
again, once again to the child of God, to those who are in Christ,
to those who have been redeemed by His blood, we have an inheritance. We have an inheritance that we
shall inherit the Kingdom of God. We shall be with Him and
like Him. And everything that God has is
mine because of my relationship with Christ. Because I am His
and He is mine. The true fact of the matter is
that we cannot take anything out of this world. Naturally
speaking. But spiritually speaking, we
have everything that heaven has to offer awaiting us when we
come into the presence of our God. We shall inherit, inherit
the kingdom of God. David said, Behold, I was shapen
in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me. Oh, but by
the grace and the mercy of God, through the faith that we have
in Christ, we can leave this world justified, justified, redeemed,
and free from sin, because we look to Christ by faith. Paul
said in the book of Acts, in Acts chapter 13 and verse 38,
Be it known unto you, therefore, men and brethren, that through
this man, is preached unto you the forgiveness of sin. And by
Him, all that believe are justified. All that look to Christ by faith,
the Scripture declares us to be justified, holy, without blame,
and unreprovable in the very sight of God. And by Him, all that believe
are justified from the thing from which you could not be justified
by the law of Moses. This man, this man was Job's
hope. He said he was a man that feared
God and eschewed evil. This man looked to Christ by
faith. He looked and said, there he
is, my Redeemer and my Lord. There he is, my God and my salvation. Job looked to Christ before Christ
ever came into the world. Hundreds of years before Christ
ever came, God worked this thing of faith in Job and caused Job
to look to Christ. And now, hundreds of years after
he has departed, came into this world, lived and died, he has
worked within us faith to look to him also. The same faith that
Job had, we have if we look to Christ by faith. We learn these
things that God is with us. He will never leave us. He will
never forsake us. He will go with us always, even
until the end. And he does these things and
he shows us these things by the grace that he has given unto
us. What's the old song say? Free
from the law, oh happy condition. Jesus has bled and there is remission. We have this thing of forgiveness
of sin in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. He has come, He
has lived, and He has died on my behalf, in my room, and in
my stead, that I may be a child of God, that I may receive the
inheritance of my Heavenly Father, and everything that God has,
I have in Christ. But these earthly possessions
They're feeble and frail. Job saw the next thing that Job
learned. He saw the hand of God in all
things. All things. Many people read
this portion of scripture would say Satan afflicted Job. And
Satan took away all that he possessed. But Job like every true believer,
knew that the Lord, that God, is the first cause of all things. Let me find it here. Verse 6, Job chapter 1 verse
6. He says, Now there was a day
when the sons of God came unto present themselves before the
Lord. And Satan came also. Now I don't
understand that. I don't know exactly, I don't
see this thing clearly, but this is the way it reads. And Satan
came also among them. And the Lord said unto Satan,
Hence comest thou? Or where did you come from? Or
why are you here? Then Satan answered and said,
from going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and
down in it. And the Lord said unto him, Has
thou considered my servant Job? Have you looked upon Job, that
there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright
man, one that feareth God and escheweth evil? And Satan answered
and said unto the Lord, Does Job fear God for naught? Has
not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and
about all that he hath on every side, and hast blessed the work
of his hand, and his substance increased in the land? Satan
said, But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath,
and he will curse thee to thy face. And the Lord said unto
Satan, Behold, All that he has is in thy power. Remember, God's
in control. Our God's in control. But he
allows, he permits, and I don't know what other words to use,
to say that he allows Satan to touch Job. He allowed Satan to
take everything that Job had. Now remember, Satan has no power
except that which God gives him. I mean, I believe his brother
Donny Bell said Satan is God's puppet on a chain. He can do
nothing except what God allows him to do. And here, he allowed
Satan to take everything that Job had. Well, why would that
happen? to teach Job and to teach you
and I. God's in control. God's in control. So when sicknesses and trials
and tribulations come our way, let us remember God's in control. Whatever it is, this is my stake
before God for right now. This is what God is pleased to
bring my way right now. This is what God has seen fit
in time fast in the providence of God at this time for me to
go through. Our pastor's wife and also our
pastor is going through some difficult times. Alberta just
went last week to have her third or fourth treatment and it's
devastating. I mean it's devastating to watch
And our pastor, he's got problems, he's got heart problems. They
found a place on his brain. So I don't know what's gonna
happen. But God does. God does. God knows exactly what
tomorrow holds before tomorrow ever comes because he holds tomorrow. And this is our hope. This is
our hope. that our God's in control and
He will do what's right. You say, well, why does God's
people suffer? They suffer that they may be
weaned from this world and took out of this world and presented
unto Christ holy and unblameable in the sight of God. This is
the only reason that we suffer, is because it pleased God. to cause us to come through these
things. He said, well, that's blasphemy.
God don't cause anything bad to happen. Let me read you something
here. In 1 Samuel 2, verse 6. This is God's Word. The Lord
killeth. Oh no, no. The Lord killeth and
maketh alive. He bringeth down to the grave.
and bringeth up. The Lord maketh poor. Well, now
that's not right. The Lord maketh poor and maketh
rich. He bringeth low and lifteth up. He raises up the poor out of
the dust and lifteth up the bagger from the dumb hill to set them
among princes and to make them inherit the throne of glory.
For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and he has set
the world upon them. Our God's in control. And he
will do all things as it pleases him. And he gives us the grace,
he gives us the mercy, he gives us the understanding to say,
even so, Lord, for it seemeth good in thy sight. We read in
Acts 4 in verse 27. This is concerning what they
did to our Lord. This is concerning the beatings
and the sufferings and the trials and the afflictions that our
Lord went through. Paul said it this way, For of
a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed,
both Herod and Pontius Pilate and the Gentiles and the people
of Israel were gathered together. They all came together for one
purpose. For one purpose. For to do whatsoever
thy hand and thy counsel determined before it to be done. God crucified
and slain his own son. for the purpose of redeeming
his people from their sin. You'll say, now, evil men done
this. Evil men, oh, yes, they were.
They were evil, and they'd done these things, but God appointed
it to happen. God ordained it to happen exactly
the way that it came about, showing that I'm in control. I am God,
and besides me, there is none else. I'm God, and there's none
like unto me. This is what he teaches his people.
The Lord gave, and the Lord taketh away. Oh no, that's not right. That's what God said about himself. But Job said, everything that
I have, and this is what you and I say by faith, everything
that I have The breath that I breathe is a gift of God. The life that
I live is a gift of God. The possession that He gives
me is a gift of God. It's up to Him whether I have
them or not. He sustains me. He awakes me
each morning. He gives me strength to get out
of bed. Some of my neighbors may not
have strength to get out of bed tomorrow. They may die in their
bed tonight. But God, by His grace, if He
sees fit to, He will raise me in the morning to whatever I'm
about to do. A man can receive nothing except
it be given him from heaven. For who maketh he to differ from
another? And what is thou has that thou
didst not receive? Now if thou didst receive it,
why didst thou glory as if thou didst not receive it? Our God's
in control. All that I have physically, mentally,
materially, and spiritually is a gift from my God. And he gives
it to his people out of the free grace and mercy of his abundant
love and grace to us. For by grace are you saved through
faith, and that not of yourself, it is the gift of God. Not of
works lest any man should boast, for we are his workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus unto good work, that God had before ordained
that we should walk in them. The Lord gave and the Lord has
taken away. Oh, that we may see the hand
of God in all things as Job did. That we may see it, that we may
learn that God is in control. Job did not curse the civilians
for driving off his cattle. He did not curse the Chaldeans
for the evil things that they did. He did not curse the wind
for blowing down the house and killing his children. He knew,
he knew by the grace of God that God controlled all these things. And God brought these things
about by His own purpose and providence. And they came at
the very instant that God had before ordained that they should
come. Well, that was bad luck. All
of them gathered in one house, and the wind blowed. Oh, no. These things are of God. Job
learned. Let me close. Life is brief. Job learnt earthly possessions
are frail. And Job saw the hand of God in
all things. And Job declared, Job learnt
and Job declared that in all things, at all times, God is
to be praised. God is to be worshipped. God
is to be honoured at all times and in all situations and in
all things. God is to be worshipped. Blessed
be the name of the Lord, O that we may be able to praise him
in the valleys of troubles and trials, as we do on the mountains
of joy. Let this be my desire, in everything,
in everything, give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ
Jesus concerning you. And this is the will of God in
Christ Jesus concerning you. Therefore, give thanks. Thank
you.