THERE IS HOPE IN
SUFFERING
Job 42:1-10
WAIT ON THE LORD
V:1 " Then Job replied to the Lord: "
A. Job had been
waiting for a year for an answer from the Lord.
Job wanted to
know why he suffered all the tragedies in his life.
1. When God responded,
Job did not get the answer he expected.
2. Instead, Job
got a lesson in the sovereignty of God. Job
was asked if he could do in
creation what
God had done.
3. Job's complaint turned to awe and praise.
4. Job came to an understanding that we are all
sinners and deserve whatever God
allows.
B. We should always
have a listening ear to a word from the Lord.
1. We are
usually focused on ourselves.
2. God is
focused on His plan of redemption for mankind.
3. Sometimes God uses the tragedies of our
lives to draw us into a closer relationship
with Him.
4. Sometimes God
uses the tragedies of our lives to strengthen our faith.
5. Sometimes God
uses the tragedies of our lives to encourage others.
V:2 "I know that
you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted."
A. One of the
characteristic of God is His omnipotence.
1. God has all
power and He can do all things.
2. There is
nothing that is impossible for God. Luke
1:37
3. Everything
God does is for the good of those He called.
Rom 8:38
B. God's plan for us
was worked out before the foundation of the world.
Eph 1:4-5
1. What God
planned, He will accomplish.
2. Our complaints about our circumstances
does not change God's plan.
V:3 [You asked,] 'Who is this that obscures my counsel
without knowledge?' Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too
wonderful for me to know. "
A. The God we serve is omniscience. He knows everything.
1. Much of what
God knows has not been revealed to us and may never be
discovered by
man.
2. God is infinite
and we are finite.
a. Our minds
are limited in what knowledge we can discover about God.
b. No one can
know the mind of God. Rom 11:33
B. God revealed to us
the order in which He created the heavens and the earth.
1. We have no
idea how He formed the universe.
2. We have no
idea how God made order out of disorder.
3. What we do
know is God spoke and everything came into being.
C. We cannot sit and
council with God how to do anything.
1. His ways are
not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts.
2. All Job could
do was to stand in awe of God.
3. When we
consider what God has done, it is beyond our imagination.
4. The best we
can do is to give God praise and honor for what He continues to do.
D. Job complained to
God as if He was accountable to him.
1. We are
accountable to God.
2. God owes us
no explanation to what He allows to happen to us.
LISTEN TO THE LORD
V:4. ["You
said,] 'Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer
me."
A. When God speaks,
our only response is to listen.
1. We don't know
enough not to listen to God.
2. We see only
the presence, but God sees the future.
3. God knows the
outcome of any action.
a. We only
know what we think.
b. And many
times our thinking is wrong.
B. We will be required to give an account to God for every
action we take.
1. Before God,
every knee shall bow. Isa 45:23
2. God has the
right to judge us.
3. We do not have
the right to judge God.
4. We don't know
enough to judge God.
C. God is the authority over our lives.
1. Our response to
God's authority is obedience.
2. It is God's
desire that we suffer for His sake.
a. In suffering
for God's sake, we grow in the spirit.
b. In suffering,
we gain patience, compassion, perfection and love. Jam
1:1-5
V:5. " My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have
seen you."
A. When we study the Word of God, we will come
to know Him. Ps 111:10
1. There are some
things about God we will never understand.
2. Some of God's
commands will not make sense to us.
3. We
have to learn that whatever God commands us to do, will
work in our
favor.
B. The more we follow
God's commands, the more faith we will have in Him.
1. Job never
wavered in his faith in God.
2. In all his
severe trials, Job blessed the Lord out of the depths of his heart.
REPENT AND KEEP ON REPENTING
V:6. " Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust
and ashes."
A. Job realized that
his sin was his pride in his righteousness.
Rom 3:23
1. During his
trials, Job failed to realize that all fall short of the righteousness of God.
2. Job failed to realize that he did not have
the right to compare his righteousness
to the
righteousness of God.
B. Having gained a
greater understanding of the glory of God, Job realized his
unworthiness.
1. Job realized
that he was not as righteous as he thought he was.
2. We do not
deserve the blessings of God.
3. We have what we
have because of God's grace.
4. God has been
slow to punish us for our sins because of His mercy.
C. After talking to
God, Job repented.
1. Job had exalted
himself. After taking to God, he humbled himself.
a. The
throwing of dust and ashes on oneself was a way of expressing
self-depreciation.
2. Job saw himself
as undeserving of punishment. After talking to God,
he understood
that his trials were an expression of God's love.
3. Job may have
thought that he was as close to God as he could get.
a. After
talking to God, he understood he needed to get closer.
4. Job may have
thought he knew everything about God.
a. After taking
to God, he understood that the wisdom of God was
so far above
him that he stood in amazement.
V:7. " After the
Lord had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "I am
angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken of me what is
right, as my servant Job has. "
A. Those who condemn
us during our trials will hear a word of disapproval from God.
1. We never know
why people are going through trials and tribulations.
a. We don't
know how God is working with them through their trials.
b. We don't
know what God's purpose is for their season of trials.
2. Our job is
never to condemn, but to encourage.
3. In the mist of trials, we need a word of
comfort that God still love us.
4. In the mist
of trials, we need a word of comfort that God is in control of our
situation.
B. Job's friends,
didn't stand with him, they stood against him.
1. Job's friends
exalted their righteousness over his situation.
2. Job's friends
claimed to have a word from God, when they didn't
know what God
was doing.
3. Job's friends
never prayed with him, interceding for him before God.
4. Job's friends
failed to take opportunity to bring God into the situation.
a. Jesus said
where two or more are gathered in my name, I am in the
mist.
b. Job's
friends never offered a sacrificial sin offering to God on Job's behalf.
5. When someone
is down, our first response is to go to God in prayer.
C. God is angry with
us when we fail to pray.
1. When we start
speaking without a word from God, we are in error.
2. Wisdom comes
from the Lord.
a. Without
the wisdom of the Lord, we proclaim the thoughts of the world.
b. Without
the wisdom of the Lord, we can lead others astray.
3. Without the
wisdom of the Lord, we have no idea how to treat others
rightfully.
4. Without the
wisdom of the Lord, there is no true love or compassion.
PRAY FOR ME
V:8. " So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to
my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job
will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according
to your folly. You have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job
has."
A. The moment we
start condemning others, we stand condemned before God.
1. The only way
I can condemn you, is to exalt myself.
2. If I see your
sins as greater than mine, I am already condemned.
B. The very person
you condemn, may be the person God uses to lift a prayer
for you.
1. Everyone is
responsible for their own actions.
2. God required
Job's friends to offer up a sin offering for themselves.
a. Job was
not in sin.
b. God was
not punishing Job.
d. God used
Job's situation to show that our faith in the Word enables us
to endure the trials of life.
c. Job's
friends committed sins by condemning Job.
3. Notice the
number 7 in the verse.
a. Seven is
the number of completion.
b. It took
seven bulls and seven rams to atone for their sin of condemnation.
c. The blood of Jesus completely atoned
for our sins.
4. God would not
accept the prayers of Job's friends.
a. God used
Job's prayers to intercede for his friends.
b. As bad as we are, God has somebody to
pray for us.
C. Don't miss the
mercy of God in this verse.
1. Instead of
dealing with us according to our sins, God appoints a righteous servant
to intercede for us with his prayers.
2. That is what
Jesus is doing for us at the right hand of the Father; interceding for us.
3. We are guilty
as charged. But God decided to let His Son be sin for us. 2 Cor 5:21
D. One of our sins is
our failure to promote the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
1. Everybody
deserves to hear the Good News from Us.
2. We are privileged
with the Good News so we can pour it out on others.
3. God chose
Job's friends to give him the Good News, but they presented him with
the bad.
E. God used the
hardships of Job to teach us how to be faithful under trials.
1. By God's own
admission, Job was faithful.
2. Trouble comes
to the good and the bad alike.
3. God may be
using your trouble to encourage someone.
FOLLOW GOD'S COMMANDS
V:9. " So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and
Zophar the Naamathite did what the Lord told them; and the Lord accepted Job's
prayer."
A. The one you condemn, maybe the one God uses to bless you.
1. Job's friends
condemned him.
2. God used Job to
bless his friends.
B. We are of no use
to God when we have an attitude of condemnation.
1. It is a prideful
person that condemns another.
2. God hates the
proud.
3. The prayers of
a prideful person are not accepted by God.
4. Before we pray,
we need to be sure we have humbled ourselves.
C. Job was used to
show Satan that faith in God overcomes all evil.
PRAYER WORKS
V:10 "After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord
made him prosperous again and gave
him twice as much as
he had before. "
A. Whatever God takes
from us, He can give back multiplied.
Mat 11:8
1. Job gratefully
and obediently prayed for the restoration of his friends.
2. In Job's
misery, he prayed for his friends.
3. Job, grieving
over the lost of his children, and all his assets, frustrated at the
lack of faith from his wife and suffering from
the pain of his sores, still prayed for
healthy folk.
4. Job kept his
focus on the Lord and not his condition.
B. Job lost all his
worldly stuff, but he never lost his faith in God.
1. Job lost all
his worldly stuff but he continued to praise God. Job 1:20
2. Job covered in
sores continued to praise God. Job 2:10
4. In due season,
because Job did not faint, he reaped a harvest of God's good. Gal 6:9
5. Faith triumphs
over trials and tribulations. Gal 6:9
6. God rewarded
Job's faith with the restoration of his
worldly possessions.
NOTICE, GOD DID NOT RESTORE JOB UNTIL HE PRAYED FOR THOSE
WHO
TROUBLED HIM
C. God used the
suffering of Job to point to the suffering of Jesus.
1. Jesus prayed
for His enemies, then came down from the cross.
a. Father
forgive them for they don't know what they are doing. Luke 23:34
b. The Lord
commands us to pray for our enemies.
Mat 5:44
1. Our faith in
our Lord and Savior is rewarded with eternal life.
2. If the Lord is
for us, no one can stand against us.
Rom 8:31
WHATEVER YOU GOING THROUGH, TRUST JESUS TO BRING YOU OUT.
Rev. M. Mitchell,
Asst Pastor of GMBC
No comments:
Post a Comment