Sermon Tone Analysis

| I’m Going to Trust God Anyway |

| *Or; MY DECLARATION OF DEPENDENCE______________________* ----

 /Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered.

You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about.

The Lord is full of compassion and mercy /(James 5:10-11).

~*~*~* You may never have heard of Robert King Merton, the Columbia University sociologist who died in 2003 at the age of 92, but I’ll bet you’ve heard some of the phrases that he coined.

He was an expert at developing brilliant concepts, inventing a phrase to summarize them, and then popularizing those phrases until everyone began using them.

Some of Merton’s tag lines include /self-fulfilling prophecy/ and /unintended consequences./

It was Merton who invented /focus groups /and who discovered and popularized the word /serendipity./

And it was Merton who coined the phrase /role model/ to describe someone who provides an example of positive behavior to others.

Well, the term may be new, but the concept is as old as the Bible.

In fact, we can think of the Bible as something of a handbook of mentors and role models.

If you want a role model for evangelism, study the life of St. Paul the apostle.

If you want an example of love, study the life of St. John, the apostle of love.

If you want a role model of faith, study the life of Abraham, for Romans 4 uses him in that way.

And if you want someone who can show you how to respond to suffering, pain, adversity, and tribulation, study the prophets in general and especially the life of the Old Testament hero, Job.

James said:/ Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered.

You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about.

The Lord is full of compassion and mercy./

Well, in preparation for this series of sermons I’ve read through the book of Job several times, and it’s quite clear there were times when Job didn’t feel very patient, and there were times when he questioned what was happening to him.

He was confused and bewildered and depressed, like anyone would be.

We’ve all felt that way from time to time.

But I’ve also noticed that his speeches and dialogues were punctuated with statements of perseverance and faith.

It seems to me there are five great statements of faith that act as signposts through the book.

Job said, in effect, “I don’t know why this is happening, but I’m going to trust God anyway.

I feel pain and suffering, but I’m going to trust God anyway.

I am confused and besieged, but I’m going to trust God anyway.”

Five times he said in various ways, “I’m going to trust God anyway.”

*May the Name of the Lord Be Praised*The first time is right after the first series of disasters.

In Job chapter 1, we’re told of how the devil stirred up trouble for Job, and the Sabeans came and the Chaldeans came, and the whirlwind came, and by the end of the day Job had lost his herds and flocks and servants and even his children.

Look at his response in Job 1:20-22: /At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head.

Then he fell to the ground in worship and said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart.

The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.”

In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.//

/Now, this is a famous passage in the Bible, and I don’t know how many times I’ve heard this on television or in the movies when someone dies in a drama or thriller.

You usually hear it in the background at the graveside while the hero is scanning the faces of the mourners looking for the real killer, which often turns out to be the grieving widow who’s all dressed in black.

Very often it’s raining.

While the hero stands there in the wings taking it all in, you can hear the priest intone in the background the words “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.”

I’ve almost never used those words myself while conducting a graveside service, but they are extremely popular on television.

Let’s do a quick analysis of this passage.

It says, /At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head….

/Those were the ways in which people in the ancient world expressed their grief.

This tells us that Job was shaken to his core by the tragedies that engulfed him.

/Then he fell to the ground in worship.

/It could have said that he fell to the ground in grief or in despair or in anger or in complete collapse.

But remember what we found in Job 29:  Job enjoyed intimate friendship with God.

He walked with God and knew God and had trusted the Lord for a lifetime of blessing.

And his instinctive response was to fall to God in worship, to say, “I’m going to trust God anyway.”

I used to have a professor who was well-known for saying, “Well, praise the Lord anyway.”

If something went wrong or he had a disappointment, he’d say, “Well, praise the Lord anyway.”

Job’s response here is an amplification of that attitude in a time of deepest distress.

And what did he say?

/Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart.

The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised./

The New Testament counterpart to that is found in 1 Timothy 6:7:  /For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.

But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.//

/This is the biblical logic in both Old and New Testaments.

We’re only in this world for a short time, and we’re here on assignment.

Our goal is not the accumulation of things.

Our goal is to be content and frugal as we serve the Lord, and when we have good days we thank God for them; and when we have bad days we trust God with them; and on both days we say, “May the name of the Lord be praised.”

So that was Job’s first declaration of praise, and it’s a good philosophy for all of us to adopt in times of stress and strain./

/*Shall We Accept Good and Not Bad?*Now the second was in chapter 2.  What happened afterward was this—Job’s declaration of faith frustrated the devil.

If you want to frustrate Satan, just trust and praise the Lord.

So the devil unleashed another attack, this time on Job’s health.

Job found himself covered with boils and blisters and running sores from top to toe.

Look at Job 2:9-10: /His wife said to him, “Are you still holding on to your integrity?

Curse God and die!”// /The word “integrity” here is related to the word “blameless” in chapter 1.

She was saying, “Are you still trying to be spiritual?

Are you still trusting God after all this?”  Her faith had just given out, and she was cynical and sarcastic.

But Job wasn’t going to put up with that kind of talk./

//He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman.

Shall we accept good from God and not trouble?”

In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.//

/There are several insights and attitudes woven into the fabric of this verse, but one of them is a sense of sanctified resignation and acceptance.

Do you see that word “accept”?

Sometimes we just have to accept things, even if we don’t like them and would wish them otherwise.

Remember the old “Serenity Prayer” that begins:  “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change….”

·        This is similar to Esther’s prayer:  “If I perish I perish.”·

It’s like Jesus’ prayer in the Garden:  “Nevertheless not My will but Thine be done.”·

It’s like what Eli prayed in 1 Samuel 3:  “It is the Lord.

Let Him do what seems good to Him.” Let’s suppose a little girl wants to get into her mother’s purse and play with her makeup, but the mother says, “No,” and takes it away.

Now that little girl has a choice to make.

She can either fuss and cry and rebel and squall and pout and throw a fit; or she can accept the decision and find something else that’s fun to do.

Her emotional health and good spirits depend on her learning to do the latter.

And it’s just the same with God and /His/ children.

Sometimes we just have to accept things as His will and say, “Well, praise the Lord anyway.”

*Though He Slay Me Yet Will I Trust Him*Now, let’s go on deeper into Job.

After this incident in chapter 2, Job’s friends come and begin discussing things with him.

These conversations with his friends occupy Job 4 through 37, and during these conversations Job declares his faith three more times.

I’d like for you to turn with me to Job 13, where we have one of the greatest statements of faith anywhere in the Bible.

Job was replying to his friend Zophar, and in Job 13:15-16, he said: /Keep silent and let me speak; then let come to me what may.

Why do I put myself in jeopardy and take my life in my hands?

Though He slay me, yet will I hope in Him.

I will surely defend my ways to His face.

Indeed, this will turn out for my deliverance.//

/This is Job’s version of Romans 8:28, that all things work for good to those who love God.

This, he said, will turn out for my deliverance, and therefore though He slay me yet will I trust Him.

I’ve come to really appreciate that attitude.