Basics from the Beginning - pt.2

Introduction

Today we will continue with our series ‘On the Job Training’, principles & precepts from the book of Job.

We began this series last week, and as I’d mentioned then, as God begin to give me principles from the first 2 chapters, I quickly realized that I would not be able to examine them all from those 2 chapters in that one service. Therefore, I titled last week’s message ‘Basics from the Beginning - pt.1’

Basics from the Beginning - pt.1

We have an Adversary

He has Freedom to Travel

He has Formidable Influence

His Fellowships are Disguised

His Form is Deceptive

He has a Focus of Attack

His Future is Assured

We have an Advocate

He Controls the Wall

His is the Wellspring

He is a Witness

We have Autonomy

The Truth of It

The Test of It

The Terror of It

As you can see, those truths are pretty well basic… today’s will be slightly deeper, but with a caveat:

Today’s message will be more RECOGNITION than REVELATION. We will most assuredly recognize some basic truths, but not necessarily give specific answers to the questions. (Once we get into the message, I believe you will understand what I’m speaking about a little better.) Suffice it to say, if you’re hoping for the great questions of Job’s day (and ours) to be answered today, you might find yourself wanting.

I. Prayer isn’t Always Answered as We Like (v1:5)

In v5, we see that Job is offering up sacrifices unto the LORD for his sons.

The Intercession

Notice first that Job is not praying for his self. He’s praying for his sons.

Church, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t pray for yourself - there’s nothing wrong with that, unless it’s ONLY about yourself.

Intercessory prayer is powerful. It demonstrates that you love and care for others.

Jesus was asked ‘Which is the greatest commandment’ - do you know what the Christ told him? Guess what? It wasn’t one of the 10!

Mark 12:29–31 “And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.”

When we pray for others, it demonstrates loving our neighbor. The fact that we would take OUR time to call upon the God of Creation for ANOTHER, is special.

We see the Intercession - Job interceded for his sons

The Intention

Why was it that he was praying for them? “… for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.” Job was afraid that they would sin, and that God in turn would bring judgment down upon them for that sin.

Job was attempting to pacify the *POSSIBLE* Judgment of God from his sons.

In other words, Job didn’t want anything bad happening to his children!

This is a normal feeling that most parent have. They wouldn’t want any harm coming to their children either.

The Intention as that Job wanted his children to be spared from God’s Judgment

The Dedication

We see in several different ways how dedicated Job was to intercede for his children:

He rose EARLY to do it

Job prayed with INTENTION. It wasn’t something he did when he got time to do it, Job MADE time to do it!

He offered for EVERYONE OF THEM

He didn’t offer up one offering for them all, he offered an offering for each of them.

This church would have taken time - the one thing that we’re so reluctant to give unto God

He did it CONTINUALLY

Time after time - Job sought the face of God for his children!

This was prayer that Job was serious about.

Let’s be honest: There are times when we pray, and other times when we PRAY. There are times when we’re serious about it, other times when we’re flippant about it - then few times when we’re just broken over it.

Church, let me ask you: Are you Dedicated in your prayer life? Do you spend intentional time, or spare time?

Job was Dedicated in his prayer for his sons

The Rejection

Lastly we see that although:

Job has interceded on behalf of his sons

Job was intentional about his prayer

Job was dedicated in his prayer - it meant something to him, so much that he spent time, effort & money to see that God accepted his petition.

Yet, God said No.

Church, the truth is there will be times in your life where you will pray for something and God will simply say ‘NO’.

You might ask “Well what about what Jesus said: Luke 11:9–10 “And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”

There are two things I could say to that:

First Jesus follows it up by clarifying that even earthly fathers know to give ‘good’ gifts, and secondly - but more importantly we read in:

1 John 5:14–15 “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.”

So just in that we know that it must be ‘GOOD’ and ‘ACCORDING TO HIS WILL’

Here’s the problem: What we ask may not be ‘good’ nor ‘according to His Will’. Sometimes we ask for:

Dumb things

Selfish things

Unprofitable things

Things that will hurt us or others

So SOMETIMES GOD SAYS NO!

Prayer isn’t always answered as we’d Like

II. Bad Things Happen to Good People

This is hits around the age-old question: “Why do bad things happen to good people”

As I said, this is more RECOGNITION rather than REVELATION. Here we are just recognizing the truth that ‘bad things DO happen to ‘good’ people.

Job lost his business, his servants - but most importantly, his children - every one of them!

Bad things happen to good people

The Surmise of Job’s Friends

Surmise (def) to think or infer without certain or strong evidence; conjecture; guess

As we go through this book, you’ll see that his friends all thought they had the answer as to why Job suffered as he did.

Eliphaz the Temanite summed up their thoughts in Job 4:7–8 “Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? Or where were the righteous cut off? Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, And sow wickedness, reap the same.”

Job’s friends thought they had the answer - their answer was that the reason Job suffered was because Job was wicked. Everyone perceived Job to be a righteous pious man who helped others when they were down (Job 4:3–4 “Behold, thou hast instructed many, And thou hast strengthened the weak hands. Thy words have upholden him that was falling, And thou hast strengthened the feeble knees.”) but in REALITY, Job had sin in his life that God was punishing him for.

The Surmise of Job’s friends was that Job was sinful - just no one could see it. But was he?

Job was Special

Let’s look at the character of Job for a moment to see what kind of man he truly was:

He was Spiritually Minded

As we’ve already discussed, Job was offering burnt offerings unto the LORD continually for his children.

JOB CARED ABOUT SIN & TOOK IT SERIOUSLY!

There’s a lot (the majority) of Christians who are not Spiritually minded people.

Many don’t take sin seriously - it’s a joke to them

Job stood out from the crowd in that he was Spiritually Minded - he cared about the things of God

He was Morally Upright

Look at the Bibles initial description of Job: Job 1:1 “There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.”

Job was living upright morally. Job didn’t make up his own morality like many do - no, because he feared God! God’s morals is what Job adopted - and therefore he was morally upright as well.

He was Recognized by God Almighty

Church, this isn’t just what man thought about Job, but what God thought about him!

Job 1:8 “And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?”

Listen, it would be nice for you to think that I was like that - but that’s what God thought about him!

Job church was about as good as it gets! Yet, Job was a sinner

Yet Job was a Sinner

Job was not perfect. Do you know how we know that? Because NO ONE IS.

Romans 3:10 “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:” Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”

Job was what anyone would call a ‘good’ man - but Job was still a sinner.

Job was a Sinner

Job Suffered

Job suffered. Let’s just take a moment to recognize that Job suffered like few others have ever.

(Ill.) I saw a story about a woman who’d lost her mother and husband within the last year - then lost her daughter in the camp mystic flooding. That’s terrible tragedy.

But church, Job lost everything he had - and all 10 of his children. He lost the confidence and consideration of his own wife. He suffered horribly physically.

Terrible suffering for such a good man.

The Saviour Speaks

There’s something that Jesus says that I believe is important for us to consider when examining this topic:

Mark 10:17–18 “And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.”

Now Theologically, we know that Jesus IS in fact God, but this man Jesus was speaking to didn’t know that. But what’s important is what Jesus said - he said ‘There is None Good but GOD!’.

So the question ‘Why does bad things happen to good people is what they call a non sequitur, meaning the logic is flawed. The premise of the statement is wrong. Bad things can’t happen to good people, because there’s no such thing as ‘good people’. We’re all sinners and what we deserve isn’t good things, but the flames of Hell!

Church, everything ‘good’ you get is by grace, not merit! You don’t deserve any of it.

When you wrap your humbled mind around that fact, you’ll begin to gain some wisdom that eludes so many.

The Saviour Speaks, but also important to note - The Saviour Suffered

The Saviour Suffered

God in the flesh - the only one who actually WAS good at any point in time throughout the history of man - suffered greater than even Job. When you begin to examine:

The Physical toll

The Mental toll

The Spiritual toll

The Emotional toll

NO ONE has suffered like Jesus

So in any moment you begin to wallow in self-pity for your situation, first you should consider how much Jesus suffered for YOU!

The Saviour Suffered

Prayer isn’t always answered as we’d Like; Bad things happen to ‘Good’ People

III. We Know but Half the Story

I love those verses in Isaiah - humbling verses indeed: Isaiah 55:8–9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are my ways higher than your ways, And my thoughts than your thoughts.”

When we examine Scripture Job 1:1-2:10 we see that:

19 verses of narration or what’s happening in the physical world

13 verses of what’s taking place in the throne room of God

Guess what - Job only knew what was going on within the former, and had absolutely no clue as to what was taking place in the latter.

Breaking it down another way, we see that Job knew the What, but not the Why

Job Knew the What, but not the Why

Job knew what had happened to him.

He’d lost his possessions

He’d lost his children

He’d lost his health

But what Job - nor his friends - knew what WHY this all had happened unto him.

He Knew Neither the Cause or Purpose

He didn’t know what had happened in the throne room of God. He didn’t know:

Satan was boasting about his conquest

That God recognized and honored the man whom Job was - as an example of what men should be like

God’s Worthiness was being called to question

Job had NO IDEA THAT THIS HUGE BATTLE IN THE THRONE ROOM OF GOD WAS TAKING PLACE - AND ALL OF HEAVEN WAS WITNESSING IT - AND HE WAS AT THE CENTER OF IT ALL AS AN EXAMPLE FOR ALL OF MANKIND!

Jobe had NO IDEA that HE was going to be an EXAMPLE FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS UNTO PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD who are going through the trials of life!

Job had no idea to the Cause of his trials nor the purpose for them.

Lastly, Job didn’t know the Outcome of any of this either!

He Knew not the Outcome

For all Job knew, where he was is where he was going to be. He didn’t just want to die, he’d wished he’d never been born! Job 3:2–4 “And Job spake, and said, Let the day perish wherein I was born, And the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived. Let that day be darkness; Let not God regard it from above, Neither let the light shine upon it.”

But, Job didn’t knew where this road he was on was going to take him!

Church, you and I are no different or better than Job!

You and I may know WHAT is going on in and around us, but we always don’t know why. We often times don’t know the Cause things befall us, nor do we know what purpose they will serve in our lives & the lives of others!

And church, we certainly don’t know what the outcome of all that will be either.

You and I are not stupid, but we sure are ignorant as to all the things that are taking place in Heaven and how we fit into all of this!

He knew NOT the outcome

Prayer isn’t always answered as we’d Like; Bad things happen to ‘Good’ People; We Know but Half the Story

IV. The Godly will Worship Through Tragedy (v1:20-21)

Even through all in which we spoke, the ACTIONS and ATTITUDE OF JOB in v1:20-21 is just amazing to me! Job Worshipped God when he lost his family & finances. He WORSHIPPED GOD!

Here’s the question: How can the Godly worship through tragedy?

How can a man Worship God who:

Lived an upright and Godly life

Prayed unto God, yet had his prayer rejected

Then experience all the tragedy that he experienced?

Now he worships God?

Two things: The Godly will Worship God even through Tragedy, because of their Focus

Because of their Focus

Job was not focused on himself or his loss. He was focused on the God from whom all blessings flow.

Miserable people focus on what they don’t have

Thankful people focus on what they do have

Content people focus on God - not what they have or don’t have

Consider that for a moment: Job was focused on God - but it’s deeper than that. It wasn’t just because he was Focused on God, but because of His Faith in God.

Because of their Faith

How can a man worship the God who could have prevented such a thing from even happening?

It’s because they have faith in God’s Character

In God’s Character

Charles Spurgeon once said: “God is too good to be unkind, too wise to be mistaken. And when we cannot trace His hand, we must trust His heart.”

Job had confidence in the character of God. He knew that God was good. “God is good all the time, and all the time God is good” - right? Do you really believe that?

It’s easy to believe that now, here in the church house. But do you believe that at the hospital? Do you believe that at the funeral home?

Faith is a decision to believe something. In this case it’s having faith in the character and wisdom of God.

(Ill.) I was speaking to a person a while back and they leveled an allegation against one whom I feel I know well. It wasn’t terribly serious, but when I heard it, I found it hard to believe, do you know why? I trust their character.

Now we do that with mortal fallible men - but shouldn’t we trust the LORD? REMEMBER, WE DON’T KNOW BUT HALF OF THE STORY - THEREFORE, WE MUST TRUST IN THE CHARACTER OF GOD TO DO WHAT’S RIGHT FOR THE OTHER HALF!

They have faith in God’s Character, and also God’s Plan

In God’s Plan

(Ill.) I’ve lived at times without a plan. I know people who just coast though life without a plan

God is not one of them. God has a plan. And the Godly have faith in that plan - though they see it not, though they understand it not - they trust it. THAT’S WHY THEY CAN WORSHIP EVEN IN TRAGEDY!

Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

Do you believe that? Will you when tragedy comes your way? If you do, then you can worship through those times as well!

They have Faith in God’s Plan

Conclusion