Husband, love your wife!

[0:00] Before we get started, I just wanted to kind of give a little background on this lesson that I've prepared.! It's definitely more of a Bible study.

[0:10] Sometimes we have questions. We go through life.

[0:22] And I was going through a time in my life. I had some questions. It's easy to say the worst day in my life was the day that I found out that my dad was killed.

[0:37] And I just want to be a little bit transparent tonight to kind of get you geared the same way that I was preparing for this message. He didn't show up to work, so we knew something was wrong.

[0:49] I checked on my phone. We have an app that kind of shares what people are. And I saw his location. So I started heading there, and it was about a 25-minute drive. On the way there, I called non-emergency police, kind of give them some details.

[1:05] Maybe they would know something. And the operator was very friendly, very chipper. And she said, let me check on that for you. But when she got back on the phone, her whole attitude had changed.

[1:15] She was very somber. And I knew right then this was bad. Because if there had been any hope, she would have told me. So I'm driving there. I had about 10 minutes left.

[1:27] Just kind of processing everything. I show up, and I'm talking with the officers. And they told me what had happened. So I just have, you know, that was very unexpected.

[1:39] I have a lot of weight on my mind. That same day, I was talking with the funeral home. And in my grief, they're trying to squeeze me for 30 grand for the burial and everything.

[1:54] And I didn't have that kind of money. So I have this financial burden on top of that. But my family were all donors. And I talked to the donor place that night.

[2:06] And there was nothing salvageable. And so I knew even then, this is bad. And I had a lot of weight on my mind. There was a lot of stuff going on. And that point in my life, I was going through a transition from churches.

[2:21] And I didn't really have anybody to turn to. And so I went to the Bible. And I just started reading in the book of Job. Because he had it way worse than I did.

[2:33] If you have read the book of Job, that first chapter is a gut punch. Here Job explains that he's a wealthy individual. He's righteous.

[2:45] And he has a servant come up to him and says, Hey, we're out in the field. And these guys, the Sabians, they came and they started taking the oxen.

[2:57] And they just started killing everybody. And I'm the only one that made it out alive. And the Bible says, while he yet spoke, another servant comes in. He's like, hey, fire came down from heaven.

[3:09] It consumed all the sheep and all the servants watching the sheep. I'm the only one that came out alive. It says, while he yet spoke, another man comes and says, Hey, the Chaldeans, they come.

[3:19] And they've stolen all the camels and they killed everybody except me. I'm the only one that made it out alive. While he yet spoke, someone said, Hey, your son was celebrating his birthday.

[3:31] He had all of his brothers and sisters there and all of their families. The house caved in because of a wind. We went through the rubble. They're all gone. The only one surviving is me. He has all of this going on.

[3:42] Just boom, boom, boom, piled up on him. And then on top of that, he has sores on his body. And the Bible says throughout that, he didn't charge God foolishly.

[3:54] He was perfect. And I remember reading through that. And it was a comfort to me. And there were some questions. The handout tonight doesn't have the first question because it's not specifically answered in Scripture and Job.

[4:11] So this kind of gets us geared to where I was thinking. I remember reading through Job and Proverbs 3, 5 popped in my head.

[4:24] Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not to thy own understanding. And I remember thinking, I don't know what's going on, but God does. Hebrews 9, 27 says that it is appointed once for men to die.

[4:38] And I took comfort in knowing that God knew that that appointment had been set up. And that's all it was, my dad's appointment to meet the Lord. That gave me some encouragement.

[4:52] We sing a little bit about, you know, the Lord is a friend to those who are brokenhearted. We kind of sing about that tonight. In Psalm 147, turn there real quick.

[5:06] Let me read this to you. Verse number 5, it says, Great is our Lord, and of great power his understanding is infinite. You know, God knew, and he does know.

[5:18] Isaiah 55, starting in verse 8, it says, 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.

[5:32] And I kind of came to the conclusion. I may not ever know the reason why that happened. It's easier for us as Christians today who have the Bible.

[5:44] We can read through Job in an hour, and we get it all resolved in a nice package. It's like, wow, this is great. It wasn't like that for Job going through it. I mean, he had to take it day by day.

[5:57] And, you know, he had friends that came along, so-called friends that were accusing him. Hey, you obviously have sin in your life, because God allowed this to happen because of, you know, sin. And I hear a lot of pastors and preachers talk about how much of a rag Job's wife was, but I don't believe that at all.

[6:15] To have someone so godly, you have to have a godly woman behind you. And she went through all the same struggles. Those were her babies or her grandchildren. And now she sees her husband boils.

[6:27] And I think she spoke from a broken heart. Just curse God and die. Just get it over with. Let it be done. And, you know, he rebukes her. You talk like one of those foolish women. You know, what are you talking about?

[6:38] And it just gave me a lot of encouragement reading through this book. The first question I had was, and this isn't on your paper, so you don't have to worry about it, but why do bad things happen to good people?

[6:52] And I think that's a question even unsaved people have. Why does that happen? And I just had four things to just consider about this.

[7:03] As I was just kind of studying, as I was healing through that hurt, the first thing to consider is this life is not the end.

[7:15] So don't get hung up on what happens here. If you want to turn with me to 2 Corinthians chapter 4, I'm going to try and just read through these things. So if I start reading and you're not there, I do apologize.

[7:28] You can ask me later and I can get to these verses. 2 Corinthians chapter 4, starting in verse 16. Verse 18.

[7:53] It's not always easy to put on our, you know, our glasses, our eternal glasses, and look toward the rewards because we're so inundated with everything we have right in front of our face today.

[8:15] But we will be rewarded one day. Obviously, there's things that man does. We have sin nature. That can be a reason. You reap what you sow for bad things to happen. But the second thing that I considered was God allows some bad things to happen for our good and for his glory.

[8:34] The Bible says in Romans 8.28, it says, And we know all things work together for good to them who are called according to God's purpose. I think about Joseph in Scripture.

[8:47] He's supposed to be giving a report to his dad about his brothers. And they see Joseph walking down the way, and they're like, I hate this guy. Honestly.

[8:59] Let's kill him. And all the brothers are like, yeah, let's kill this guy. We hate him. And one of the brothers, definitely the opportunist, is like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Let's make some money off of this guy.

[9:09] Let's sell him. So that's what they do. They sell him into slavery. Then he gets to Egypt, and he's sold again to a man named Potiphar. His wife has some evil intentions towards him, but he trusts God, and he stays away from her.

[9:24] He gets sent to prison. And now he's rotting away in this prison, and he has a glimmer of hope. Two guys come, and they're like, oh, hey, we work for Pharaoh, and we'll definitely let him know about you.

[9:36] They forget. And we know just in Scripture that 13 years passes between all of this. And then the time comes where he's with his brothers, and once they realize who it is, they're terrified.

[9:51] But in Genesis chapter 50, verse 20, he tells them, But as for you, ye thought evil against me, but God meant it unto good to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

[10:06] Joseph knew sometimes bad things happen to good people because God can use that for his good, for our good, and for his glory. Another thing I thought to consider about why bad things happen to good people is it's opportunities for our growth and for others' encouragement.

[10:26] If you'll turn with me again to 2 Corinthians chapter 1. 2 Corinthians chapter 1. We'll start reading in verse 3.

[10:38] It says, Sometimes we're meant to go through things just so we can help other people go through them.

[11:06] I think it's important to bear those type of scars so that others can see if you've gone through something, shared those experiences and how the Lord was able to get you through it.

[11:18] And lastly, I want to mention the last thing to consider. Why do bad things happen to good people? Because some of the worst things happen to the best person, Jesus Christ. Let's turn to 1 Peter chapter 2.

[11:31] He was sinless. He didn't deserve anything that he got. 1 Peter chapter 2, verse 20. It says, For what glory is it if when ye be buffeted for your faults ye shall take it patiently?

[11:44] But if when ye do well and suffer for it ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. For even here unto were ye called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that he should follow his steps.

[12:00] Let's read to verse 24. You know, Jesus knows what we're going through.

[12:29] A lot of times God allows it. We know in Job, you know, God is in his inhabitant. And Satan comes along.

[12:41] God asks, what are you doing? Satan's like, I'm just going to and from on the earth. God says, what do you think about Job, my servant? And of course, Satan has to make everything.

[12:54] You know, he's like, oh, well, you know, of course he'd be serving you. You gave him everything. God's like, all right. Well, don't touch him, but take everything else. And, you know, Satan does.

[13:05] And Job comes out strong. And he's like, well, yeah, things are easy, but what if he was really sick and I could touch him? Then he would curse your name.

[13:16] I know it. God's like, do it. And he does. And Job is faithful. God allows these things. And God knows what's happening.

[13:27] I was thinking in our own life, we may have to go through these things. Job chapter 23, verse 10 says, but he knoweth the way that I take.

[13:38] When he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. We may have to go through the fire ourself. You know what's cool is gold doesn't fear fire. Everything that gets burned up at the end of our life, if it's wood, hay, and stubble, we didn't need it anyway.

[13:55] We get to come out on the other side. Psalm chapter 34, if you're going through a heartache and you need some encouragement, I would say read through Psalm 34.

[14:08] And I just want to read some of it to you tonight. 34, and we'll start reading in verse 15. It says, the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.

[14:20] The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. 35, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of their troubles. 36, the Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

[14:36] 37, many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. He keepeth all his bones, not one of them is broken. 38, evil shall slay the wicked, and they that hate righteous shall be desolate.

[14:50] 39, the Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants, and none of them that trust in him. 39, the Lord shall be desolate. That's a promise. God is faithful to uphold those things.

[15:03] In Hebrews chapter 11, verse 6, I'll read this, and then we'll get into the notes that you all have. Give me a moment to turn there. The back of my Bible is literally falling apart.

[15:16] So I enjoy Old Testament messages, because then nothing falls out of my Bible. Hebrews 11, chapter 6, it says, But without faith it is impossible to please him, for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

[15:33] So, you know, we might ask, why didn't God let Job know the reason why? Well, he doesn't, but if we seek him, he will be a rewarder to us.

[15:44] So I read through those things, and then in chapter 14 of Job, if you want to turn there, these are where these questions come in. There's a lot of questions that we have, and I just kind of wrote down some of them as I was going through Job, some that I thought were really good.

[16:05] The first one is, where do I go when I die? That's a really big question. I would be willing to guess if we would go on Saturday, and we're out there canvassing, and we just ask everybody that we walk by, where do you go when you die?

[16:22] We would get a multitude of answers. And so I think it's a really good question. In Job chapter 14, I guess this will be our text, verse 10, it says, But man dieth and wasteth away, yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?

[16:43] So where do we go when we die? So that's your first point there, I guess, is the eternal destination of man. If you'll turn with me to Luke chapter 16, we'll read a little bit about that.

[16:58] Many of us are familiar with this passage, the rich man and Lazarus. It says in verse 19, There was a certain rich man which was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day.

[17:14] And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores.

[17:27] And it came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And in hell he, that's the rich man, lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom.

[17:46] And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame.

[17:59] But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivest thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things. But now he is comforted and thou art tormented.

[18:11] And beside all this, between us and you, there is a great gulf fixed, so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot, neither can they pass to us that would come from thence.

[18:26] And so here we have this rich man. He's died. We see the two destinations there, heaven and hell.

[18:38] Are the, do we have any of the, I'm going to come back here and grab an extra sheet so I can keep along with everyone. My notes have a lot more stuff on them, and I'm losing my spot.

[18:52] So where do we go when we die? I, the eternal destination of man. So A and B would be heaven and hell. So with our text there, in Luke chapter 16, we see under hell, first off, there's everlasting torment.

[19:07] It says in verse 23, and in hell he lift up his eyes being in torments. There's everlasting fire, the Bible says. It says in verse 24 at the end, I am tormented in this flame.

[19:19] And then we see in verse 26, everlasting separation, everlasting separation from God. I truly believe that's going to be the worst part about hell. It's because here, even on earth, there are things that are restrained because of the Holy Spirit's power.

[19:36] And once that's gone, chaos and ruin will reign. And that's what hell will be like. There will be no restraint. And I think, I believe that's going to be the worst part.

[19:47] So that was Job chapter 14, verse 10. So back, I guess, in our text here. And again, this is something, I know most of us know these things, but it's just a Bible study that the Lord has laid on my heart.

[20:04] But Job chapter 14, now verse 14, says, If a man die, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time will I wait till my change come.

[20:17] So if a man die, shall he live again? So, is there life after death? I think that's a very good question. I think many people would ask that. And again, you would get a lot of different answers.

[20:29] So now we have the eternal destiny of man. We'll turn over to John chapter 5. We'll start reading in verse 28. It says, Marvel not at this, for the hour is coming in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice and shall come forth, they that have done good unto the resurrection of life and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation.

[20:58] So there's going to be two resurrections. So the first there is for the saved. So that'll be A there for your notes.

[21:09] We'll turn to 1 Thessalonians chapter. Can I have someone read that for me while I get a drink? 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, verse 16. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, verse 16.

[21:20] Thank you, brother. All right. So, that's a part of the resurrection of the saved. John 11, starting in verse 25, it says, Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life.

[21:36] He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die, believest thou this? So again, the dead in Christ will have a resurrection.

[21:51] 1 Corinthians chapter 15. And we'll start reading in verse 54. It says, when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

[22:10] O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. Verse 57, But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

[22:23] Christ. As sinners, or as sinners, yeah, as sinners we get saved, but as saved people, we don't have to fear life after death.

[22:35] The Bible says that we can know that we're going to heaven. We can have that assurance. But it's not so for letter B there, it's for the sinners.

[22:48] If you go out and ask people where they're going to go when they die, it's amazing how many times people say, I hope I go to heaven. They don't know. They don't know one way or the other.

[23:00] Revelation chapter 20, starting in verse 4, it says, And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them. And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the word of God, which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads or in their hands, and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

[23:26] But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Everybody on earth is born at least once.

[23:37] That's how we're here. And then we know everyone will die at least once. That's a guarantee. We know that through Scripture because the Bible says because of sin, there's death.

[23:50] But there's an opportunity. You can either be born once, be born again, and die once, or you can be born once, and you can actually die twice.

[24:03] That physical death and then that spiritual death, which is separation from God for eternity. I remember talking with somebody one time that didn't understand that God's blood was what paid the price for their sin, and they said that they could do it themselves.

[24:24] And the answer is, you can pay that debt yourself, and that's eternity in hell, and your slate is clean. But no one wants to go there. God sent his only begotten son to die on the cross who's paid that debt, so you don't have to do that.

[24:40] So then you might be wondering, okay, well that sounds good. How can that happen? Let's turn to Job chapter 25, because this is another question that gets asked in Job.

[24:52] Job chapter 25, and verse 4. How then can man be justified with God? Or how can he be clean that is born of a woman?

[25:04] So that third question, can I be justified with God? God. This is the eternal deliverance of man. We can be justified. First off, sometimes it's good to know kind of what justification is.

[25:18] In this context, it's a word that's used a lot in the courts. Someone who has been accused, he's awaiting trial, going to find out if he's declared innocent or guilty.

[25:29] John chapter 3, verse 18, lets us know by our nature, we are guilty. John chapter 3, verse 18, says, He that believeth on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

[25:53] So the second letter A, I guess there for you, is the experience of justification. First off, we have work. That's God's grace.

[26:06] Romans chapter 3 tells us there in verse 24, says, Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. That's one thing I'm so thankful for, that we don't have to do things on our own.

[26:20] I'm telling you right now, I would not be making it to heaven. And neither would any of you. We're honest with ourselves. I'm glad it's not because of our position.

[26:32] I'm glad it's not because of a caste system. I'm glad it's not because of how much money you have. You know, it's a simple choice to accept Christ as your Savior. Then secondly, letter B there, the second thing under work would be the way, man's faith.

[26:50] Romans 5.1 says, Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. That leads us to the elements of justification. Starting with the first one there will be forgiveness.

[27:06] In order to be justified, there needs to be forgiveness. Acts chapter 13, starting in verse 35, says, Wherefore, he saith also in another psalm, thou shalt not suffer thine holy one to see corruption.

[27:25] Let's see, verse 36. For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep and was laid unto his fathers and saw corruption. But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption.

[27:39] Be it known unto you, therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins. And by him, all that believe are justified from all things from which he could not be justified by the law of Moses.

[27:57] Once Jesus Christ came and he died on the cross, the law was fulfilled. We didn't need it anymore. And so that's the way is man's faith, forgiveness there under justification.

[28:10] Number two, under that forgiveness, is freedom. Romans 8.1 says, There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit.

[28:22] We have freedom from sin, we have freedom from shame, from guilt, from that debt that was put upon us. That's a great feeling.

[28:33] I remember going through Bible college and at the beginning of each semester you would have to go see Mrs. Julian. She was the financial officer so you're just dreading that because you've worked all summer and now you have to give all your money away.

[28:48] And I remember my last year I'd worked really hard and I had a fat stack of cash and I walked into Mrs. Julian's office and I just plopped it down and I was like, I'm covering for the whole year.

[29:03] She's like, not the semester, I was like, the year, I'm done. I don't owe anybody nothing. And I remember they wrote out the receipt and I was like, yeah, paid in full. That's a great feeling. And that's just a taste of knowing that Christ died for your sins.

[29:19] You don't, it's already paid. You don't owe anything once you've accepted him as your savior. There's a freedom that comes with that. I think that's why only the saved can understand true joy, true peace because they have that freedom in Christ that you can't get that anywhere else.

[29:35] Lastly, we have the last F there is fellowship. We'll turn to Ephesians chapter 2. We'll start reading in verse 12. It says, that at that time ye were without Christ being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise having no hope and without God in the world.

[29:59] But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace who hath made both one and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us.

[30:14] We have that fellowship with him. You can't get that without justification. Remember, I'll turn here real quick, John chapter 14.

[30:28] A lot of times when you're dealing with these types of questions, people get very skeptical because in this day and age that we have there's always these gimmicks.

[30:41] You know, lose weight with these simple steps, get out of debt with these, you know, and it's always how to better yourself and try to do all these things. Well then when you tell someone about salvation, you don't have to dress it up.

[30:56] It's very simple but they're expecting, you know, I have to be such a great person. I have to give so much to this. And so a lot of times these questions, I'd like to go back to John chapter 14 and verse 6.

[31:11] This, we have Jesus, it says, Jesus saith unto them, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me.

[31:23] So many times you have people, well, you know, how can I be saved? How can I get to heaven? And Jesus answers it, I'm the way. I don't know man, how can I be sure?

[31:35] There's a lot of religions out there. How can I be sure? Jesus answers it. He is the truth. Oh, and then they think, oh, if I go down this path and I get saved and I go to church, I'm going to have to give up all this stuff.

[31:46] Nope, it says Jesus is the life. He will satisfy all those needs, you know, just trust in him. And so, so many times we try to make things more difficult than they are. As I kind of studied through, I can honestly say that God's word has answers for all of our questions, whether it's in particular or in principle, it's there.

[32:12] And all you have to do is search for it. The Bible says, we read it earlier, those that diligently seek him, he will reward. So go to God's word.

[32:23] That's how he speaks to us through his word. So I will give us a closing prayer and then we can fellowship some. Thank you, so much for those who knew who knew who knew who knew who knew who knew who knew who knew who knew who knew who knew who knew who knew who knew who knew