JOB - CHARACTER MATTERS

Passage: Job 1:1-5 (ESV)

Series: 1/4

Audience: IND. Youth Group (6th -12th Grade)

Time: 6 - 8 PM

INTRO:

Good Evening everyone. It is so good to see you all this evening. I get excited when I see you guys for two reasons:

1.) I get to hang out with you and get to know you better

2.) Opening up God’s Word with you to see what God has in store for us…

I love that you we serve a good who saves us and speaks to us…

He does not just leave us and say best of luck… he saves us and speaks to us because he loves us…

So thank you for being here…

PHYSICAL COPY OF BIBLE:

I hope you brought a physical copy of your Bible… why? so that you can mark it up… underline… and highlight it… so that God’s Word would be personal and not just pieces of paper…

My goal for you guys is that God’s Word - God’s Voice - would be familiar and not far off!

That you would recognize and know his voice… why?

Because if you listen to the voice that you value… value the voice of God!

PRAYER:

Oh LORD… you are God… you are creator, sustainer, and in control of all things… Lord we love you because you first loved us… Your love is steadfast… it does not cease… it is not conditional… it is not based upon what I have done for you… rather your love is based upon what Christ has done for us… praise your name for saving a sinner like me - the chief of sinners. Thank you for saving others in this room… so that you would be glorified and so that our lives could be completely and utterly changed and made new. Lord be with us as we open your word… help us Father to understand your word and apply it to our lives and be obedient to it… help us to love you Lord… even when we do not feel it… even when we do not feel like it… Help us to honor you with our lives… AMEN!

INTRO PASSAGE - PSALM 107:9 (ESV):

Please open your Bibles to PSALM 107:9 and follow along with me as I read it… if you are willing and able to… I am going to ask that you stand as we read God’s Word… PSALM 107:9 says this:

Psalm 107:9 (ESV)

For he satisfies the longing soul,

and the hungry soul he fills with good things.

SATISFIES = “To fill or meet a want or need”

LONGING = “To desire strongly or persistently”

In other words, this Psalm 107:9 is saying… God will fill and meet your wants and needs that you desire so strongly and that you seek after so persistently!

Some of you need to hear this this evening… God is more than enough…and he wants to be the one to fulfill your needs and wants…

God saves us… speaks to us… and satisfies us…

With this in mind we are going to transition to your main passage this evening…

TRANSITION TO CONTEXT:

We will be looking at Job 1:1-5 this evening. We will be spending 4 weeks in the book of Job…

Job can be located in your Old Testament…

If you were to open your Bible down the middle and land in the Book of Psalms, just go back one book and you will find Job…

Job is the book before Psalms…

CONTEXT:

Before we dive into the passage… let me give you some context…

Why? Because CONTEXT gives you a CLEAR picture of the CIRCUMSTANCES SURROUNDING a STORY…

Fun Facts:

*There are 42 Chapters in the book of Job

*The New Testament writes directly quote from the book of Job two times - Romans 11:35 & 1 Corinthians 3:19 - showing and validating that the life of Job was genuine and real - not just a story made up or a wild illustration

*Job is made known for his righteousness - being compared to Noah and Daniel in Ezekiel 14:14-20… and for his spiritual endurance in James5:11…

*Job never knew the reasons for his sufferings… neither did his friends

Written: After looking into this, not date is for certain… but many scholars believe that the book of Job was written in either the 4th, 5th, or 6th Century BC… around 2,500 years ago from today

Author: The author or writer of the book of Job is not for certain, but many scholars believe that either Moses or Solomon wrote it.

Audience: The Hebrew people.. the people of God

With a clear context… lets dive into Job 1:1-5 and see what God’s Word has for us this evening… follow along with me as I read it…

TRANSITION - MAIN PASSAGE:

Job 1:1–5 (ESV)

There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east. His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually.

Lets not waste any time and lets jump right into point #1…

POINT #1: Your CHARACTER is not a matter of CONVENIENCE

in other words, your character should be hand crafted by Christ…

I think it is important that we see and recognize that God takes the time to tell us that Job was a Blameless and Upright man - who feared God and turned away from evil…

BLAMELESS = “Free of Guilt - not subject to blame”

FEARED GOD = “Having a profound respect for God”

I think it is important that we do not just skim over this sentence and move on…

Friends… your character matters to God and your character ought to be hand crafted by Christ and not just formed out of habits that are convenient…

But what do I mean when I say that CHARACTER is not a matter of CONVENIENCE?

Here is story that might help what explain what I am trying to say…

STORY #1: FREDDY

When I was in college I met this guy and his name is Freddy…

Freddy played on the baseball team and I got to know him over 4 years…

Freddy was a goofy, funny, easy going guy who loved the Lord…

In fact, Freddy had been dating this girl for a while and he decided it was time to purpose…

So the night he randomly decides to take her to olive garden and purpose to her… she says yes… and this man was full of happiness and joy…

I attend Freddys wedding and I am pumped for him and the life that God has for him… and his wife...

Fast forward 4 years and I see Freddy at a friends house…

But his demeanor has changed…

The once warm, bubbly, funny, caring, and nice Freddy had changed…

Physically he was downcast and seemed exhausted…

He was cold, kinda rude, and far more willing to share his opinions even if it hurt someone else…

You see Freddy had gone through a divorce, was living with two of his friends from college, and was in need of a stable job…

life had dramatically changed for Freddy…

And it was more CONVENIENT for Freddy to allow his CHARACTER to change away from becoming more like CHRIST…

Freddy did not allow CHRIST to continue to CRAFT his CHARACTER…

I no longer got the sense that Freddy had a deep regard and respect for God

I no longer got the sense that Freddy was dedicated to doing his best to live a blameless life for Christ

You may hear this story and say… well Tanner he only changed because his life circumstances where difficult and hard…

That would be fair… let me give you one more example…

STORY #2: LUKE - SCOTT HIGH SCHOOL

One of my best friends growing up was Luke…

Luke and I played soccer together since we were 4 year old…

We went to the same high school and played on the same high school team…

Luke was a strike - he played up top and was honestly sensational

He was exceptional and one of the best players I have ever seen…

He went on to play at the University of Kentucky and Wright State he was that good…

He was far better than I could have ever been… he was gifted and truly elite…

But Luke changed as his popularity grew…

As his fame grew and his popularity changed so did his character…

You see he was instantly popular… because he was a freak athlete… and he went from confident to cocky

He went from kind to at times cruel

He went from being a best friend to someone I just kinda knew…

Luke did not allow Christ to Craft his Character… rather he allowed the crowd to Craft his Character…

Two stories of two very real people… yet the outcome was the same… they both did not allow Christ to craft their character

POINT #2 Your CHARACTER is always being CONDITIONED

The conditioned means = “to a have a significant influence on”

In other words, you Character is always being influenced by another…

Please hear me, there is never a time when your Character is not being influenced…

There is never a time where you can pump the brakes or not allow Christ to Craft your Character…

Why? Because if Christ is not Crafting your Character… then someone else is…

If Christ is not influencing your Character… then someone else is…

I hope you are allowing the CREATOR to CRAFT your CHARACTER…

I hope that you are not ALLOWING the CREATED to CRAFT your CHARACTER…

In other words, I hope you are running to God, his Word, and praying to him and allowing him to condition your character…

QUESTION:

Have you noticed… that the more time you spend with people or a certain someone… the more like them you become?

Have you ever noticed that you act differently around some people or groups of people?

Have you ever found yourself wondering why you act or say certain things around certain people?

Its because - Who you spend time with will spill over and begin to condition your Character

The question becomes… who are you spending time with? What is spilling over into our life? Is it more of Christ - the CREATOR, or more of other people - the CREATED…

James 4:8 (LEB)

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you…

Psalm 63:1 (ESV)

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;

my soul thirsts for you;

my flesh faints for you,

as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

Final Questions:

Who are you drawing near to?

Who are you seeking after?

What voice do you listen to and allow to impact you the most?

It is clear here that Job was a man who is Character was being conditioned and influenced by God… and not by others…

Who is conditioning your character?

CLOSING PRAYER:

Oh God in heaven… may we… be conditioned and influenced by Your Son Jesus Christ…

May we strive to live a blameless life… not for perfection sake… but because we love you…

May we listen to your voice be we value your opinion and character more than others…