Turn first in your Bibles to
the book of 1 Corinthians, chapter 10. Those who believe God, I didn't say those who believe,
everybody believes something. But those who believe God, like
Abraham of old, have many things in common, most things in common. We have a common salvation. He
saves all of us the same way, for the same purpose, by the
same power. The book of Jude says, Beloved,
I write unto you of the common salvation. Everyone who is saved,
saved by grace, through faith, is that not of yourselves? It's
a gift of God. That's common salvation all over
the world. Also, we have a common faith.
I know people like to talk about you have a different faith than
I am. Well, there's just one faith. There's one Lord and there's
one faith. And as all believers share that
common salvation, they share a common faith. They believe
God. They believe Christ. Paul writing
to Titus said, I'm writing to Titus, my own son, after the
common faith. It's a common salvation. It's
a common faith. shared experience possessed by
all believers. And then we have all things common. That's what he said about the
believers after Pentecost. Those who believe work together
in fellowship. And they had all things common.
Nobody said what I have is mine. They said it's ours. And when
a brother was in need, that need was met. When a sister was in
need, that need was met. They have all things common.
They know that they own nothing. It's all of the Lord given to
them by his grace to be used for his glory and the good of
his people. Common salvation, common faith,
they have all things common. But there's something here mentioned
in 1 Corinthians 10, 13, which also is common to believers,
and that's trouble. Trouble, sorrow. trials. In 1 Corinthians 10,
verse 13, there hath no temptation, no trouble or trial, that's what
that's talking about. There hath no trouble or trial
taken you, come upon you, but such as is common to man. A lot
of folks would have you believe differently. that if you're a
believer, if you're saved, you don't have trouble, you don't
have sickness, you don't have these problems. But Paul says
that these troubles and trials and suffering, sorrow, is common
to man. But with you, God is faithful,
who will not allow you or suffer you to be tempted and tried above
that which you're able to bear. But he will, with the trial,
also make a way of escape that you may be able to bear it. And the Lord calls our attention
to Job and his troubles and trials. I want you to turn to the book
of James. He uses Job as an example of troubles and trials. In the
book of James, we'll look at chapter 5. of James. Chapter 5, verse 10 and 11. James 5, verse 10. Now, my brethren, take, my brethren,
the prophets who have spoken in the name of the Lord for an
example of suffering, affliction, and of patience. James is saying,
I want you to consider these who live before you, men of God,
men called of God, sent of God, through whom God spake. He spake
to our fathers by the prophets. Now, brethren, take these prophets
who spoke in the name of the Lord for an example of suffering,
affliction, and trouble, and trials, and the patience they
exhibited and demonstrated. Take it as an example. All right, verse 11. Behold,
we count them happy which endure. You have heard of the patience
of Job, and you've seen the end, what God did for Job later, after
the trial. How God blessed him, how God
blessed him. God had blessed him, he was Successful,
powerful, and wealthy. The Lord took it all away, everything. But later, the end, the goal
of the Lord. You've seen that in the book
of Job. That the Lord's very pitiful and of tender mercies. All right, now turn to the book
of Job. And we're going to do what the Lord told us to do.
We're going to take these men as an example. We're going to
study how they suffered affliction and how God gave them patience
and how God blessed them abundantly. Now Job, who is Job? Well, the
Lord said some mighty outstanding things about Job. He said, number
one, he's my servant. He's my servant. Secondly, he
said there's none quite like him on the earth. The next thing he said, he's
a perfect, that is a mature man, an honest man. Then he said he
fears God, he worships God. Over there I read where he worshiped
God continually, even on behalf of his children. Then he said
he hated evil. And then he said this over in
the last chapter, he said, Joe has spoken the things of the
Lord right. He told the truth about me. Let's
turn to Job 42 a moment. Job 42. Let's turn over there
and see something here. Job 42. And verse 7. You know, the Lord
spoke here in verse 7, Job 42, to these friends of Job who came
to comfort him, the poor comforters they were. But the Lord spoke
to them, and he said, Now you didn't do right. Look at this
verse. And it was so, after the Lord had spoken these words unto
Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled
against you and against your two friends. You have not spoken
to me the thing that is right, as my servant Job has. You didn't tell the truth. You
three fellows didn't. But Job did. Oh, my. fears God, hates evil, honest
man who tells the truth. That's pretty high recommendation,
isn't it? But you know, let's read on a little further here,
verse 12 in Saint 42, Job 42 verse 12. You know, over there
James said, for us to consider these men and their suffering
and the end of the Lord, the result. Job 42 verse 12. And
the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than the beginning.
How many sheep did he have? 7,000. Now he's got 14,000. How many camels did I raise?
3,000. Now he's got 6,000. How many yoke of oxen? He had
500. Now he's got 1,000. How many she-ashes? He had 500.
I remember correctly. Now he's got 1,000. Plus! How
many sons and daughters did he have? He had 7 sons and 3 daughters.
He also had seven sons and three daughters. That's not double.
Yes, it is. Ten of them in glory and ten in the household. That's
double. Those kids aren't gone. They're
with God. They still belong in the family. So he blessed them double. So
let's talk now about the affliction. I'll go back to Job 1. The Lord
said some outstanding things about Job, but Job was greatly
afflicted. Perhaps there's no other man. He lost everything. He was a
man of wealth and suddenly he had nothing. He was a family
man and suddenly he had no family. He was a man of great reputation,
suddenly he's an outcast. People were making fun of him.
These three friends that came sat there seven days and never
said a word. They stared at him. What have you done? They kept
saying, what have you done? What awful sin have you committed
that made this happen? That's the way they talk when
they start talking, but they sat there seven days and they
didn't open their mouths. He was a man of strength and
health, and here he sits as you read chapter 2 with Boyles. In
fact, he was in such bad shape physically in chapter 2 that
when his friends came, they didn't recognize him. You know who he
was. In verse 21 of Job 1, yet in
all this, Job sinned not, nor did he question
God's wisdom and God's purpose. He knew God is all wise and God
does all things after the counsel of his will to serve his purpose
for our good, and in all this, Job did not charge God with foolishness. I want to see what we can see
here. Learn something. First thing
I learned is this, that Job did not try to hide his sorrows.
Now listen, listen to me. Job did not try to hide his sorrows. He was brokenhearted. He was
brokenhearted. He even prayed to die. Turn to
Job 6. He prayed to die, he was so heartbroken
that he asked God to kill him. Job 6, verse 8, that I might have my
request, that God would grant me the thing that I longed for,
even that it would please God to destroy me, that he would
let loose his hand and just cut me off. Job didn't think it was
necessary to pretend to be happy in his misery. He was miserable,
he was brokenhearted, he was crushed, and he was sad. The
rod had been applied and he felt it. Peter called it heaviness,
and some of you know what I'm talking about. Heaviness. Your
heart's so heavy, it feels like a stone in your chest. They sing
this little song, happy all the time. I don't find that to be
true, do you? I rejoice in Christ, but I'm
not happy all the time. When God applies the rod, we
feel it. We sorrow. Paul said, I have
continual sorrow in my heart for my brethren, according to
the flesh. My heart's broken, he said, all the time. Paul prayed
to die. The apostle Paul prayed to die.
He said, I am in a strait betwixt the two. I desire to depart right
now and be with Christ. which is far better. But it's
necessary for you that I live. But as far as I'm concerned,
like Job, take me home. That's what Paul said. There's
nothing wrong with that. Mourning is not sin. Weeping
is not sin. The Apostle Paul experienced
that over here. Let me just turn and read it
to you. He experienced that and made it very plain in his writings. He said this, I'm troubled on
every side. I'm not distressed. I am troubled. I'm perplexed. But I'm not in
despair now. We're sorrowful, but not as those
who have no hope. We're perplexed, but we're not
in despair. We're persecuted, but we're not
forsaken. We're cast down, but we're not destroyed. So I'm saying
you don't have to pretend. that you're happy all the time.
Job certainly did. He was crushed. And he let it
by nobody. That's right. Certainly did.
Heaviness. Peter called it fiery trials.
And you'll go through them. You'll go through them. But now
do not be ashamed of your tears. David said, Lord, keep my tears
in a bottle. Secondly, Sorrow and trial and
heaviness of heart should always be sanctified by worship. That's
what we have here. Job heard the news, one right
after the other. He heard the news. What did he
do next? Verse 20, Job arose and tore
his clothes, just ripped them. His robe or whatever garments
he had on, he just ripped them to pieces. Tore them to pieces. Tore them to shreds. That was
a sign of sorrow. If you turn to Genesis 37, that's
what Jacob did when he got the news that Joseph was dead. This
is touching. In Genesis 37, and you who've
lost a child, a daughter, a son, you know what this man feels
here. They told him Joseph's dead. In Genesis 37 verse 33,
and they showed him that coat, the coat of many colors, that
coat that he'd given Joseph. He said, this is my son's coat.
An evil beast has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt rent
in pieces, and Jacob rent his clothes. He put sackcloth on
his loins and mourned for his son many days, many days, many
days. And that's what Job did here.
He heard the news and he just tore his clothes. And then he
shaved his head, had one of his servants shave his head. And
that's another sign of mourning, of just devastation. They shaved
their heads. But what did he do next? Job
arose after he heard the news, rent his mantle, shaved his head,
and fell down on the ground and worshipped God. Sovereign trials should always
be accompanied with worship. I'll tell you what Job did. He
behaved like a man, and then he worshipped like a believer.
Those two things go together. Don't pretend to be what you're
not. Be what you are. He behaved like a man, but he
worshipped like a believer. Job behaved like a father, a
loving father, but he worshipped God like a loving son. Try to
be both. That's right. He fell down and
worshipped God. He behaved like a man and like
a believer. He behaved like a loving father,
but like a loving son of God. You see, he said, the Lord gave
and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Every experience is a time of
worship. There's never a time to worship, a season to worship. Every day is a time of worship.
Not a season, not a ceremony, not a certain day of the week
or day of the year. If joy lifts you up, worship
God up there on the mountain, because it's by his grace you're
on that mountain. If sorrow brings you down into the dust, worship
God down there in the dust, because it's the hand of God that puts
you there. If sorrow presses you to the ground, worship God.
If joy lifts you to the mountain, worship God. Job spoke of his
pain and sorrow and wished to die, but he never spoke against
God. Never. Turn to Job 2, and I'll
show you. Job 2, verse 7. Job 2, verse 9. Job 2, verse 9. Well, let's go
back to 7 and see what Satan did to his body. So in verse
6, the Lord said to Satan, Behold, he is in your hand, but save
his life. You remember the first time the Lord said to Satan,
Everything he has is in your hand, but don't touch him. See,
Satan can't do a thing without God's permission. That's right. He's a devil, but he's God's
devil. I can't explain that, but that's so. And then he came
back and said, well, you put your hand on his body and he'll
curse you. Skin for skin. A fella thinks more of his skin
than he does his kin, folks. So you touch him, he'll curse
you. So the Lord said, all right, verse 6, behold, he's in your
hand, but don't kill him. Saved his life. So went Satan
forth from the presence of the Lord, and smote Job with sore
bars from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. And
he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal, and sat down
among the ashes. And his wife came to him and
said, Do you still retain your integrity? Why don't you curse
God and die? But he said to her, Thou speakest
as one of the foolish women speaketh. Shall we receive good at the
hand of God? Shall we not receive evil? God
gave and God took away. In all of this, Job did not sin
with his lips. He never, never charged God with
foolishness. He hurt, he wept, but he never
charged God with foolishness. That's right. And then, the time
of suffering It's a time for mourning. It's a time for worship. It's a time to learn. It's a
time to learn. And over here in the book of
Psalms, if you'll turn to Psalm 119, Psalm 119, it's a time to
learn. It's a time to learn. Psalm 119,
verse 71. And David said in Psalm 119 verse
71, it's good for me that I've been afflicted, that I might
learn thy statutes. What are God's statutes? His
appointments, His ways, His decrees. So it's good for me, David said,
that I've been afflicted, that I might learn thy statutes. Then in the book of Hebrews,
now Paul deals with this over here in the New Testament in
Hebrews chapter 12. He talks about our children, fathers and mothers
chasing children. And they do it, they discipline,
they correct them, they're chasing them. They withhold things from
them to teach them that they might learn. That's why you discipline
a child, that he might learn. You're not doing it to punish
altogether. You're doing it so you might
learn this lesson. Have you learned your lesson?
Your mother will say that to you. Now, young man, have you
learned your lesson? I've tried to. You know about that, don't
you? All right, listen to this, Hebrews
12, verse 9. Hebrews 12. Now, furthermore,
we have had fathers of our flesh who corrected us, and we gave
them reverence, obedience. Shall we not much more rather
be in subjection to the Father of Spirits and live? For they,
our human fathers, barely for a few days corrected us and chastened
us after their own pleasure, after their own limited wisdom. But he, the Heavenly Father,
chastens us for our profit, that we might be partakers of his
holiness. Now no chastening for the present
seems to be joyous, it's grievous. That's what I just said, it's
grievous. Nevertheless, after it's over, it yielded the peaceable
fruit of righteousness unto folks that are exercised, that have
learned their lesson. See what he said? It's not joyous,
it's grievous, but afterwards, It's a time of rejoicing. You
thank God for it. You thank God for the valley.
You thank God for the trial. You thank God for the suffering,
because it yields that peaceable fruit of righteousness unto the
fellow that's learned his lesson, that has exercised thereby, learned
his lesson. You need to learn. And here I'll
give you these things in closing. The first thing we learn in the
trial, sorrow, we learn the extreme brevity of this life. Job said, Man born of woman,
a few days and full of trouble. He said again, When a few years
are come, I shall go the way, whence I shall not return. Life
on this earth is described and compared to several things, things
that go by quickly. Life on this earth is called
a weaver's shuttle. You watch them weave a rug. These
are days. They're gone by. And it's over.
It's compared to the wind. The wind passeth over it. It's
gone. It's compared to a vapor. What
is your life? It's a vapor. There's nothing as without substance
as a vapor. It's compared to a flower. It
blooms. And it's gone. It's compared to a shadow. There's
the shadow. No substance. It's gone. Doesn't
even leave a mark. The place thereof will know it
no more. It's compared to grass. All flesh is grass. The flower
fadeth, the grass witheth, the Spirit of God blows on it. We
ought to spend our time, especially in days of trial, and trouble
considering the brevity of this life and the eternity of life
to come. This life is so short. So very,
very short. Goes by so quickly, doesn't it?
And it's all, for most, a lot of us here, it's almost over. There was a man talking to an
old friend one day. He said to him, says, What is
life on this earth? Just what is life on this earth?
And the Korean stood there a moment, didn't say a word. And he walked
away, leaving the questioner standing there by himself. He
walked away. A few days later, they met again. And the man who
asked the original question, he said, you know, he said, when
we met the other day, I asked you a question. I asked you to
tell me what life on this earth is, and you didn't answer me.
Oh, he said, I did, too. I answered you. No, he said you
didn't. He said you were there for a moment, and then you were
gone. I said, that's it. You're here for a moment, and you're gone. Well, that's
just so. Man is a few days full of trouble.
He cometh forth like a flower, like a shadow. He fleeth. But eternity's long. The second
thing we need to learn is this. We need to learn the frailty
and emptiness of earthly possessions. Job said, the word's naked. Naked I came into this world.
Naked I'll return. When a little bitty baby's born,
what does he possess? Nothing. Not anything. Naked. When we leave here, what
do we take with us? Nothing. Naked. And I'll tell you, to pursue
these things of this world with all our energy and strength,
things that are not bred and do not satisfy and do not make
us justified and righteous before God, Do not give us a hope of
eternal life. It's utter foolishness. It's
utter foolishness to love these things which are really just passing fancies. They're
gone. Naked I came into this world,
and naked I shall return. Now wait a minute. Now hold on
just a minute, Joe. Some people leave this earth
no different from the way they came in. But those who look to
Christ and believe on him, they leave this earth a lot different
from how they came. I came into this world a son
of Adam. By the blood of Christ and the righteousness of his
perfect life, I'm leaving here the son of God. And I say, you
too. I came into this world a sinner. Born a sinner, born in trespasses
and sin, that's right. Conceived in iniquity, shapen
in sin, brought forth speaking lies. I came with a liar from
my birth, but I'm leaving here by the blood of Christ, holy,
unblameable, unreprovable in Him. Isn't that right? I came
here without God, without Christ, and without hope. I can say with
the Apostle Paul, the time of my departure is at
hand. I kept the faith. finished my course, that laid
up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous
judge, shall give me in that day, not me only, but to all
those that love his appearance. Naked I came into this world,
but I'm leaving here clothed in the righteousness of Christ."
That's what they had on in heaven, those long white robes. Who are
these in these long white robes? Well, you know. These are they
who come through great trouble and wash their robes in the blood
of the Lamb. But don't get bogged down now
with these things that do not satisfy and are not brilliant.
The passion of this world fades away. Let me ask you a question.
Have you ever walked through a muddy field? Just mud, just
the mud if you've been plowed, and you had one of those gully
washers, and there's just mud everywhere. And you begin to
walk through that field with ease. High stepping it through
the muddy field. But the more you walk, the more
mud gathers on your feet. The more you stay in the mud,
the more mud gathers on your feet, and the harder it is to
walk, and the slower you walk, and the more difficult it is
to step, and the more trouble it is to get out of that mess. Put Sid by us, don't get bogged
down in all these things. Set your affection. That's not
plural, that's singular. Set your affection. That's your
spirit. I know, the Lord knows you have
need of eating and drinking and a place to live and clothes to
wear. The Lord knows you need these things, but seek first
the kingdom of God and His righteousness. These things will be added to
you. You ever consider the lilies of the field? They don't work,
they don't tall, they spin not, but Solomon and all his glory
never looked like one of those lilies. Consider the birds. I've got a nest out there on
one of my drain pipes with three little big mouths in it. You
know, they were just born the other day. They're the cutest
thing. They walked out there this morning, three mouths open.
I couldn't help them. But there's that mama. Gathering worms. Worms. I'm enjoying it. My father knows
I need this, and he'll supply my needs. That's right. Good lesson there. Don't get
too much mud on your feet or you can't get out of this mess.
The third thing we need to learn is this, that everything's of
God. He said, naked I came out of
my mother's womb, naked shall I return. The Lord gave. The
Lord gave. I know that. The first cause
of all things in a believer's life is God. The first cause. Satan's troubles, what's the
first cause? God. Satan, Job's troubles, God's. He used Satan. He used the Sabaeans
and the Chaldeans and all these other fellows. But God made the
decision. The Lord gave and the Lord took
it away. That's what Job said. The second,
third, and fourth causes, but the steps of a righteous man
are ordered by the Lord. Every step he takes is ordered
by God. And though he fall, he shall
not be utterly cast down. He'll lift him. The good is to
come. That's right. Job acknowledged
the hand of God in everything that was given, physically, materially,
spiritually. I am what I am by the grace of
God. And then he acknowledged the hand of God in all that was
taken. Oh, he was mad at the Chaldeans.
He was mad at the Sabeans, I guarantee you. But he didn't say the Chaldeans
took my children away. He didn't even say the wind did
it. He said God did it. That's just so, isn't it? God
did it. God did it. Samuel came to Eli, and Eli said,
Samuel, God spoke to you. Yes, sir. What did He say to
you? I'd rather not say. Samuel, what
did God say to you? I'd rather not tell you. You
tell me, or the Lord will make the same thing happen to you.
So Samuel said, I'll tell you then. God told me, He's going
to take your two sons. He's going to kill them. What did Eli say? He said, it's
the Lord, let him do what he will. That's confidence in the power
of God, the will of God. If you didn't believe that, you'd
lose your mind now, wouldn't you? But when you realize, when
you have true confidence, this confidence in the providence,
in the purpose, in the power of God, it keeps you from blaming.
blaming somebody or blaming yourself. What if I'd have done this? What
if I'd have done that? What if I'd have done this different?
Wait a minute now. You know, what if with God? And when you
understand that He brought it to pass for your good and His
glory to accomplish His purpose and do whatever He's willing
to do in the future, you don't blame. No, sir. You don't blame. You wouldn't
blame Him, would you? Don't blame yourself. Don't blame
somebody else. Secondly, it keeps you from bitterness.
It keeps you from disliking people and holding that kind of attitude.
They're just second causes. That's all any of us are, second
causes. God's the first cause of all
things. We're just second causes. Don't get mad at second causes.
Don't get mad at the wind. I see people playing golf and
they get mad at that golf ball because it doesn't go where they
want it to go. Somebody else, do you really? That's what, you
know. Don't get mad at things and people,
don't bitterness and depression. It keeps you out of depression.
God moves in a mysterious way, his wonders to perform. Plants
his footsteps on the sea and rides on the storm. And thank
God even, even our foolishness, God will overrule for our good
and his good. That's right. Even our mistakes,
even our poor judgment, even some of the sermons we preach,
God will overrule it. That's right. Praise God. He's
going to come. One thing we learn is this. We
must learn to give thanks and praise God at all times. Now
here's a household, right here. Here's a household that's just
lost ten children. Here's a household that all they
have materially is gone. And their children are gone.
And while they have wept and ripped their clothes and shaved
their heads, there's a worship service going on in that house. Conducted by that Father. And
from that house comes these blessed words. Blessed be the name of
the Lord. The Lord gave and the Lord has
taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
Pastor, that's very difficult to say at such a time. Yes, my
brother, it is. But still, it's the truth. Isn't
that right? It's the truth. Blessed be the
name of the Lord. But let me tell you something.
There's a great day coming. Indescribable. Oh, what a day,
Mark, that'll be. What a day. by His grace. Job rejoiced and was glad in a few days.