Before I came in the pulpit this
evening, one of our church elders gave
me an article that I'd like to read to you. The church of God's elect, which is partly living on this
earth and partly triumphant in heaven, resembles a great city built
on both sides of the river. There is but the stream of death
between grace and glory. Death is but the crossing of
that river, and every day And every hour, the boat pushes off,
heading for glory with his saints on board. Then it comes back
for more of us. I've known many a believer to
go weeping to that river of death, but none have ever wept on the
other There's no sorrow there. In heaven
above, where reigns his love, there is no sorrow there, because
he wipes away every tear from every eye. Brother Woodrow Thompson, like young Timothy, of whom Paul
wrote, was blessed with an early interest in the gospel of the
Lord Jesus Christ. He came to know the gospel in
his early thirties. Willie and I met 57 years ago,
1947, when I was called to be the youth director of the Pollard
Baptist Church. And I was blessed to be his close
friend all of these 57 years. And I was blessed to be his pastor
for 52 of those years. And the Lord blessed us with
a wonderful fellowship. And the Lord blessed my friend,
Woody, with a long and fulfilling life. But more than that, the Lord
blessed Woody with eternal life in our Savior and blessed him
with a blessed hope of everlasting glory. David wrote about this in Psalm
91. Because he has set his love upon
me, therefore I will deliver him. I will set him on high,
because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I'll
answer him. I will deliver him in trouble.
I will deliver and honor him, and with long life will I satisfy
him and show him my salvation." Well, along with Woodrow, through
these 52 years, I have ministered the gospel
to many people, and especially to some dear, dear old friends. And when I consider these old
friends of many years who have embraced the faith of Abraham,
embraced it, persuaded of it, confessed it, the faith of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob, who have died in the faith, these all died
in the faith, and who have sealed their testimony. They've sealed their testimony
with years of faithfulness and commitment. And when I think
of them, I think of Job. Let's turn in our Bibles to James
chapter 5, James the fifth chapter. James wrote about this man, Job,
in James 5, verse 10 and 11. James 5, verse 10. Take, my brethren,
the prophets who have spoken in the name of the Lord for an
example, an example of suffering, affliction, and patience. We
count them, behold, we count them happy which endure, who
continue in the faith, who walk with Christ like Enoch of old,
who continue in the grace of God. That's what he did for 60
years, continue in the grace. They endure. We count them happy
who endure, who continue in the faith. And you've heard, listen,
you've heard of the patience of Job. You've heard of his patience. And you've seen the end of the
Lord, the purpose of the Lord and the fulfillment of God's
purpose in the life of Job and men like Woody and like folks
here who've been committed to the gospel so long. You've heard
of his patience and you've actually seen the end of the Lord, the
purpose of the Lord accomplished. And the Lord is very pitiful
and of tender mercies and grace." Now, when I think of Job and
other faithful believers whom I've known all these years, I'm
going to answer two questions in reference to them. The first
question is this, what did the Lord say about Job? What did
God himself say about this man of patience, commitment, endurance,
faithfulness? What did God say about him? And
then the second question is what did Job say about his Lord? All right, let's open our Bibles
to the book of Job, chapter 1, and see what God said about Job. what the Lord says about his
faithful service. In Job chapter 1 verse 6, Now
there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves
before the Lord. And Satan came among them. And
the Lord said to Satan, 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, here's the
first thing he said about Job. He said, have you considered
my servant, Job? What the Lord is saying here
is, have you set your heart on my servant, Job? Have you set
your arrows of affliction in the direction of Job? Have you
set your purpose on Job's trials and troubles? Have you set your
affection on whom did he say? My servant, Job. Job, my servant. Have you considered my servant,
Job? Job is the Lord's servant. Hebrews 5 says, No man takes
this honor unto himself. being called a servant of God,
but he that's called of God as was Abel. And John 12 says, well,
if any man serve me, he'll follow me, and where I am, there will
my servant be. And if any man serve me, him
will my father honor. Moses called these servants of
God bond slaves. Willing, loving, bond slaves. We preach not ourselves, but
we preach Jesus Christ, our Lord, and ourselves, your servants,
for his sake. But we're his servants. That's
the first thing that the Lord said about Job. He's my servant.
He's my servant. He's my bond slave. He belongs
to me. I'm his master. Here in verse
8, the second thing the Lord said about Job and other faithful
believers, there is none like him in the earth. He's a perfect
and upright man, none like him. He's a servant of the Lord, and
like Enoch, he walked with God, but also like Enoch, he walked
among men, but he walked in honesty and integrity and generosity. and kindness. God's servants
are honest men, men of integrity and honesty. Someone said one
time, well, there are a lot of honest men who are not believers.
That may be so, but there's no believers who are not honest
men. He's my servant, and he's an
honest man. He's a man of uprightness and
generosity and kindness. That's my servant. And then thirdly,
in verse 8 of Job 1, and he's one that fears God. Job is a
man who fears God and avoids evil. What does it mean to fear
God? It's to love and worship God. It's not a slavish fear.
It's to believe God. in respect, in reference, to
honor God, to honor him and his word, to believe his word and
to worship him. Used to be years ago, men who
worshiped God had this to always say about him, he's one who fears
the Lord. Worship and fear go hand in hand. He's one that fears the Lord.
That means he believes God, loves his work, worships God. And blessed is that man who walketh
not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners,
nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful, but his delight is
in the law of the Lord. And in that law does he meditate
day and night. Job, my servant. an honest upright man. Job, a
man who believes God and loves God, worships God, honors God. And then in the last chapter,
you know, we talked about a minute ago about the end of that man. Through patience and God's purpose
and fulfilling God's will, then we see the end of Job. We see the results of this life
that Job in which he walked with God. Now what's this in Job 42? Verse 8, Job 42 verse 8. The Lord is speaking to these
friends of Job, these false friends really. And he said to these
men, he said, now therefore take you now seven bullocks and seven
rams And you go to my servant Job, my servant Job, that honest,
upright man who fears God, who walks with God. You go to him,
and you offer up for yourselves a burnt offering. And my servant
Job will pray for you. My servant Job will pray. This
is God speaking. My servant Job will pray for
you. For him I'll accept. What does God say about Job?
But Job told the truth about God. He spoke the things that
are right about God. The Lord God said these false
friends didn't tell the truth about God, didn't tell the truth
about Job, didn't tell the truth about redemption, didn't tell
the truth about God's purpose, didn't tell the truth. told the sister back there. So I say these faithful servants,
number one they are his They're His servants. And number two,
they're honest, upright men and women. Walk in integrity and
honesty before men and before God. And they love God. They
worship God. They believe God. They honor
God. They give of the first fruits.
They offer sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving before Him.
And I'll tell you what else. They tell the truth about God.
Whenever they open their mouths to speak about him, they tell
the truth. Well, what did Job say about
God? All right. Turn to Job 19. We see what God said about Job.
He says, He's my servant. He's an honest man, upright. He's a man who fears God, worships
God, loves God. He's a man who tells the truth.
And then God says about Job, in Job 19, what does the Lord
say about Job? Job 19 verse 23, oh, first thing
Job says, oh that my words were now written, oh that they were
printed in a book, that they were graven with an iron pen
and laid in the rock forever. The promises of God, the word
of God, the truth of God. Write it. Write it in a book
for all to read. Not only that, engrave it in
my tombstone. Write it in the rock forever.
It'll stand forever. It's the truth of God. That's
how much I love it and believe it and preach it. Write it. Write it. And then he says in verse 25,
For I know that my Redeemer liveth. Who is he talking about here?
He's talking about the Lord Jesus Christ. My Redeemer. My Lord. My surety. My Messiah. My High Priest. My Shepherd. My sacrifice for
sin. He is my life. He's the giver
of life. This is the record. God has given
us eternal life. This life's in His Son. He that
hath the Son of God hath life. He that hath not the Son of God
hath not life. And I know that he lives because
he is life. He's the source of all life.
He's the one who gave me life. He that hath the Son hath life. And he lives because he lives,
I live also. But you know, he says something
else here about this Redeemer. I know that my Redeemer lives.
The whole book of Ruth is about a Redeemer, but there's always
a word that goes with that word Redeemer. It's a kinsman Redeemer. A kinsman Redeemer. Back in the
Old Testament, when a fellow got deeply indebted, even sold
himself as a slave and couldn't satisfy his obligations and his
debts, He had to go to a debtor's prison. But if he had a kinsman,
a near kinsman, a near kinsman, and three things say about this
near kinsman. Number one, he has to have the
right to redeem. He's got to be a kinsman. He's
got to be related. He's got to be a close kinsman.
Secondly, he's got to have the will to redeem. He's got to be
willing. to set the prisoner free, to
pay for and satisfy all the debts. And thirdly, he's got to have
the price. And that's who Job is talking
about here. I know my kinsman redeemer, Boaz,
the one who redeemed the inheritance for Naomi and Ruth. He was a
near kinsman. and he had the will to redeem
her, and he had the price to pay her. And our Lord Jesus Christ,
this is as comprehensive and significant and endearing word
or title about our Lord as there is to be found anywhere in the
scripture. My kindred redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, who came
to earth, bone of our bone, flesh of our flesh, came to this earth. our substitute, our Savior, and
had a will. Thy people shall be willing in
the day of thy fire. He had a will to set them free,
and he paid the price, the price of his blood and his obedience. Now watch this, back in our text.
I know that my Redeemer liveth. I know that he lives. I know
he's paid the debt, satisfied all of my obligations, he restored
my soul." Now watch this, and he'll stand at the latter day
on the earth. Now Job is one of the oldest
books in the Bible. Some say even before Abraham,
Job lived. And Job is talking here, back
even before Abraham, about a kinsman redeemer. about a Savior to set
us free. And he says he's going to stand
on this earth. At the latter day, he's going
to stand on this earth. Now, Job is talking here about
the Lord Jesus Christ, and this is the prophecy that Isaiah,
the prophet, declared. Behold, this is back in Isaiah's
time. Back before Christ came to the
earth. Behold the Lord himself shall give you a sign. A virgin
shall conceive and bring forth a child. And you'll call his
name Emmanuel. God with us. Not only that, but
unto us a child is born, a son is given. And the government
will be on his shoulders. And his name will be called Wonderful,
Counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father. the Prince
of Peace. And that's what Job's talking
about. I know my Redeemer, my kinsman Redeemer, lives. And I know he's going to stand
on this earth in that day. And he did. He came to this earth.
He came to this earth. But not only did he come to this
earth, but he stood. You know, David said in Psalm
130, Lord, if you should If you should mark iniquities, who would
stand? No man would, but he did. Our Lord Jesus Christ as our
substitute, as our Redeemer, came to this earth, and he stood. He stood before the law and obeyed
it. He stood before men, charged
him with everything, and he said this, he said, He bore all of
our temptations without sin, paid the penalty. He stood. And He stood before the justice
of God and paid the debt, satisfied. He stood. He came to this earth
and He stood. And then Job says, now watch
this, verse 25, I know my Redeemer, my Savior lives, and I know He'll
stand at the latter day upon the earth. He came to this earth
and he lived and died, but yet he's going to stand at the latter
day. In the day of judgment, he's going to stand. The Lord
himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice
of the archangel, trump of God shall sound. Our Lord Jesus Christ
will redeem all of his people, stand on this earth. That's what
he says in Acts chapter 17. Listen to this. Acts 17. The Apostle Paul said in Acts
17 verse 31. Acts 17 verse 31. Because God hath appointed a
day in which he hath judged the world, he came to save us Now
he comes to judge the world. He had judged the world in righteousness
by that man whom he hath obeyed him, whereof he hath given assurance
unto all men, and that he raised him from the dead. That's the
assurance of God's people. All right, let's go back to the
rest of it. my Redeemer, my kinsman Redeemer,
lives. And he'll stand at the latter
day on this earth. Now watch this. And though after
my skin worms destroy this body, it's going to. This body's going
to go back to the dust from whence it came. We can do all we want
to to protect it, but it's gone. It's gone. And worms are going
to destroy this body. And yet, in my flesh. This man
is talking back yonder ages ago. He's talking about a redeemer
and a redemption and a salvation and a new life. He's talking
about glory, eternal glory. He said, in my flesh. Now what's
he talking about in flesh? In flesh, in my flesh, I'm going
to see God. All right. Turn to 1 Corinthians
chapter 5, chapter 15. 1 Corinthians 15. In my flesh, I'm going to see
God. Now, very soon, every one of us are going to die. We're going to put these bodies
in the ground, and they're going to go back to dust. And yet,
Job says, in my flesh, I'll see God. I actually see God, behold
Him face to face. All right, 1 Corinthians 15 verse
35. Now some men will say, well,
how are the dead raised up? With what body do they come?
With what body does a person come out of the tomb? Thy fool, that which thou sowest
is not quickened except it die. When you sow corn or wheat or
grain or whatever you sow, It has to germinate. It's got to
go in the ground. The moisture and the rain and
the power of God, it's got to germinate. It's got to die. And that which thou sowest, thou
sowest not the body that it shall be. When we plant corn, we just
plant one little grain of corn, put it in the ground, and God
gives it life. And it comes up a beautiful,
beautiful ear of corn with green tassels and leaves and fruit
and hundreds of fruits and grains. So I don't sow the stalk, I sow
the crane. And God gives it a body that
pleases Him. You see that? Bad grains, maybe
wheat or some other grain. And God gives it a body as it
pleases Him to ever seed His own body. All right, watch it
now. And all flesh is not the same
flesh. There's all kinds of flesh. All kinds of flesh. There's a
flesh of men, flesh of beasts, flesh of fish, flesh of birds. All kinds of flesh. What kind
of flesh are we talking about? I gave this illustration one
time. There's several kinds of life. There's mineral life that
makes the oil to spark and burn. There's plant life. The plant
grows and it dies. There's fish and beasts that
die and don't see them anymore. There's a human body, natural
flesh, and we die. We go back to the earth. But
then there's spiritual life. is the life of God. He never
dies. Christ Jesus came into the world, and when he died on
the cross and rose again, he had glorified flesh. Perfect
flesh. And that's the kind of flesh
we're going to have. If you look at Luke chapter 24, this will
help you a great deal with this. Luke chapter 24. With what body
do we come? What are we like in the resurrection?
What will it be like when we stand face to face with God?
Job said, I'm going to see Him. Not another. Myself. Myself. Myself. I'm going to see God
in the flesh. Not natural flesh. Human flesh. Bird, beast, but glorified flesh. And here it is in Luke chapter
24, verse 36. And as they spake, Jesus himself,
Jesus Christ himself. He'd been crucified, buried,
and rose again. And Jesus Christ himself stood
in the midst of them and said to them, Peace be unto you. And
they were terrified. They watched him die. They took
him down to the cross and put him in a tomb. They were terrified. They were afraid. They thought
they'd seen a spirit. And he said, Jesus Christ our
Lord said, why are you troubled and why do thoughts arise in
your hearts? Behold my hands, my hands, my feet. Job said, myself, whom I shall
see myself, my hands, my feet. Christ said, handle me, touch
me and see. A spirit doesn't have flesh and
bones as you see me have. I'm alive. I've died and I've
risen and I'm alive. And when he had thus spoken,
he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they yet,
they probably saw the scars of the nails that they placed in
his hands and feet. And while they yet, believe not,
with joy and wonder, he said, do you have any meat? Do you
have anything to eat? And they gave him a piece of
boiled fish and honeycomb, and he took it and ate. Let me tell you something. I know my Redeemer liveth. And on this earth he stood, satisfied,
redeemed his people. And he died and rose again. And
because he died, we died. Because he rises, we rise. And
we rise with the self, same flesh with which our Lord came forth
out of the tomb. Will we know each other? Of course
we will. We know him. He said to his disciples, it's
I myself. Not somebody else, it's I myself.
Peter, James, John, touch me. Won't that be a day when we reach
out and lay hold upon those whom we love? waiting till they come. That's
it. That's it. That's what John says
in 1 John chapter 3. Listen. Behold what manner of
love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called
sons of God. But the world knoweth us not,
because it didn't know him. Beloved, now are we sons of God,
by faith in Christ, by the blood of Christ, by the sacrifice of
Christ, we're sons of God, we're His servants, redeemed by His
blood. And it does not yet appear what
we shall be. We've got some scripture that
tells us some things, but it's not like I'd like to tell it.
But we know that when He shall appear, listen, We shall see
him. We shall be like him, for we
shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this
hope purifies himself, even as Christ is pure.