Job 1:1 In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. 2 He had seven sons and three daughters, 3 and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.

4 His sons used to take turns holding feasts in their homes, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would send and have them purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, "Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts." This was Job's regular custom.

• This story of Job is an amazing story. Job was a righteous man, the story is all about something bad happening to Job and the thoughts of his friends as to WHY this all happened to him. The stand of his friends was if you do right and are righteous then nothing bad will happen to you. Job defended himself and said that he was righteous, but would not accuse God of wrong doing.
• The question remains “Why did these things happen to him then?

Job 3:25 What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me.

Feared = a living in expectation of something bad happening Boo... happened

Dreaded = was hoping would not come, a more long term looking / came

What I want us to look at today is the effect of fear and hopelessness on our lives. Even though Job was righteous he experienced destruction and a lot of suffering. I don’t know everything, but maybe we can see a reason in this verse?

Prov 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.

Matt 12:33 "Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.

36 But I tell you that men will have to give account on the Day of Judgment for every careless word they have spoken. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."

• Stored up in him!

Matt 15:8 "'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 9 They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.'" 10 Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen and understand. 11 What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean', but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean'." 12 Then the disciples came to him and asked, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?" 13 He replied, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. 14 Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit." 15 Peter said, "Explain the parable to us." 16 "Are you still so dull?" Jesus asked them. 17 "Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? 18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean'. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20 These are what make a man 'unclean'; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him 'unclean'."

• We could talk about a lot of things that are stored in our hearts that can destroy us, but today let’s talk about one of the most destructive things that get stored in our hearts. FEAR!
• We can see in the life of Job that even though he was righteous his stored up Fear brought things into his life he did not want.
• What are you afraid of?
• Failure, death, sickness, poverty, losing your job, violence, rape, darkness, your parents not being saved, war, aids, cancer,  what?
• Aren’t these things normal? Isn’t it normal to be afraid?  Common yes, normal NO! Matt 24 warnings of last days, but also see to it that you are not troubled, alarmed or afraid.
• How do these things get into a man’s heart?
• Ear and eye gates
• Own thoughts
• Demons

2 Cor 10:5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

• sets itself up against the knowledge of God (Martin Luther: nest building)
• take captive every thought (Thought police, the word of God)
• to make it obedient to Christ (apply the truth and force surrender)

James 1:13-17 when tempted, no-one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. 16 Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. 17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. (NIV)

How does temptation work?

14 but (1)each one is tempted (to do evil) when, by (2)his own evil desire, he is (3)dragged away and (4)enticed. 15 Then, after (5)desire has conceived, it gives (6)birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to (7)death.

1.    each one is tempted: as we have said, we are all able to be tempted. As long as we are on this earth we will be subject to the temptations that are common to man.

2.    his own evil desire: It’s not God’s desires that draw us away it’s ours. Often we are quick to blame the devil for the temptation, but God has given us the tools to reduce the chances of falling. NOTE: There are sources of temptation that have nothing to do with our personal choices, i.e.. the curse of generations. This is like having a womb that is fertile for the seed. Unfortunately we are all like this in this world! The heart of man is only evil!

3.    dragged away: This is the drawing away of our attention. We begin to feed on the thought of this sin. This begins in our thought life and can become an occasional thought till it is coming more and more often. It is at this point that we are most able to combat the Temptation! The Bible says to cast down the imaginations and the High things that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God, and bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

4.    enticed: This is where the actual hunger begins to develop. When the thought becomes more and more pleasurable. Where we choose to think about it. Where we play with the thought and no longer resist it. This is where the desire develops and our wills begin to give in. It is a little harder at this point, but still possible to cast it down.

5.    desire has conceived: It is at this point that this temptation turns into Sin! At this point IF I had the OPPORTUNITY I would do it! This is where the scripture says “committing sin in your heart”. At this point it’s time to repent of the SIN. Even if you did not do it in your heart, that is the only way to be cleansed of it. I Jn 1:9 is the only way! This picture is just like pregnancy. If there is no abortion, this seed will come to live in this world.

6.    birth to sin: This is the actual action of Sin, brought forth. This is the point where Sin becomes a lifestyle. A way of Life( or better said a way of Death) Sin will separate fellowship with God, but if we do not remove it it will lead to the total separation of Death. This is where our hearts become harder and harder. But the Blood of Jesus is still strong enough to make us free from the guilt, BUT there are sins that after you commit them you will carry the consequence the rest of your lives. You will reap what you sow. Singles stay pure, you will carry everyone you sleep with into your marriage. Even if you are forgiven!

7.    death: This is the point where death sets in. It s the area between our separation from God and Eternal death (Separation) takes place. The world is here already. The Christian that totally walks away from God is also here. If the two groups do not get right before physical death, eternal death will follow and then there is no salvation for them.