The Lord Gave and the Lord Hath Taken Away

Q: What does the Bible say about suffering and God's sovereignty?

The Bible teaches that suffering is under God's sovereignty, exemplified by Job who acknowledged that both good and bad come from the Lord (Job 1:21). The Bible affirms the sovereignty of God over all circumstances, including suffering. In the case of Job, we see a man who endured profound loss—his wealth, health, and family. Despite his immense suffering, Job responded with the acknowledgment that 'the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord' (Job 1:21). This reveals a deep understanding that all that we have and experience is ultimately in God's hands. Suffering is not meaningless; it serves specific purposes in God's plan, such as shaping our character, testing our faith, and demonstrating His sovereignty. Thus, we can affirm that even in our darkest moments, God is in control and remains worthy of our praise.

Q: Why is trusting God during trials important for Christians?

Trusting God in trials is vital as it demonstrates faith in His goodness and sovereignty, even amid suffering. Trusting God during trials is crucial for Christians because it reflects the foundation of our faith. In the life of Job, despite losing his wealth, health, and children, he declared, 'Though he slay me, yet will I trust him' (Job 13:15). This unwavering trust signifies a deep reliance on God's character and His promises. Trials test and refine our faith, enabling us to grow closer to God and rely on His strength. Furthermore, trusting God amid adversity can serve as a testament to others of His faithfulness and love, inspiring those around us to seek Him as well. Therefore, a Christian's ability to trust God in hardships strengthens both personal faith and the witness of the Gospel.

Q: How does God's providence relate to our suffering?

God’s providence is the underlying truth that even our suffering is orchestrated for His glory and our good. God's providence is the doctrine that affirms His sovereignty over every aspect of creation, including our suffering. Through Job's experiences, we see that his trials were permitted by God for a greater purpose. Job did not know the reason for his suffering initially, yet he maintained faith in God's righteous character. Scripture teaches that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28). This understanding of providence shapes our view of suffering; it is not random, but rather part of God’s purposeful design. In acknowledging God's providence, we find comfort knowing that our tribulations are designed to glorify Him and produce fruit in our lives, developing patience, hope, and character.

Q: Why is it significant that Job did not curse God?

Job's refusal to curse God in his suffering highlights his faith and understanding of God’s sovereignty. The significance of Job not cursing God in his suffering demonstrates the depth of his faith and his recognition of God's sovereignty over all circumstances. Despite losing everything—his children, wealth, and health—Job responded by worshipping God, exemplifying true faith amidst tribulation (Job 1:20-22). His integrity in not charging God with wrong shows a profound understanding that God is in control and is worthy of trust, even in pain. Job’s story encourages believers to maintain their faith and praise God during trying times, reflecting a commitment to see beyond immediate suffering to the greater purposes of God. This is a powerful testimony to the world of faith that endures through trials.

Now turn with me again to the
first chapter of the book of Job. This man Job was a man of great
wealth. Scripture tells us in verse 3
of the first chapter that his substance was 7,000 sheep, 3,000
camels, 500 yokes of oxen, 500 she-ashes and a very great household,
many servants. So that this man was the greatest
of all the men of the East. Suddenly this man of great wealth
was a man of complete, absolute poverty. Everything he owned
was swept away. I read it to you beginning with
verse 14. It said there came a messenger, and said the oxen
were plowing, and the ashes feeding beside them, and the Sabean fell
upon them, and took them away, and killed all the servants,
I alone, and escaped to tell you. While this servant was reporting
this bad news, these evil tidings, another came and said the fire
of God, the fire of God. These servants thought, as did
Job's friends, that God was punishing Job. The fire of God is fallen
from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed
them and I'm the only one who has escaped to tell you. While
this man was speaking, there came another and said the Chaldeans,
three bands of them, fell upon the camels and carried all of
them away and killed all your servants with a sword and I alone
have escaped to tell you. It was a man of unusual wealth. fabulous wealth, and suddenly
in just a little while he was a man of absolute, complete poverty. He had nothing left. Then Job,
we know, was a family man. He was married, he had ten children,
seven sons and three daughters. Look at verse 18. While these
servants came to report to him of the destruction of all of
his livestock, all of his wealth, Another one came and said your
ten children were all eating and drinking wine in one son's
house, and a great storm came from the wilderness, tore down
the house, and killed every one of them. This man who had ten
children now suddenly had none. And even his wife turned against
him. Turn with me to chapter 9, verse
2. Chapter 9, verse 2, or it's chapter
2, verse 9. The second chapter, verse 9.
And then his wife came to him and said, now listen to this,
this man, and you know our troubles are but molehills compared to
the mountains of this man's sorrow. Everything he had swept away
in a moment, just like that. And all ten of his children,
he was so proud of them, every morning he got up and offered
a sacrifice in fear that his sons had sinned against God or
cursed God foolishly, and he wanted to sanctify his children.
He prayed for them every morning, the scripture says. And now they're
all gone. Now watch this. And his wife
came to him and said, verse 9 of chapter 2, Do you still retain
your integrity? Why don't you curse God and die? Why don't you just curse God
and die? Now you just draw this picture
in your mind. Just visualize. Here was a man
of just fabulous wealth. The greatest man of the East.
And now he has nothing. Absolutely nothing. Wiped out.
He had ten beautiful children whom he loved, for whom he prayed
daily, sanctified them with morning offerings. Now he had none. He
got a wife, and she comes to him and says, why don't you just
curse God and die on me? He was a man of great influence,
a man of this kind of wealth, and a man of great integrity,
and God called him an upright man, a man that avoided evil.
He was a man who was of great reputation, a man of great influence
in his community. He had many, many servants. He
had a tremendous household. He had many, many friends. And
suddenly he was the laughingstock of the whole town. Turn with
me, if you will, to chapter 19. This is one of the saddest scriptures
in the Bible. Chapter 19 of the book of Job. Now this man Job, a man of influence,
a man of integrity, a man of uprightness, but people thought
that he was a hypocrite and that God was punishing him for these
servants said the fire fell from heaven. Well the fire came from
a spiritual power, but it came from Satan. The great wind that
came, the storm that destroyed the house that killed all of
his children, it came from the Prince of the Fire and the Air.
It came by God's permission, but it came from Satan. The people
didn't know that. They didn't know as we know what
was going on in the background. Satan came and said, He fears you, God, and he fears
you because you've built a hedge about everything he has. You've
prospered him and blessed him and you've built a hedge around
him and nobody can touch him. You put forth your hand and take
everything he's got and he'll curse you. And God gave Satan
permission to take all that Job had and he took it. And he became
the laughing stock of the city. Look at verse 13 of Job 19. He, and he's saying it's God
too, he has put my brethren far from me. and mine acquaintance
are verily estranged from me. My kinfolks have failed. My familiar
friends have forgotten me. They that dwell in my house and
my maids count me for a stranger. I am an alien in their sight.
I call my servant, and he didn't even answer me. I am treating
him with my mouth, but my breath is strange to my wife, though
I am treated for the children's sake of mine own body. Yea, young
children despise me. I rose and they spake against
me. All my inward friends hate me,
and they whom I love are turned against me." Suddenly this man
of great power and influence was a man being laughed at and
scorned even by his kinfolks and friends and the children
of the community, but more than that. Job was a man of strength
and health, and suddenly his body was so marred, he shaved
his head and tore his clothing and sat on the ash heap. And
then Satan said to the Father, to the Lord, and God said, if
you consider my servant Job, none like him. You've taken everything
he's got, and he still praises my name. And Satan said, well,
you skin for skin, you touch his body, and take his help,
and he'll curse you." So God said, all right, do what you
want to, but don't take his life. And so Satan touched him, and
Job was covered, the scripture says, from his head to his feet
was boiled, swollen, red, festered in misery. In fact, when his
friend came, turn to chapter 2, verse 7. So Satan went forth
from the presence of the Lord, And smote Job with sore boils,
think of it, from the sole of his foot to his crown, nothing
but boils. And he took a potsherd to scrape
himself withal and sat down among the ashes. That's when his wife
said, why don't you curse God and die? And then down here in
verse 12, the three friends came to see him. And in verse 12 it
said, when they lifted up their eyes afar off and knew him not,
they didn't even recognize him. They lifted up their voices and
wept, and they rent every one his mantle and sprinkled dust
upon their heads toward heaven. What a pitiful, pitiful mass
of humanity this man was. And it says they sat down with
him, verse 13, upon the ground. seven days and seven nights and
never spoke a word. For they saw that his grief was
very great." I wish I had the vocabulary, the words to describe
this sea of trouble through which this man swam. And yet in all this, turn back
to the text, yet verse 22 says, in all this In all this, and
I cannot emphasize those three words strongly enough, in all
this, the man of wealth who now is a man of complete poverty,
nothing to call his own, the family man proud of his sons
and his daughters, now having none, the man whose wife was
going around telling him, why don't you curse God and die?
The man of influence, now the laughing stock of the community,
not one friend left, not one. Here were three who claimed to
be his friends, sitting there staring at him for seven days
and seven nights, not speaking a word. Now his strength and
his health gone, sitting there covered with these horrible festering
boils. And yet in all this, In all this,
verse 22, Job did not sin by charging God with foolishness. In all these trials, in all this
sorrow, Job did not speak in an unworthy manner. In all this,
I get ashamed of myself. Anytime that I murmur and complain
and find fault with God's providence, well, my problems are nothing.
My troubles are nothing, they're too insignificant to mention."
And yet in all this, Job did not dishonor God's name. He did
not dishonor the name of his Lord. In all this, he did not
charge God with foolishness. But you know he did just the
opposite. It says in verse 20 that when all of these tidings
came to him, verse 20, Job arose and he rent his clothing. That
was a symbol of grief. When the old timers would tear
their clothes, that was a symbol of grief. And shaved his head
and fell down on the ground and worshipped God. And he said,
naked I came out of my mother's womb and naked shall I return
thither. The Lord gave and the Lord hath
taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. And then over here in chapter
2, I want you to look at this. When his wife came up to him
and she said, why don't you curse God and die? And I suppose, I
suppose that that was probably the severest blow that he had
in all of it. All of everything was gone. His
children were gone. His friends were gone. And here's
his companion, his helpmate, his wife who came up to him and
she said, why don't you just Sitting there with your boil,
sitting there on the ash heap. Why don't you just curse God
and go to hell? That's what she's saying. And
he said to her, now listen to it. Thou speakest as one of the
foolish women speaketh. You know all of us speak that
way sometimes. You wish you could reach out
and take some of the things you said and put them back in your
mouth. Speak as foolish women speak. What? Listen to this. Shall we receive good at the
hand of God and shall we not receive evil? Shall we take the
good from the hand of God and shall we not receive evil? Can
we not also receive the bad? In all this, Job did not sin
with his lips. Now turn to chapter 13. Let me
show you another statement he made. Job was a man of God. Job
was a man of faith. Job was a man who honored the
Lord. I know he had a lot of self-righteousness in him. I
know that. And I know that throughout the book he defended his integrity. He said, I will hold on to my
righteousness. But I think a lot of that he
was fighting against the accusation of the false friends. They said,
God's punishing you. That's why this is happening.
Well, he didn't know why it was happening, but he knew that wasn't
why it was happening. And we know why. Satan was trying,
and God was permitting this to take place. But Job contended
for the fact that he had not violated his faith in God, that
the root of the matter was in him. And this is what he says
in Job 13, 15. Listen to him. Though he slay
me, Though he slay me, yet will I trust him. I'll trust him. I don't care what happens. I
don't care how severe it is. I don't care how deep the sea
of trouble. I don't care how dark the valley
of trial. I'm going to trust him whatever
he does, whatever he brings to pass. And then our text tonight,
the one I've selected upon which to base this message, chapter
1, verse 21. And he says, and I think this
is one of those pinnacles, one of these peaks of Scripture.
Like when Peter said, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the
words of life. Or like when Peter said to the
Lord, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Or the
Apostle Paul in that day when he said, this is a faithful saying,
Christ came into the world to save sinners of whom I'm chief.
They're just scriptures that are pinnacles of the scriptures.
Or when Abraham said at the top of that mountain that God himself,
God will provide himself a sacrifice. Well this is one of those pinnacles.
Here stood a man, having been wealthy, powerful, influential,
family man, a respected man. A healthy man. And now he's nothing. He's nothing. He has nothing. He is nothing. He's last stand. He's mocked. He's scorned. He's
ridiculed. He's fit only for the grave.
He stands out there and says, I came into this world naked
and I'll leave this world naked. God gave me what I enjoyed and
God was pleased to take it away from me. Praise God. That's what
he said. That's what he said, blessed
be the name of the Lord. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
You know, we hear people saying, praise the Lord in good times.
Here's when I like to hear a man say, praise the Lord. Here's
when I want to hear a man, here's when true praise comes forward. Here's when that praise of gold,
that praise of precious Here's when that praise that's valid
and valuable and truthful, it comes forth from parched lips,
from dry lips, from a dry and thirsty land, from a weary soul,
from a hopeless person. Praise God. That's when I think
it makes the chimes of heaven ring. That's when I think it
really glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ. That's when I think faith
is really manifested. When a man at the bottom of the
well, a man in the deepest pit of despair and suffering can
lift his voice and say, Blessed be the name of the Lord! That's
when it's worth something. The Lord gave. What has the Lord
given? First of all, the Lord has given
us physical life. Now the unbeliever may curse
the day he's born. He's got a right to. He's got
a right to. He can curse the day he was born
because he'll always rue the day that he came into this world.
He'll say, cursed is the wound that bare me and cursed are the
pats that gave me suck. He will rue the day that he was
born. Would God my mother had never
given me life. But I'm glad God let me live.
You know why? Because he's given me a knowledge
of his son. I'm glad that God gave me life. I'm glad that God let me live. I'm glad that God let me walk
this earth because this won't be my last journey. I'm glad. God gave me physical life just
as he breathed when God made Adam of the dust of the ground.
formed him, but there he was without life. He was a body,
but no soul. And the scripture says God breathed
into Adam's nostrils. God breathed into him and he
became a living soul and stood up. God made him live. And God
said, Jeremiah, before I formed you in the belly, I knew you. God said in Deuteronomy 32, 39,
I kill, but I make alive. I wound, but I heal. God gives
life. There isn't a baby born. There
aren't lungs that start breathing. There isn't a soul that enters
a human body except by the hand of God, the God of life. God
gave me life. The Lord hath given. The Lord
hath given me life. I'm so glad. If I were an unbeliever,
I'd curse the day I was born. For the damned in hell will,
they'll rue the day that they came forth into this world. But
I think through eternity I'm going to say, I'm glad God let
me live. I'm so glad. What hath God given? Well, He gave His Son to be my
Savior. He didn't have to. He didn't
have to. He could have passed me by. He
could have left me in my sins. The Scripture says He took not
on Him the nature of angels, and they were made before I was.
And they failed before we did. But it says, God so loved the
world that he gave his son. Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable
gift. Christ didn't have to come into
this world. Christ didn't have to die. Now in one of the Sunday school
classes, Sunday morning in Darcy's class, the little children were
discussing this issue. Did Christ have to die? Some
said yes and some said no. They're both right. They're both
right. The one who said that Christ
did not have to die, they were telling the truth. He owed us
nothing. He said, no man takes my life
from me. I lay it down. I have the power
to lay it down. I have the power to take it again.
He doesn't owe us anything. He could have left us in sin
just like he left the angels who fell in their rebellion reserved
in chains of darkness to the day of damnation. He didn't have
to die. He didn't have to come into this
world. He didn't have to be our Savior. But the others who said
he did have to die, they were right too. If God saves sinners,
Christ has to die for them. There's no other way. If God
Almighty redeems my soul, Christ has to die. There is no other
way. Even God cannot save a sinner
at the expense of his holiness and his justice. In order for
the Father to be just and justify the ungodly, yes, Christ has
to die. He gave his Son to be my Savior. He that spared not his own son,
but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him freely
give us all things? You remember that song that Brother
Jones quoted here a few months ago, Hail Sovereign Love? That first began the plan to
rescue fallen man. Hail matchless, free, eternal
grace. that gave my soul a hiding place. Against the God that rules the
sky, I fought with hands uplifted high. I despised His rich, unbounding
grace, too proud to seek a hiding place. Wrapped in thick Egyptian
night, fond of darkness more than light, madly I ran life's
sinful race. secure, I thought, without a
hiding place. But thus the eternal counsel
ran, Almighty love, arrest that man! And I felt the errors of
disgrace, and I discovered I had no hiding place. Indignant justice
stood in view. To Sinai's fiery mountain I flew. But justice cried with a frowning
face, that mountain's no hiding place. Ere long a heavenly voice
I heard, and God's Holy Spirit appeared. He led me on with gentle
pace, and pointed to Jesus, my hiding place. On him, on the
cross, God's vengeance fell. that would have sunk my soul
to hell. He bore it for our sinful race,
and thus He became my hiding place. Should storms of thundering
vengeance roll and shake this globe from pole to pole, no flaming
bowl shall daunt my face. Now Jesus is my hiding place,
and a few more rolling suns at most, will land me on fair Canaan's
coast and there I shall sing the songs of grace and worship
him, a hiding place." What did God give? What did God give? He gave His Son. He gave me spiritual
life. The scripture said, you who were
dead, just like Ezekiel's dry, bleached, parched, lifeless bones. You lay in that valley where
sin had slain you. And God came by and said, Live! Live! Like that baby abandoned
in the field. In Ezekiel 16, unwanted, unloved,
helpless, hopeless, without strength. And God passed by and he said,
It was a time of love. You didn't love me. I loved you,
even in your uncleanness. And I said, Live! God quickened
me from the depths of sin, made me live, gave me life. God gave
me life. Paul said, it pleased God who
separated me from my mother's womb, but he allowed me to go
my road to hell. He allowed me to walk my path
of rebellion. He allowed me to be injurious
and a persecutor and a blasphemer. And then one day he said, well,
that's far enough. He gave me life, He opened my
blind eyes, He unstopped my deaf ears, He gave me His nature,
and He said, Live! He said, Live. He quickened me
to gather with Christ, and He gave me repentance. Do you not
know Paul wrote in Romans 2, it's the goodness of God that
led you to repentance? Do you think it was you who discovered
your nakedness? It was God who made you to see
it. Do you think it was you who made you weary of sin's road?
It was God who made you weary. God gave you faith. He said,
for by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves.
It's the gift of God. Every good gift and every perfect
gift coming from Him. This old natural heart couldn't
produce repentance if it wanted to. Like Esau, it may seek repentance
with tears, but it can't produce it. This natural heart can't
hate what it loves, and it can't love what it hates. And this
natural heart that loves darkness cannot desire light. It cannot produce faith. No man
can, Christ said, come to me except my Father draw him. He
can't do it. He can't do it because he won't
do it. He can't do it because he doesn't want to do it. He
can't do it because he loves his darkness. He loves his sin. He loves his rebellion. He delights
in his iniquity. You will not come to me, Christ
said, that you might have life. What did God give? He gave me
repentance. He gave me faith. He gave me
his word. Peter called it the precious
promises. Peter said there are three precious
things. Unto you that believe, he's precious. His blood is precious. We are redeemed with the precious
blood of Christ. And then he says, His word is
precious. All the precious promises. You
love the word of God. If you don't love the word of
God, why don't you put a question mark on your face? If you don't
love the Word of God, why don't you put a question mark on that
profession of salvation? You can't love God and not love
His Word. Don't tell me that. I don't believe it. Mr. Harvey,
who was one of the martyrs before he died, this is what he said.
These were his last words. Holding his Bible in his hand
before they sent him to the stake, he cried, Farewell, my precious
Bible, that blessed Book of God. This is my rock, this is my foundation. It's now 35 years since I began
to read this book. Oh how I love it. It unites my
soul to God. It helps me to say my Lord and
my God. Where would I be without this
book? What would I be without this book? What would I believe
without this book? I'd be a walking fool and so
would you. I'm fool enough now, but oh how
I love this book. How this book reveals to me my
sin, my need. How this book reveals to me God's
love, His grace. How this book reveals to me Christ's
power and His beauty. How this book reveals to me my
health and my strength is found in Him. It wouldn't take anything
for us. There aren't ten million worlds
loaded with the most precious stone and the richest possession
that would take away this book if I couldn't get another one.
Oh, my precious Bible, farewell, thy blessed book of God, my rock,
my foundation, how I love this world. If you loved God's word,
you wouldn't need anybody to assign you daily Bible readings.
If you loved God's book, you wouldn't have to be assigned
a certain scripture to read every day. If you loved that, belong. What has God given, the Lord
gave. Count your many blessings, name them one by one. It will
surprise you, it will amaze you, it will thrill you, what God
has done. When upon life's billows your tempest tossed, you're discouraged,
thinking all is lost, count your blessings. Name them one by one. Oh, how it will bless you to
discover what God has done amid the conflicts, whether great
or small. Don't be discouraged. God is
over all. Count your blessings. Angels
will attend. health and comfort give you till
your journey's end. What hath God given? The Lord
gave you. The Lord gave you. He gave me
His Holy Spirit. Our Savior said, I'm going back
to the Father, but I'll give you another Comforter, and He
will guide you in the truth. He will teach you all things.
He will glorify me. He will pray for you. You know
not the things for which you should pray, except He should
teach you the blessed Holy Spirit. God had given. All right, look
at the next line. The Lord gave and the Lord had
taken away. Now know what Job was talking
about. Job was talking about his wealth. God gave it. God
took it away. Job was talking about his children.
God gave them. God was pleased to take them
away. Job was talking about his friends, his help. All of these
material blessings, God gave them and God was pleased to take
them away. And the day will come, my friend,
whether we like it or not, when we too are going to have to part
with these things. We may have to part with them
like Job did under severe calamity, under severe tragedy, trial,
testing, I don't know. I may be a helpless invalid in
a wheelchair tomorrow. I pray by God's grace I'll be
able to say with Job, God gave me health and God took it. Praise
God. I may not have a member of my
family left this time next year, but I hope by the grace of God
that I'm able to say with this man, God gave and God has taken
away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. We're all going to have to part
with these things. It's not only true of Job. Naked came I out
of my mother's womb, but the same thing is true of you and
me. And naked shall I leave this earth. That's true of you and
me. There are no pockets in a dead man's suit. He takes nothing
with him but condemnation for the joy of Christ. He takes nothing
with him but his sins to hell or his faith to glory. He takes
nothing with him. Naked I shall return this that
the Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away. But I want to sound
another note. God hath taken away. What hath
God taken away? Praise God, He's taken away my
sins. He has taken away my sins. Turn
to Hebrews 9. Look at this. All my sins are
gone. All my sins are gone. The blood
of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sins. It says in
Hebrews 9 verse 26, the last line, once in the end of the
world hath he appeared to put away my sins. All of them are
gone. Look at chapter 10 verse 17,
listen to this, and their sins and iniquities will I remember
no more. God has taken away my sins. God has taken away my sin. God
has taken away my guilt. I'm not guilty. God has taken
away my fear. He says over here in the book
of Romans, chapter 8, oh, there is a sense in which God's people
fear the Lord just like a loving son fears a loving father. It's
respect. It's reverence. It's all in His
presence. The fear of the Lord. That's
the beginning of wisdom. We are to fear the Lord. Come,
my children, David said, and I'll teach you how to fear God.
You better fear God. By the fear of the Lord, men
depart from evil. But look at Romans 8, verse 15. You have not received the spirit
of bondage again to fear. It's not a slavish fear. It's
not a fear of wrath and a fear of hell. But you have received
the spirit of adoption. You're a son. You're a son. You're not just a subject, you're
a son. Christ said, I called you not
servant. The servant doesn't know what his master does. I've
called you my friend. Whereby you cry, Father, Father. Yes, God has taken away my fear. There's therefore now no condemnation
to them who are in Christ Jesus. Wherefore, brethren, come bold
into the presence of God. and find mercy to help and grace
in time of need. Then God had taken away the curse
of the law. Turn to Galatians. Turn to Romans
8 again. Romans 8, chapter 1. Look at
this. There is therefore now no judgment,
no condemnation to those who are in Christ. No judgment. Over
here in Romans 8, verse 32, Paul says, Verse 33, who can lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? Verse 34, who is he that condemneth? Galatians 3.13, Christ hath redeemed
us from the curse of the law. There is no curse. Taken it away. Free from the law, oh happy condition,
Jesus has died, there is remission, cursed by the law, bruised by
the fall, but Christ hath redeemed me. Once for all. He's taken
away the curse. He's taken away the guilt. He's
taken away the fear. He's taken away the sin. And
watch this. Turn to Philippians 1. He hath
taken away my dread. And I believe I've used the right
word there. He hath taken away my dread of
death. I didn't say he'd taken all the
fear out of it. But he'd taken the dread away
from it. Any of us a little fearful of that which we've never experienced?
To go into a place where we've never been? To encounter an experience
that we've never had and never talked to anyone who's had it?
But in Philippians 1.21, he says, For me to live is Christ, and
to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh, this
is the fruit of my labor. Yet what I shall choose I want
not. For I am in a strait betwixt the two. I have a desire to depart
and be with Christ, which is far better. I think every believer
can say that. Genuinely, honestly, sincerely,
I have a desire. when this tabernacle, this frail
tent, this painful place in which I live, when it shall be torn
down, when it shall be shaken and fall. I have a building,
a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. I long
to dwell in it. I'm homesick. I want to go home.
Verse 24, to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. I see
some reasons, Paul said, not to die. I see some reasons not
to leave here. I speak selfishly, he said. It's from a selfish motive. It's
for my own good. I have a desire to depart and
be with Christ, but to abide here is more needful for you. God has taken away the dread
of the tomb. He has taken away the dread of
the tomb and the fear of the judgment, and one day He's going
to take away this body. In Romans chapter 7, I want us
to look at this, and I'll bring this message to a close. In Romans
chapter 7, verse 22, The apostle says in verse 22, I delight in
the law of God, holiness, purity, righteousness after the inward
man. That's the regenerated man. That's
the divine nature. I delight in God's law, but I
see another law in my members. I see those hasty thoughts, those
unprofitable thoughts. I see those hasty words, I hear
them. I see those vain imaginations
warring against the law of my mind, bringing me into captivity
of the law of sin, which is a powerful law, which is in my members.
Oh, wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this
body of this death? I can't deliver myself. And the
church and the preacher and the pledge cards and the promises
and the vows and the resolutions can't do it. I thank God through
Jesus Christ our Lord. He'll deliver me. But you know
how he's going to do it? He's going to take this old man.
He's not going to take him to a doctor. He's going to take
him to the undertaker. You can't take this old flesh, this old
nature, this old man that lives in you that's so contrary and
so unprofitable and so selfish and so sinful and so fleshy.
You can't take him to the doctor and do anything for him. You've
got to kill him. and take him out there to the
cemetery, put him in the ground, and bury him. 1 Corinthians chapter 15, turn
over there, and I'll show you what God's going to do. He's
going to take this old man and put him in the ground. And then
he says in verse 42 of 1 Corinthians 15, the resurrection of the dead
is going to take place. It was sown in corruption. Nobody
knows corruption except their own corruption. It'll be raised
in incorruption. It's sown in dishonor. It's raised
in glory. It's sown in all weakness. Raised
in power. It's sown a natural body subject
to colds and fever and disease and aches and pains and failure. It's raised a spiritual body
just like Jesus Christ. Never to die. Never to die. God's going to take this old
body someday and take it away. He's going to take it away just
like He took away my sin. It'll never be found again. He
said He separated my sins from me as far as the east is from
the west. And someday He's going to take
away the old man, the old nature, the body of death, and He's going
to annihilate it. He's going to separate it from
me. I'll never hear from it again. That resurrection morning when
I stand At the sound of the trumpet, at the voice of the archangel,
at the appearing of my Lord, I'm going to stand incorruptible,
immortal, eternal, glorified, just like Christ. Just like Christ. And you know Job knew that. He said the worms destroy this
body, yet in my flesh I'll see the Lord whom I shall see for
myself. Oh, that my words were written
in a book. Oh, that they were engraved with
a diamond point pen in the rock forever. I know my Redeemer liveth,
and He's going to stand on His side. Blessed be the name of
the Lord. And what I get from this message,
and what I want to learn from it, is this. To be able to praise
God, Not on the mountaintop. Anybody can do that. Anybody can do that. But I want
to be able with Job, or if I could with him. I'm not asking for
his trials. I'm not asking for his sufferings
and his sorrow but oh that I might be able to praise him with a
sincere heart equally in the valley of the deepest chateau
as on the mountaintop of the highest joint that I'll be able
to say blessed be the name of the Lord blessed be the name
of the Lord Our Father in heaven, oh how this child of thine suffered, how much sorrow and agony he
had to bear. Speechless for seven days and
seven nights, so overcome with grief and sorrow. And yet, through it all, in it
all, to utter phrases like these, though he slay me, yet will I
trust him. Through his tears and agony,
worshipping the living God, with blessed be the name of the Lord.
God gave and God took away. We have received good from the
hand of God, shall we not receive evil also? We're worthy of the
evil, we're not worthy of the good. And we thank Thee for this
example. We need it. Let us live with
it till we learn it. Let us live with it till we experience
it. Till we can ascribe all that
we are and all that we have and all that we shall ever be to
the grace and mercy of our God. Yea, even our Lord's hand, the
first cause of all things, the evil and the good. I wound and
I heal, I kill and I make alive. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
How sweet the songs of thy children when the clouds are dark overhead. How precious the songs of thy
children to the ears of the Lord Jesus in times of darkness and
fear. impress this message upon our
hearts, not just our ears, and upon our souls, not just our
minds. We pray it in Christ's name and
for his glory. Amen.

The Lord Gave and the Lord Hath Taken Away

What does the Bible say about suffering and God's sovereignty?

Why is trusting God during trials important for Christians?

How does God's providence relate to our suffering?

Why is it significant that Job did not curse God?

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The Lord Gave and the Lord Hath Taken Away

What does the Bible say about suffering and God's sovereignty?

Why is trusting God during trials important for Christians?

How does God's providence relate to our suffering?

Why is it significant that Job did not curse God?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

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