Job - His Test became His Testimony

[0:00] The Book of Job is the oldest book in the Bible and we live in a fallen world today and our faith has to face up to some tough things.

[0:22] That's what Job really experienced. The real man Job suffered some real experiences and we can learn from him today what he went through. Job means persecuted or repented one and we see both of those things in his life.

[0:36] This is a practical message today. I hope an example of endurance that we can learn from as we see Job, his losses, his suffering and how he wrestled through those tragedies and pain and came out the other side.

[0:49] The life of Job is as relevant for you and me today as it was those thousands of years ago when it was written. And God showed a confidence in Job, allowing him to go through suffering to prove to Satan what kind of man Job really was.

[1:07] So we can learn a lot, I trust, from Job and hopefully there's some little elements here today that you can take home in your kit bag and make use of today. As we see God's power and sovereignty in the life of Job.

[1:20] One of the key things of the Book of Job also is worship. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for this book, your word to us. Let it breathe life into our souls.

[1:31] Let it minister to each life, each family, each heart, each home. For your glory we pray, Lord Jesus. Amen. Amen. Job 1 verse 1. There was a man in the land of ours whose name was Job.

[1:45] And that man was perfect and upright and one that feared God and eschewed evil. He shunned evil. Job was blameless. He was upright. He feared God. He shunned evil. He was perfect in God's eyes.

[1:58] And he feared God and he feared sin. Job was rich. He was prosperous in his wealth, in his influence, but more especially in his character. And he was a respected man devoted to God.

[2:10] Verse 2. They were born unto him seven sons and three daughters. His substance also was 7,000 sheep and 3,000 camels. And 500 yoke of oxen and 500 she-asses.

[2:24] She-asses and a very great household. So that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east. This man was the greatest of all the men of the east.

[2:35] This was a man who was called by God a great man, a blessed man, a just man. Verse 4. And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day, and sat and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.

[2:49] And it was so when the days of their feasting were gone about that Job sent and sanctified them and rose up early in the morning and offered Bert's firm offerings, according to the number of them all.

[3:01] For Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually. Here he was at the altar, as it were, as a model father, offering up sacrifices.

[3:13] He was concerned for his family. He loved his family, his children. He prayed for them. And he prayed consistently. He was consistent. He was steadfast. Next, in verse 6, we catch a glimpse, as it were, behind the curtain.

[3:26] Behind the curtain into that unseen world. Sometimes we don't grasp that, that there's an unseen world with principalities and powers at work, allied sometimes against us, as Satan is at work, as the accuser of the brethren, roaming around, looking for ones he can devour.

[3:44] And verse 6, it says that now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them. And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou?

[3:59] And Satan answered the Lord and said, From going to and from in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth?

[4:15] A perfect man, and an upright man. One that feareth God, and assureth evil. He feared God, and he shunned evil. He was my servant, Job.

[4:28] He was a real servant. Note, Job was a servant. Verse 8, Job was called my servant by God. God commended Job. He delights in his people.

[4:38] He delights in you, that serve him, that love him. Satan had to ask permission, we notice too. To ask permission, he had to come cap in hand before the throne of God.

[4:49] It's good to know that no matter what you're suffering, Satan's power is limited. It's limited. God sets the limits. God ultimately is in charge. And we see this through the book, that Job is tried.

[5:02] As we see many sufferings, losses of his family, of his health, of his friends. And maybe some of you can identify with Job today. Who can say amen to that?

[5:14] You can identify with Job. You're going through some things. You've been through some things, and you ain't seen nothing yet. Maybe there's more to come. We can all identify with Job through those times of life, when we face trouble.

[5:27] Job knew what it was to tram, where the rubber hits the road. And he shared life's experience. Here's a graphic example for you and me, of our lives too.

[5:38] As he served God, he met face to face with the experience of suffering. He went through the melting pot of life, through the crucible, as it were, of those severe tests and trials.

[5:49] Verse 9, Satan said, And verse 12, And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power.

[6:30] Only upon himself put not forth thine hand. God has authority. And God was asked by Satan, asked permission, and God granted permission.

[6:43] Job submitted as a servant to God's will. He was going to face some things now. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord. God allows his people to be tested.

[6:54] He allows us to be tested. That's why sometimes life is a test from time to time. God allows it. And Job was about to face this time of great testing.

[7:04] Verse 13, And there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house. Verse 14, And there came a messenger unto Job and said, The oxen were ploughing and the asses feeding beside them.

[7:17] And the Sabaeans fell upon them and took them away. They have slain the servants with the edge of the sword. And I only am escaped alone to tell thee. Servants slain.

[7:28] Verse 16, While he was yet speaking, There came also another and said, The fire of God has fallen from heaven and have burnt up the sheep. And the servants have consumed them. And I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

[7:40] He lost his flock. Verse 17, While he was yet speaking, There came also another and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands and fell upon the camels and have carried them away.

[7:53] Yea, And slain the servants with the edge of the sword. And I only am escaped alone to tell thee. His camel's gone. Verse 18, While he was yet speaking, There came also another and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house.

[8:08] And behold, There came a great wind from the wilderness and smote the four corners of the house. And it fell upon the young man. And they are dead. And I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

[8:21] His sons and daughters dead. What a disaster it was that day. What a cruel, disastrous time. Job lost everything.

[8:32] Everything. All his earthly possessions. Even his own family that he loved. What did he do?

[8:42] We see worship. Here we see the character of the man Job. Here we see what real worship is.

[8:54] Real worship. Not so much the, If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands. His worship wasn't manufactured. It was real. It was real in the very reality of his life.

[9:06] In this very trying time. His worship wasn't a manufactured thing. It was real worship. Real worship. Verse 20.

[9:18] Then Job arose and wrecked his mantle and shaped his head as a sign of his grief. And he fell down upon the ground and worshipped. Worshipped. Worshipped was his first response.

[9:30] Job praises God even in his pain. Praise even in pain. Even in his grief yet still he praised God.

[9:41] His faith did not waver. You know worship is not about necessarily having happy emotions although those come too of course. But worship goes through those times too.

[9:53] And we worship even in those times. And Job, the book of Job, the man Job teaches us to worship instead of wine. To praise instead of pout.

[10:05] And that whatever happens we can praise and trust God. Whatever. Job's faith carried him through. Those worst times of his life. And his amazing faith grew stronger yet.

[10:16] Through prayer and praise as he spent time with the Lord. As he was obedient to what God had asked him to do. And regardless of what we may endure through life too. Anyways and always let us praise him.

[10:29] Let us praise God. No matter what. Verse 21. Job praises verse 21. And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb.

[10:40] And naked shall I return thither. The Lord gave. And the Lord hath taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

[10:51] Blessed be his name. He gives and he takes away. But I'm going to bless him still. Job acknowledges God's sovereignty. God's controlling hand in all of life. Verse 22.

[11:01] And all this Job sinned not not. Charged God foolishly. So Satan's plot had failed. Satan said, Take it all away and he's going to curse you. Curse you to your face God.

[11:14] But no. What did Job do? He worshipped God. He worshipped God. Satan then expected that he would fail. But Job passed the test with flying colours.

[11:26] And our Lord is worthy to be praised. He's worthy to be praised. Just for who he is. No matter what he does for us. Apart from any blessings he may give or take away.

[11:37] And things would ramp up now. As we turn to chapter 2. As we enter into round 2 of this boxing match. If you like. Verse 1 of chapter 2. So again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord.

[11:51] And Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord. And the Lord said unto Satan, For whence comest thou? And Satan answered the Lord and said, From going to and fro and walking up and down on the earth.

[12:05] Now we see the integrity of Job. Job held fast his integrity. As the Lord commended him in chapter 2 verse 3. The Lord said, Has thou considered, my servant Job, there is none like him in the earth?

[12:21] A perfect and an upright man. One that feareth God and assueth evil. His upright is perfect before me. He fears God and he shuns evil. And still he holdeth fast his integrity.

[12:34] Still he holdeth fast his integrity. Although thou movest me against him to destroy him without cause. Job held fast his integrity.

[12:46] Integrity is important. Integrity. Verse 4. And Satan answered the Lord and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. Satan wanted the test to get a bit harder, a bit harsher.

[12:59] A bit more. Ugh. He thought Satan was thinking that the test had not been severe enough. He says, in effect, let me touch his body.

[13:11] I've touched his possessions, but let me go a bit more, a bit deeper, to touch his body, to touch his health. Let me really hurt him. Let me give him some pain.

[13:24] And then you'll see how faithful Job really is. Verse 5. But caught fault by hand now and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.

[13:36] And the Lord said unto him, To behold he is in thine hand, but save his life. God allowed this further test. This second test. It would affect Job's own health and his physical comfort.

[13:49] Job's faith and faithfulness were going to be tested even deeper, even harder now, under this new assault from Satan. But Job would maintain his integrity.

[14:01] He would maintain his integrity. Verse 7. So went Satan forth from the presence of the Lord, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.

[14:12] From the top of his head to his tippy toes. He was covered in these boils. And it says, verse 8, he took a pot shirt, which is a broken, a shard, a piece of pot, a broken piece of pottery.

[14:27] And he sat there. He sat there scraping himself. Sat there among the ashes. Scraping himself with those itchy boils. Pussy, bleeding, putrid boils all over his body.

[14:41] Get a picture of him sitting there in the ashes. Job's affliction was painful. It was excruciating. All over his body. All over his body. Boils from hip to foot.

[14:51] Itching, shortness of breath. Difficulty eating. Worms. Running sores. Darkness of eyes. A loss of weight. Peeling skin. Gnawing pain. Fever.

[15:02] Job was a mess. Yet, despite his terrible pain, he still believes. He maintained his integrity. His wealth was all gone. His children were dead.

[15:14] Job only had his wife and his friends to turn to for some understanding and encouragement. And he found neither there. He sat on this ash heap in his pain.

[15:25] Biles covering his body. We see the endurance of Job. Real endurance. Verse 9. Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity?

[15:37] Curse God and die. Wow. That's your wife. You know, Job lost everything but he still had his wife. Job's integrity was proven through this harsh time of endurance.

[15:51] And there's his wife. He's confident. His soul mate. His helpmate. He said, Curse God and die, Job. Give it up. Job still had his wife but she only added to his testing and torment.

[16:04] Job's wife was discouraged herself. She rejected the goodness of God. Yet, Job continued to trust God. He maintained his integrity. Job shows us how to react.

[16:16] How to endure. To accept whatever God sends. Whatever God sends or allows. Verse 10. But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women.

[16:27] Speaketh. What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God? And shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips. Here he was sitting on this garbage heap.

[16:38] This dung heap. This ash pile. Covered with his itchy boils and sores. And his wife was urging him, Curse God and die. And Job says, Shall we not receive good and evil from God?

[16:52] Whatever he wills. He overcame the discouragement. He resigned to God's ultimate will. God's ultimate power. And so we see Job starts with his two chapters of faith.

[17:03] And then follow 35 chapters of questions. Now we won't go through those in detail. But you see, I like how one preacher expressed it. Right now in this place, The devil is hard at work trying to get some of you To turn your back from the Lord.

[17:18] He wants you to give up. He wants you to throw your towel. And he wants you to give in. Give up. He wants you to collapse and quit under the weight. Under the pressure. But this preacher goes on.

[17:30] I'm here to proclaim to you, Right now, You may be just in chapter 1 or 2 Of what's going on. But chapter 42 is coming.

[17:40] Chapter 42 is coming. And we'll see what happens at 42. So it's worth going through the 1 to 41 To get to the 42. Three friends came to visit Job.

[17:52] Three friends. And they were going to give him some comfort To further, yet further, Test his endurance. Because we see from verse 11, Chapter 2, When Job's three friends heard of all this evil That was come upon him, They came everyone from his own place.

[18:09] So these friends emerged. Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar. And they made an appointment To come to mourn with him And to comfort him. Now Job received much human counsel.

[18:24] Human counsel. Over the next chapters. Much of it was not biblical. It was not wise counsel. It was human counsel. And these comforters. What's a comforter meant to be?

[18:36] A comforter is meant to be someone Who gives you strength And consoles you And helps you. But these comforters of Job Were just going to make him feel worse And worse and worse.

[18:48] They were just critical of him Accusing him. You know, the Bible says The devil's the accuser of the brethren. Sometimes those that are our friends Can act the same.

[18:59] And just accuse and criticise And pick on you. But Job had comforters like that. And sometimes you might have people In your life like that too. That, wow, thanks a lot For your counsel.

[19:12] And so they became critical of Job. And they started accusing him. And so we see Job's sufferings In this way. And these counsellors This human wisdom This human counsel They were saying that Job's punishment It was Job's punishment for his sin.

[19:31] You know, you don't have enough faith. That's why you're not well. You know, you've made some sin. That's why you're not well. That's why you go through trouble. You know, name it and claim it. Claim it prosperity. You know, there's nothing of that.

[19:43] It was not the case. It wasn't Job's fault. Verse 12 And when they lifted up Their eyes afar off And knew him not They lifted up their voice And wept And they read every one His mantle They tore their clothes They sprinkled dust on their heads Towards heaven And so they mourned with him They sat on the ground Seven days and nights And none spake a word unto him For they saw that his grief Was very great.

[20:05] They could see this. They were sitting there Dumbstruck. They couldn't speak a word And yet Job was going through This great turmoil And felt hopeless. He spoke up then And vented his anger.

[20:17] You know, it started to get Get to him. It was getting a bit Whoa! You know, he reacts In verse 11 of 3 Why died I not from the womb? Why did I not give up the ghost When I came out of the belly?

[20:28] Why didn't I die at childbirth? Why was I even born? Why? Why? Why? Why? Many times in chapter 3 We see Job saying Why? And we can ask the same Can't we?

[20:39] Why? And his friends Were little comfort here Their words represented Worldly wisdom Now the Bible says The wisdom or knowledge Of the world Can be folly Foolishness They saw his suffering As a punishment for his sin So they were little comfort And they felt that Job Needed to confess his sins And repent But Job is sure That he's innocent And he argues his case With the three friends You could see For these three friends I've heard it put That they all represented Something So Eliphaz Was one of them Eliphaz Based his counsel On experience He said I have seen It was all about The experience And he knew better He'd been Seeing things And he knew better And he considered That Job was Going to Australia And had done something wrong So he spoke from Just his experience Oh You know I've experienced this And I've experienced that How many Christians Are like that these days?

[21:36] Oh it's all about My experience Eliphaz Was like that Bildad He was one who Rested everything On tradition Is probably the other side Where it's all about The traditions What the fathers say Chapter 8 verse 8 He used traditional wisdom That Job had got What he deserved Experienced tradition Then you've got The third one So far He built on legalism And reason That God bestows His favour According to merit It's all about Your works It's about your works You've not worked hard enough You've not repented enough We get what we deserve Legalism About working Your salvation out Basically So we see These three Made these mistakes These three counsellors All about experience About tradition Or about Legalism About your works And Job 16 In answering them Job says I've heard many such things Measurable Counsellors Are ye all He was disgusted

[22:36] With them They were measurable Counsellors I saw one picture Illustrating Job And his three friends They're all pointing Their finger at him Saying how It's all about You Job It's all your fault But then we see A fourth one come Elihu The teacher His name means He is my God And Elihu spoke And he pointed Job in the right direction To hear God's word He pointed Job To hear God To realise God's greatness And to understand God And put his faith in God And then Job makes reference To a daysman Which is In other words A mediator Job 9 32 33 He says There's a daysman Betwixt us And it speaks to us As the word says In 1 Timothy 2.5 That for there is one God And one mediator Between God and man The man Christ Jesus You know It's not a mediator Who's Mary Or some other human being But we've got one man

[23:37] Who's also the one God Perfect man Perfect God God in flesh God in coming God in the flesh God and man And he bridges that gap The Lord Jesus comes And he makes that Relationship Between us and the Father And so Job Caught a glimpse of that In all these musings Job expressed his faith How God is beyond Comprehension In Job 11 Verse 7 It says Canst thou By searching Find out God Canst thou find out The Almighty Unto perfection It is as high as heaven What canst thou Deeper than hell What canst thou know The measure thereof Is longer than the earth And broader than the sea If he cut off And shut up Or gather together Then who can hinder him He's in control Of the earth Of the sea Verse 11 For he knoweth vain men He seeth wickedness also Will he not then Consider it We see that Job Started to get His perspective Straight And we see faith

[24:38] In Job Real faith Restore his integrity His endurance We see now The proving of his faith As gold His faith stood firm Verse 15 Of chapter 13 Though he slay me Yet Will I trust in him But I will maintain My own ways before him Though he slay me I'm still going to trust him Though he slay me Though he kill me I'm still going to trust him That was his faith And the experience of man Of pain Is common to man Job 14 1 and 2 It says Man that is born of a woman Is a few days And full of trouble Our life is just a vapour Isn't it As the bible says Just a few days And it's full of trouble Verse 2 And he cometh forth Like a flower And is cut down He fleeth also As a shadow And continueth night Just like a flower Like a fleeting shadow We've got to get Eternity in perspective Amen That's what Job

[25:38] Is on about there He maintained his faith In the eternal In the eternal hope Of life after death Job 14 14 He says By faith If a man die Shall he live again All the days Of my appointed time Will I wait Till My change come Now we're just in a body Of flesh For a few days Then my change Is going to come He could have That resurrection hope He knew that When his body Was in the ground It would rise again And he would have A change A changed body A changed dimension From earth To eternity And despite His many woes Job was a living Role model Of the power Of a righteous life You can know That too We can know That experience Hopefully we're going To go through What Job went through But through Our lives We can grow stronger And our faith Can grow Job 17 Job says The righteous Also shall hold On his way He's going to Maintain his integrity

[26:38] He's going to Hold on And here They have Clean hands Shall be Stronger And stronger Job was an Example of faith Holding on Holding steadfast I've heard it put That to believe To have faith Is got a sense Of cling Of cleave Of hold fast There's that sense Where we're glued Unto God There's that sense Where faith Just has that Super glue That we hold On to God's hand And Job had That super glue Faith That the righteous Also shall hold On his way And he looked In genuine faith To his Lord And God His Redeemer As he says In Job 19 25 For I know I know I know I know That my Redeemer Liveth And that He shall stand At the latter day Upon the earth Job expressed That faith That I know That I know Kind of faith The faith In his Redeemer He lives The tomb is empty And he's coming again He's going to plant His feet Again in Jerusalem He had that

[27:39] Heavenly hope That eternal hope That blessed hope Job 19 26 And though after My skin Worms destroy This body Yet in my flesh Shall I see God You know That body That you pamper And that you look at In the mirror Well I know I do From time to time It's just going to Get eaten by worms Anyway So don't spend Too much On the cosmetics Or the cosmetic surgery You can have An extreme makeover But the worms Are still going to Have a bit of a feed On that body One day And Job says That though after My skin Worms destroy This body Yet in my flesh Shall I see God He can see Into the unseen world And he says Whom I shall see For myself And mine I shall behold And not another Though my reins Be consumed Within me He is saying I'm going to see him I'm going to see him Face to face One day And friends For the meantime A refining happens He says Job 23 10 He knoweth The way that I take And when he hath tried me

[28:39] When he hath tried me I shall come forth As gold I shall come forth As gold Now have you ever seen Gold pouring out Into a vessel I've been in a gold mine And I've seen that gold Poured out Pure Brilliant Bright Glowing That's what he does To our faith I shall Come forth As gold It's like Peter said That the trial of your faith Being much more precious Than of gold That perish That though it be tried With fire Might be found Unto praise And honour And glory At the appearing Of Jesus Christ Gold Plated Gold standard Gold quality faith As Oswald Chambers wrote It's not our trust That keeps us But God The God In whom we trust Who keeps us That's an important point Isn't it You might think My faith isn't strong enough I'm not strong enough To hold on If it's all about My faith Then my faith Is going to be tested

[29:39] And I'm going to crumble And fall to pieces But as Oswald Chambers said It's not our trust That keeps us But the God In whom we trust Who keeps us He is able to keep you And he'll see you Through that testing time We see That Job Had a real foundation His foundation Was sure And grounded He was anchored His faith was anchored And Found its richness Its sustenance In the words Of God There was a real foundation There Job 23 11 Job says My foot Hath held his steps His way have I kept And not declined Neither have I gone back From the commandment Of his lips I have esteemed The words Of his mouth More than My necessary food Job esteemed The words The word of God More than his necessary food That was his foundation Job learnt to rely Upon God Through the trial Likewise we Can go through

[30:40] Affliction Knowing that Our affections Are not set On things here But on things above Our focus is there On that world to come And pleasing our God Our maker Who's planted us here Job did not ground His faith on the things That evaporated Even his family Was taken Job didn't put his faith In the falsehood Of man's wisdom As his counsellors did In the falsehood As you could imagine today Of evolution But his faith Was in the maker Of heaven And earth Job 26 7 He says By faith He stretches out The north Over the empty space And he hangs the earth Upon nothing He could see As it were He could Do some space travel As it were And look and see The earth Hanging On nothing As much as No one had ever Done that At that time God Described the earth As hanging

[31:41] On nothing Because God's put it there Hanging in space Job found his faith In the fear of God 28 28 Job It says Unto man he said Behold the fear of the Lord That is wisdom That is wisdom Not the human wisdom Of his counsellors Of his comforters That is wisdom To depart from evil Is understanding Job shows us That it's important To not forget God And to even find a song In our suffering Job 35 10 But none saith Where is God My maker Who giveth songs In the night God gives us songs In the night Amen That's what he did For Paul and Silas As they were there Beaten Bleeding Bruised And raw In that prison cell Acts 16 And at midnight Paul and Silas Prayed And sang praises Unto God And the prisoners Heard them You know You might be sitting On the ash heap You might be sitting On that In that dump pile

[32:41] As it were In the garbage pile Scraping yourself With pots Bleeding And hurting People are watching you People are watching you still It's then That your faith Needs to be Ever more brighter It's then In that time When you're going Through trials That your faith Should be even more Vibrant And you should sing Praises And pray As in Acts 16 Paul and Silas Here he was Scraping himself With a broken pot Tree The battle Had taken its toll But he says God gives songs In the night God gives you A song in the night Brother Sister When you're going Through something That's hard God will give you A song in the night Even in the night Even in that dark time Even in that time When it seems There's nothing To hang on to Even in the night You can have a song In your soul And so we see That Job Didn't blame God

[33:41] Tests are ultimately For our good God strengthened Job's character Through this time He deepened his faith And Job would be Honoured and blessed More than before As he faithfully Braved the test As he kept Humble before God As he kept Humble and reverent Before God Job 38 As he draws To a close God speaks to Job It says The Lord answered Job Out of the whirlwind And said Who is it That darkens Counsel by words Without knowledge Gird up now Thy loins Like a man For I will Demand of thee And answer thou me He started to Charge Job He started to Get Job's attention He says Listen to me Where was thou When I laid The foundations Of the earth Declare If thou hast Understanding Were any of you there When he laid The foundations Of the earth Of course not But the eternal One was The maker Was there Our faith Has its foundation In him The one who Laid the foundations Of the earth God is all powerful He's all knowing

[34:42] And he is Over all And The heavens And every living Creature Are under him Where was thou Where were you When I laid The foundations Of the earth Verse 5 Who hath laid The measures Thereof If thou Knowest Who hath Stretched The line Upon it Who planned It And measured It And made It God God did Verse 6 Where upon Are the foundations Thereof Fastened Or who hath Laid the Cornerstone Thereof He is The cornerstone And when the Morningstar Sang together And all the Sons of God Shouted for joy Where were you Job The eternal One speaks To you He speaks To us In this Few days That is this Mortal human Life Get a grasp Of the Maker Of heaven And earth Your maker Your creator The designer The one of whom The morning stars Sang together And everyone Shouted for joy To grasp the Wonder of his Creation He's made you

[35:42] He's the maker And he's designed you And his plan Is best for you We're not in a Position to question Our maker Our creator About his wisdom Or decisions There's a Contrast here Between God's Majesty and Glory And our Finite Knowledge We see Lastly Job's Testimony As I said The prisoners Prayed and Sang praises People are Watching your Life They're watching You brother They're watching You sister When you're Going through That time Sitting on The garbage Pile When you're Scraping yourself With broken Pieces of Pottery When you're Bleeding Pussy Boils Exploding And Killing you Yet You can Have Faith Yet You can Have Faith Yet You can Sing Praises Job Was Watched And we Are Watched Today And he Was a Real Testimony To the Work of God So don't Despair Don't Crumble When the Trials Come People are Watching Have a Testimony Like Job Did He Maintained His

[36:43] Integrity He Maintained His Testimony Sure He Vented A few Times In those Pages But he Maintained His Integrity And so he Was a Real Testimony To the Work of God In a Human Soul Verse 42 Verse 1 Then Job Answered The Lord And said I Know That Thou Canst Do Everything And That No Thought Can Be With Holden From The He Acknowledges God You Can Do Everything You're In Control God I Resign To Your Control I Resign To You And That's Where God Wants Us To Get To To Trust Him Implicitly To Trust Him Completely That He Is The One Who Is In Not Things Too Wonderful For Me Which I Knew Not Job Comes To A Place Where He Humbled Himself He Said Yeah I Said Some Things That Weren't Quite Straight I Said Things That I Understood Not Some Things Too Wonderful For Me Some

[37:43] Things I Can't Fathom I Can't Comprehend Verse 5 I Heard Of The By The Hearing Of The Ear But Now Mine Eye Seeth The Job Got A Revelation Of God As He Repented As He Humbled Himself As He Acknowledged That He Wrongly Said Some Things In His Ignorance Verse 6 Wherefore I Put Myself Under You Lord I Repent In Dust And Ashes Job Came To That Place Of Honesty Of Humility Job Served Before The Lord As The Priest Of His Friends So I'm Getting The Context Here Then It Goes On Job Served Before The Lord As Their Priest Offering Sacrifices For Them So Praying For Them Effectively Asking For Their Forgiveness And So Verse 10 The Lord Turned The Captivity Of Job When He Prayed For His Friends So He Abored Himself He Repented Himself And Then He Started Praying For His Friends And

[38:43] Then It Says The Lord Gave Job Twice As Much As He Had Before The Lord Restored Job He Restored His Health He Restored His Prosperity Until He Had Greater Than He Had Before He Had Seven More Children Of course He's Got to See The Seven That Have Passed Away In Glory But He Had 14 Children In fact Then And Everything Doubled That He Had Had As He Found That New Closeness To God That New Intimacy That New Relationship As He Prayed For His Friends Sometimes We Get So Self Censored Job Actually Prayed For His Friends He Didn't Say Pray For Me He Said I Going To Pray For My Friends And That's What It's About Isn't It It's Having That Heart And So The Full Reward Did Not Come Till The Test Was Over And It Says Job Left Another 140 Years And He Saw His Descendants To The Fourth Generation So Wow He Had A Big Heritage There So Suffering Has An End Point This Is One

[39:44] Little Truth To Capture Here Is That Suffering Has An End Point Now It Could Be We'll Suffer And Die On Our Death Bed That Could Be The Case But Suffering Will Come To An End One Day There'll Be No More Tears There'll Be No More Crying There'll Be No!

[40:00] Sorrow There'll Be No More Death And We'll See Him Face To Face Friends Today Suffering Will Not Last Forever And We Can Take Heart That God Will Give Us Strength Through Such Times As He Did To Job And He Restored Job He Gave It All Back His Health His Finances His Family His Relationship Maybe His Spouse Had A Change Of Heart!

[40:23] His Wife But We See That The Lord Will Give Unto Us Beauty For Ashes The Oil Of Joy For Mourning The Garments Of Praise For The Spirit Of Heaviness We Can Realize From Job As He Went From The Ash Heap Back To His Restored Place That Satan's Power Is Limited For You Brother Sister!

[40:43] People Today If You're Going Through Suffering Satan's Power Is Limited! It's Limited! Don't Think Satan's Going To Come To You Personally He's Too Busy Walking You Around The Earth To Worry About You And Me But Satan's Power Is Limited!

[40:59] He's Contained! His Power Is Limited! He's Got To Ask Permission! And The Righteous Can And Do Suffer! Sometimes God Allows It! Sometimes It's His Will! Strangely Enough!

[41:10] Sometimes God Will Allow Us Don't Let Momentary Trials Turn You Away From Eternal Values So We See Job A Role Model A Role Model For Us We've Only Scratched The Surface I've Brushed Through This Really There's Much More We Can Say About Job I've Just Touched On Some Key Things But Just To Recap Quickly Some Key Things We Can Learn From Job From Job's Life He Was A Servant My Servant Job Wouldn't It Be Good If God Would Say That Of You Of Me My Servant To Know Him As Master My Servant He Knew What Worship Was Worship Wasn't About All The Happy Clappy Jazzy Jivey It Was About When The Rubber Hits The Road You Can Worship When You're Feeling Bruised

[42:10] And Battered You Can Worship When You're Feeling Like Colin Silas Beaten To The End Of Your Life Almost You Can Sing Praises And Pray You Can Pray You Can Worship He Held Fast His Integrity His Integrity Wasn't Shaken By The Storms Of His Life By The Criticism Of His Friends By The The Counsel Of His Wife To Curse God And Die He Had Integrity That Held Him Fast And True He Had Endurance Endurance He He Had Faith A Faith That Wasn't Framed By Happenstance And By The Outward But A Faith That Could See The Unseen And Hang On To The Hand Of His Maker He Had A Foundation That The Words Of His Mouth Were More Important Than His Food He Would Rather Miss A Meal Than Miss The Words Of God And So He Had A Foundation And Lastly!

[43:16] His Faith Was A Testimony And Yours Can Be Too It's Amazing How Those Christians Who Stand Out From The Crowd Are The Ones Who Go Through Those Hardest Of Times And So Brother Sister Be Encouraged If You're Going Through Some Tough Things There's A Testimony There That You Are Witnessing God's Grace In Your Life So Satan Is Defeated He Was Defeated In Round One He Was Defeated In Round Two And Friends He's Going To Be Defeated In Your Life Too If You Trust Him If You Trust Christ He Will Destroy All The Works Of The Enemy In Your Life And If You Trust Christ If You Trust Jesus To Save You He Is The One Who's Got The Power To Break The Power Sin Over Your Life As He Died As He Rose As He Lives As He's Coming Again For Those That Know Him For Those That Love Him For Those That Trust Him You Can Have That Testimony To I Urge You Today If You've Not Trusted Christ Personally For Your Life

[44:16] For Your Salvation Then Make It Today Make It Now Make It Now And Be As Job No Matter What Happens Whatever Happens I'm Going! I Can Elaborate More We Can Have Some More Personal Counsel Or If You're A Female Here Today We'll Find A Woman That You Can Speak To To Tell You More How Can I Know That I'm A Christian Don't Leave This Place Without That Assurance Today Job Was Restored God Was Glorified And Job Triumphed Over All Those Trials And Temptations It's Been Said That Our Trials Can Make Us Bitter Or They Can Make Us Better And I Urge You Today To Take Heart I Don't Know What Monday Is Going To Bring For You Sometimes I Get Scared When I Preach A Message Like This Because I Think Wow What's Going To Get To Make Sure That I Can Live What I Been Talking About And

[45:16] It's Real Isn't It Real It's Real Servanship It's Real Worship It's Real Integrity It's Real Endurance It's Real Faith It's A Real Foundation And It's A Real Testimony That You Can Have Just As Job Had Let Us Pray We Thank You Lord For Your Grace And Love We Thank You Lord That Even In Job's Life When It Seemed Like To Those Watching On That It Seemed Like You Abandoned Him That You Were Right There You Were Right There With Him As He Humbled To Your Words As He Held Fast His Integrity His Faith As He Endured Truth You Were Right There With Him And Likewise For Each One Here Today We Can Know That Faith That Can Go Through The Very Furnace Of Affliction The Very Refining And Pouring Out Of Gold I Pray Lord For Our People Here Today Each One Here Today That

[46:17] Each One Will Know What It Is That It's Going To Hurt A Bit In That Furnace But We're Going To Be Poured Forth As Gold We Praise You Lord And It's Not By Any Working Of Our Own But It's All By The Glory Of Your Name It's All To The Praise To Thank you.