Double For Your Trouble.

Double For My Trouble: Worshiping Through Pain

Bible Passage: Job 42:12, Job 42:16

Job 42:12 “12 So the Lord blessed the last part of Job’s life more than the first. He owned fourteen thousand sheep and goats, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys.”

Job 42:16 “16 Job lived 140 years after this and saw his children and their children to the fourth generation.”

Introduction:

As we dive into the concluding verses of the book of Job, we are met with a powerful message. That message is a message of restoration and redemption in the midst of immense suffering.

Job’s faith was an unwavering faith. Today we can look at Job’s life as a beacon of hope for all who are facing difficult situations and tribulations. He is a man that was able to demonstrate the power of worship even in our darkest moments.

Today, I want you to know that worship is your source of strength and renewal in the face of adversity.

When I look at Job’s story I draw inspiration because amidst all that he went through his WORSHIP pointed to the ultimate example of Christ's redemptive work on the cross.

Church we got to learn to embrace our pain. When you embrace it, do so with faith and trust in God's goodness, knowing that through worship, we too can experience restoration and blessings beyond measure.

1. From Struggle To Surplus

Job 42:12 “12 So the Lord blessed the last part of Job’s life more than the first. He owned fourteen thousand sheep and goats, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys.”

Many of us have hard catch phrases such as:

“No Pain, No Gain”

“The Struggle is Real”

Robert Frost said this “The Best Way Out Is Always Through.”

You will never experience the surplus w/o participating in the struggle.

Job had the 3 F’s in his life.

1. (F) Faith Job 1:1 “1 There was a man in the country of Uz named Job. He was a man of complete integrity, who feared God and turned away from evil.”

2. (F) Family - Job 1:2 “2 He had seven sons and three daughters.”

3. (F) Fortune - Job 1:3 “3 His estate included seven thousand sheep and goats, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very large number of servants. Job was the greatest man among all the people of the east.”

A wise man once said that life is like a trampoline; you bounce higher the more you hit the ground. Each struggle pulls us down, but the force of our faith catapults us back up, joyfully soaring above life’s challenges! It’s amazing how our setbacks can lead to comebacks, if we keep bouncing with God on our side!

It doesn’t matter how much treasure you amass on earth. Non of if it will ever have the power to hold back trails and tribulation from entering your life.

Job was a good man. He was a great man. He was a godly man. Non of these attributes gained him immunity from the difficulties he was about to experience.

People of God understand this. Just because you teach, and because you sing, because you visit, because you pray or do anything to serve GOD doesn’t make you immune to the trials and tribulation.

Despite Job’s character and faith he still experienced Losses:

Loss of Livestock

Loss of Children

Loss of Health

Loss the support of his wife.

Job’s name in the Hebrew means: Hated; Persecuted.

When examined in the Hebrew Lexicon we’ll also find that his name means TRUE; HATED.

When Satan came after Job, he came after everything. Satan took what he was able to take.

Nonetheless, the only thing that Satan couldn’t take from Job was his faith.

You see you can lose your job…You can lose your wife….you can lose your health…you can lose your house….you can lose you money.

You can lose all these things, just don’t lose your faith.

Your Faith is important.

When your faith is at the foundation, nothing can shake you, nothing can move you.

What will you do when those that most love you come to you and say, your going through this because you’ve sinned.

This what Job’s friend to him. But when Job humbled himself before GOD and asked for forgiveness for his friends that’s when God gave him double for his trouble.

2. Endurance of Eternal Worship

Job 42:16 “16 Job lived 140 years after this and saw his children and their children to the fourth generation.”

You might consider discussing how Job’s long life after his suffering symbolizes God’s desire for us to experience His joy and restoration in our lifetimes. This point could help the congregation contemplate the endurance of worship through life's entire journey, recognizing that, like Job, we can cherish moments of God's grace and count our days as extended time to worship Him.

Psalm 140 “For the choir director. A psalm of David. 1 Rescue me, Lord, from evil men. Keep me safe from violent men 2 who plan evil in their hearts. They stir up wars all day long. 3 They make their tongues as sharp as a snake’s bite; viper’s venom is under their lips. Selah 4 Protect me, Lord, from the power of the wicked. Keep me safe from violent men who plan to make me stumble. 5 The proud hide a trap with ropes for me; they spread a net along the path and set snares for me. Selah 6 I say to the Lord, “You are my God.” Listen, Lord, to my cry for help. 7 Lord, my Lord, my strong Savior, you shield my head on the day of battle. 8 Lord, do not grant the desires of the wicked; do not let them achieve their goals. Otherwise, they will become proud. Selah 9 When those who surround me rise up, may the trouble their lips cause overwhelm them. 10 Let hot coals fall on them. Let them be thrown into the fire, into the abyss, never again to rise. 11 Do not let a slanderer stay in the land. Let evil rel…”