JOB CONTINUES - A PLEA TO GOD (JOB 10:1-2 ESV)

INTRO:

Good Evening… It is really good to see you guys and I am extremely thankful and grateful that you guys are here tonight. If there is one thing I love, it is opening up God’s Word with you to see what our Savior is trying say to us.

It is truly incredible that we serve a God who saves us, speaks to us, and seeks us out. We serve a God who is not distant, rather he has gone the distance to have a relationship with you.

The world would love for you to believe that you are alone and that no one is for… but the reality is… there is a God who sees you, cares for you, and loves you… who is for you…

And I am excited and honored that we get to walk through God’s Word together… I hope you are as well…

PRAYER:

Please pray with me as we prepare our hearts to open up God’s Word.

Lord thank you so much for sending your Son Jesus Christ down to earth to be Immanuel - to be “God With Us”.

Lord you came to us… we did not have to cross mountains, climb hills, or cross over valleys to try to get you… rather you came directly to us…

Your name deserves honor and glory forever…

Lord I pray that the distractions of this life would not blind us to the reality of your goodness, kindness, faithfulness, love, grace, and mercy…

Lord help us and give us the strength to see your Son Jesus as Savior each and everyday…

Help us to get excited about your Word, Worship, and loving others as you have Loved us…

Fill us with your Spirit Lord - grant us understanding…

Lord I pray that you would give us and increase our faith in you - in your Sons Jesus name we pray these things Amen!

PHYSICAL COPY:

I hope you brought a physical copy of God’s Word with you this evening… because we use them here...

The Bible is not something that we just skim over or use as a coster… Rather, my goal is that you would flip through it and begin to become familiar with it…

It was wild how many of us (myself included) have had a Bible for years… yet really truly do not know much about it…

I want your bible to be something that you cherish… I want God’s Word to be the VOICE that you VALUE the MOST!

I want God’s Word to be FAMILIAR and not FAR OFF…

I hope that God’s Word is not something that you just hear someone else talk about… I hope you hear God’s Word on a heart level…

So please bring your Bible with you each and every week…

INTRO BIBLE VERSE - PSALM:

Psalm 118:6–7 (ESV)

The Lord is on my side; I will not fear.

What can man do to me?

The Lord is on my side as my helper;

I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.

I share this verse with you this evening because many of you need to hear this…

The Lord is on your side and is your helper…

The lies of the enemy and the lies of this world will try to tell you that you are alone in whatever you are facing… feeling… or experiencing…

That there is no one who understands you… that there is no one who cares for you… and that there is no one who even wants to help you…

Friends there is a God who is on your side and ready and present to help you…

That HELPER = “A person who contributes to the fulfillment of a need or a furtherance of an effort or purpose”

In other words, God is the one who provides you with what you need to carry on or carry out something…

That could be regarding loving a family member, friend, or enemy

That could be strength to fight and kill sin in your life

That could for the growth of your faith

God is your helper - willing to contribute and give what you need in order to to fulfill a purpose or effort…

And this word Helper is not a one a done… it is not, I have helped you once or twice already… He is a helper each and everyday… ready and willing…

The question is not - “Is God willing or wanting to help someone like me?”

The question is - “Are you willing or do you want to go to him for the help that he has to offer”?

With this reality in mind - that God is our Helper and for us… lets take a closer look at our main passage - which is Job 10:1-2…

Which says…

MAIN PASSAGE - JOB 10:1-2…

Job 10:1–2 (ESV)

“I loathe my life;

I will give free utterance to my complaint;

I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.

I will say to God, Do not condemn me;

let me know why you contend against me.

WHAT HAS HAPPENED SO FAR - CONTEXT

What is the Context?

What are the circumstances surrounding the story?

Why is Job saying I loathe my life? Why is Job Bitter?

After all we have learned that:

Job was an upright and blameless man

That the Lord called him his servant and said that there was not another like him on the earth

If you were to go back to Job 1 and read through verses 13 - 19…

You would have saw that Job lost four things in the same day:

Job lost Oxen & Donkeys and the servants that oversaw them

Job lost Sheep and the servants that oversaw them

Camels & the servants that oversaw them

Job lost his sons and daughters

In 7 verses (Job 1:13-19) job lost his wealth, security, status, livelihood, and his children… And he learns all of this in a matter of a couple of moments…

It was not like he lost sheep one day and then three years later he lost Camels…No Job lost everything in moment…

But there is something that is worth noting… that is worth taking a look at… Go to Job 1:20-22

Job 1:20–22 (ESV)

Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and WORSHIPED. And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; BLESSED be the name of the Lord.”

In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.

That Word “WORSHIPED” means = “Conceived of or thought of as bowing down”.

I hope you did not miss what has just happened… Job’s initial reaction is to go to God…

Job does not allow his HURT & PAIN to stop him from going to his only HELP…

Job Displays HUMILITY even when he is HURTING

QUESTION(S):

Friends my question to you is… if this happened to you… what would be your first reaction?

Would it be to go to God and bow down to Him? or run from him and curse or speak poorly of Him?

And honestly… what is your reaction when things do not go your way? When things get hard and you are hurting… how do you respond to God?

POINT #1: How we RESPOND to God reveals the kind of RELATIONSHIP we have with GOD

In other words… How we RESPOND to GOD reveals how much we truly RESPECT God

I hope you heard it…

How you respond to others puts on full display the kind of relationship you have with them:

Your responds reveals how much you:

like them

Respect them

Value their opinion

Trust them

Care for them

And whether or not you would allow them to correct you or your behavior

SLOW DOWN - HOOK

“Your RESPONSE will show what you REALLY think and feel in your HEART”

If I was rude when I spoke to or about my wife - you would be able to tell that I may be bitter, mad, angry, or upset with her

Why? because you would be able to tell a lot about our Relationship just by how we respond to each other

How you respond to someone reveals in real time what you think about that relationship…

I know that Job was truly an upright and blameless man who loved and valued the Lord because his initial response was to show respect to God - not rebuke or curse his God…

Why? because his RELATIONSHIP with God was REAL

You can tell how someone views God by how the respond to God…

STORY/ILLUSTRATION #1: DAD

I can remember as a young boy my dad taught me to respect my Mom and other adults.

In fact when I would go over to a friends house, I would have to say, Yes ma’am and Yes Sir to my friends parents because it was a sign of respect…

They were letting me in their home, they were letting me hang out with their son, so the least I could do was show them a sign of respect by how I speak to them…

I can remember my friends would ask why do you do that? I would say because I respect my parents and I respect your parents… how I respond to them shows what I really think about them…

How responded to my mom and dad matters…

Friends how you and I respond to God matters… especially when we do not understand or disagree with what may be happening…

SLOW DOWN HOOK

I am overjoyed when I talk to some of you and I can see that your relationship with God is real…

I can tell that it is real because your response to God’s goodness, kindness, forgiveness, grace, and mercy is a response of happiness and joy…

There is life in your eyes when you speak about your Savior and there is trust in your heart when you respond to him even when things are hard…

I know that there are some of you who truly have a real relationship with God because your response to him is evident…

Friends, JOBS response to God shows us that his relationship with God was real…

If you are not going to God… if you are not responding to God… if you are not turning to God… you just might not have a real relationship with God..

QUESTION:

When was the last time you spent more than 10 minutes with God in prayer?

When was the last time you went to God and truly poured your heart out to him?

When was the last time you worshiped, praised, and thank God even when you did not like or agree with something that had happened in your life?

Matthew 6:6 (ESV)

But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

This verse is not saying that we can not pray out loud… that we can not pray with other believers… It is not saying that your prayer only counts if it is behind close doors…

No this verse is not saying that… this verse is saying and showing us that prayer is not a priority if you are not praying in private…

I would say it like this, if you are someone who only prays in public - its for other people…

Prayer was never meant to be something that is only done with a group of people…

Prayer was meant to be personal and propel you into a deeper relationship with your heavenly Father…

Friends do you have a private prayer life - where you growing deeper with your heavenly Father…

JOB DID…

PONT #2: WE CAN EXPRESS OUR EMOTIONS AND INNER MOST THOUGHTS TO GOD

Trust is tricky…

It can be hard to trust someone with your fears, feelings, emotions, thoughts, pain, happiness, and memories…

Why? because we do not know how they will respond to them… we do not know how they will handle them…

We do not know if they will hurt us more… we do not know what will happen when we trust other people…

One of the greatest ways to see or know if someone trusts you is by how much they tell you…

I trust my wife… I tell her everything… I tell her my dreams, my failures, and my deepest thoughts because I trust her…

And she has a track recorded of taking care of me when I trust her…

So I do not hesitate to run to her when I need her…

I have a track record of trust with her… and so each time it makes it easier to run to her again and again…

Friends… some of you have not developed a trust with God… some of you have no track record of trust with God…

And the thought of running to him, sharing your emotions with him, sharing your inner most thoughts with him, your concerns with him, seems odd and even weird…

Job had a track record of trust with God and was willing to express is emotions and inner most thoughts with God…

I think we sometimes view God as only powerful, holy, judge, and king…

But he is also our Father…

This morning I ran out to the parking lot to get my son!

I ran out to him…

He was about 50 - 100 yards away… but I waited and watched for him and as soon as he pulled into the parking lot…

I ran out to get him…

Friends… God is watching and waiting for you and he is running and chasing after you…

He wants to talk to you about your thoughts and feelings and he wants to help you and guide you in and through them…

He does not want you just to suppress them and move on… He wants to invest in you and know about your emotions and thoughts…

Proverbs 3:5 ESV

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

Jeremiah 33:3 ESV

Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.

John 10:14 ESV

I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,