Thank you very much, Ellen. Well, good morning, everyone. As has been mentioned already, my name is Alistair and it is my privilege to be the assistant pastor here at Brunsfield.
And this morning it is my joy to open up Job chapter two together with you all.
So please do have that passage open in front of you. We're going to be diving in and out.
But before we do that, let us turn to our God in prayer. Let's pray.
Father, when we come to a passage like this, we have so many questions.
We have so much experience of suffering in our individual lives.
And Lord, we ask this morning that we would submit to your word.
And Lord, we echo that song that we have just listened to or sung at home.
Lord, we need you. This very hour, we need you.
And Father, we pray that the words of my mouth and that the meditations of all of our hearts would be pleasing to you, our rock and our redeemer.
Amen.
In 1967, Johnny Erickson Tada was an athletic 17 year old girl.
And one day she went out swimming with her sister in a bay and she dove off a raft into shallow water, hitting her head.
From that moment on, Johnny has been confined to a wheelchair and doesn't have the use of her body from the neck down.
She says that as she heard that news about her paralysis in her mind, she cried out to God and she said, God, I can't, I won't live like this.
But knowing that she couldn't physically take her own life, she decided to ruin her life emotionally, mentally and spiritually.
Telling her family to cut her off, basically, to leave her in a dark room day and night and to never come in and see her.
She wanted to lie in darkness.
Her physical suffering had brought her to the end of herself.
And it was in one of those dark rooms that she cried, God, if you won't let me die, show me how to live.
And then Christian friends gathered around her and opened the Bible with her.
And she says that over time she learnt a wonderful truth.
That sometimes God allows what he hates to happen, like suffering and paralysis.
To bring forth Christ in her life, the hope of glory.
Joanie now is a regular speaker about the reality of suffering and the comfort that the gospel can bring to those in pain.
The hope that people can have as they know that even our suffering is not outwith the control of a good God.
She says that her suffering, or she sees her suffering, in the perspective of eternity.
And that's what we're going to be thinking about this morning.
Perspective in suffering.
So last week we looked at the absolutely devastating suffering that Job went through.
As a test to prove the genuineness of his faith.
Now I'd encourage you, if you haven't listened to that sermon, please go and do that.
And follow with us through the entire series on the book of Job.
In Job chapter 1, Job lost all of his worldly possessions.
All ten of his children died.
All of his servants were killed.
And yet even after all of that, the chapter ends with that wonderful declaration.
The Lord gives.
And the Lord takes away.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
And we must acknowledge that the suffering Job goes through is very extreme.
It's not the kind of suffering that many of us or any of us will go through.
I can't imagine a time when any of us will lose our entire families.
In fact, I pray that that tragedy never happens to any of us.
But I think probably even more unimaginable than Job's suffering is the perspective he has in the middle of that overwhelming suffering.
Job's perspective is to praise God in the pain that is his every single day.
And Job doesn't come to that perspective overnight.
That perspective is birthed out of years of contemplating who God is.
And experiencing his gifts and his character.
Job's perspective comes from a deep conviction of who God is.
And I can say that as I've sat with many Christians over the years, I have seen this perspective in the flesh.
In older saints.
Who've experienced the Lord in marvelous ways.
Both in times of joy and happiness.
And in times of agony.
And turmoil.
Suffering for the average Christian today could mean the death of a loved one.
Maybe you lose a parent.
Or a sibling.
Maybe in some tragedy a child is taken away from you after a short life.
Or maybe the child doesn't even survive the full length of the pregnancy.
Or maybe you lose a job and suddenly, you've been in that job for years and suddenly that financial stability is taken away.
That assurance of a monthly paycheck is ripped away and you're at a loss.
Maybe you go to the doctors.
And you're diagnosed with cancer.
Maybe you're told you have an incurable illness.
Or maybe you're told you only have a few months to live.
Maybe your suffering isn't physical but it is mental.
And your day and night is plagued with anxiety that cripples you.
Maybe it's the shadows of depression that plague your life.
Or maybe you're still feeling the effects of childhood trauma.
That plague every single day and you never seem to get any relief.
Everything seems lost.
Now none of that is the extent of suffering that Job's goes through.
But it is suffering.
And it is hard.
We shouldn't look at Job and think that we need to suck it up because he suffered far worse than we ever will.
But what we do need to do is look at Job's perspective and try to learn from it.
And we need to learn from Job's grief.
See I think our British nature means that many of us have a stiff upper lip approach to suffering.
We put on a face and we say everything will be fine and we just power through.
But in reality we all know that that is a superficial mask that covers something far less glamorous.
The reality is that when we suffer we will cry.
We will grieve.
We will mourn.
And we will feel pain.
And you know what?
That is okay.
We need to learn to grieve like Job.
There is nothing wrong with crying and showing emotion.
We need to take off our masks and get vulnerable with each other.
To create a safe space to suffer well for the glory of God.
And Job will help us this morning see a healthy way to grieve.
As well as a good perspective in suffering.
So if last week in Job chapter 1 all the suffering or suffering was all about things external to Job.
This morning in Job 2 it is all about physical suffering.
We are going to look at verses 1 to 8 which are about suffering that breaches the skin.
And then verses 9 to 13 which are all about three perspectives.
Three responses to suffering in the ashes.
So the first thing we see in this passage is suffering that breaches the skin.
In verses 1 to 8.
Suffering that breaches the skin.
Now chapter 2 begins in an almost identical way as Job chapter 1 does.
Satan shows up to this heavenly courtroom with God on his throne.
And God is receiving reports from the supernatural beings through whom he is in absolute control of the goings on in the world.
But there are two differences here.
The first is in verse 1 where it says this.
Read with me.
Satan also came with them to present himself before him and that is before God.
So this time it is explicit.
The Satan, the accuser is there on purpose.
He is invited as another created being through whom God governs the world.
Satan is under the control of God.
And he can only work within the parameters that God allows him to.
Last week God allowed Satan to touch Job's possessions.
Things external to himself that were very near and dear to him.
We don't want to minimize that.
And all of it was taken away.
God let that happen in order to test the genuineness of Job's faith.
The second difference between chapters 1 and 2 is in verse 3.
Where it says this.
Then the Lord said to Satan,
Have you considered my servant Job?
There is no one on earth like him.
He is blameless and upright.
A man who fears God and shuns evil.
And he still maintains his integrity.
Though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.
There is repetition here.
But there is also a bit of a difference.
The repetition where God highlights Job as an example of godliness.
An example of faith.
Is there to highlight the futility of Satan's attempts to derail Job.
But the difference is that God says it was all for nothing.
It's as if God is saying,
Satan, you did your worst.
You broke this man's whole life.
You took everything he had because I let you.
And still his faith stands.
At the end of chapter 1,
you can imagine Satan sitting in the background rubbing his hands in glee.
Thinking that Job will be destroyed.
And that he will come to the end of himself.
Satan wants Job dead and gone because of the genuineness of his faith.
Satan is the accuser.
The enemy who comes to steal, kill and destroy.
He is the accuser whose desire is to minimize the glory of God.
And he wants to make that happen by destroying Job.
Who is an example of glorifying God in the midst of suffering.
But in verse 3, God says triumphantly,
Satan, your efforts were all for nothing.
Job's faith stands strong.
But Satan, as the accuser, is at it again in verse 4.
Do you see?
Skin for skin, he replied.
A man will give all he has for his own life,
but now stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones,
and he will surely curse you to your face.
Satan is saying that everything that has happened to Job
is suffering related to things that are external to him.
But if Job's body is attacked,
then he will curse God.
The only thing left is Job's body.
Satan is covering all the bases in an attempt to bring Job
to the point where he wants to die.
Satan wants to rob God of any glory
that he will get from Job's suffering well.
When your health goes,
when your body fails,
when you are physically suffering,
when your physical being,
who we are, is attacked,
we are vulnerable.
Physical suffering is so hard
because you might get to the point
where you want to tear your body apart.
The pain can be so overwhelming
that you're consumed day and night with it,
and you can't even remember
what it's like to be pain-free anymore.
Now maybe you're sitting there thinking,
well, what is this 29-year-old?
What does he know about physical suffering?
Well, eight years ago,
my journey of physical suffering began.
Which is why I said last week
that I have lived in the book of Job.
For the last eight years,
I've been suffering from a chronic illness
that means I suffer constant,
agonizing pain,
24-7, 365 days a year.
There is no pain relief,
and there is nothing the doctors can do to help me.
There is no cure.
So, suffering is not a stranger to me,
but it is not a friend.
It is a constant and familiar companion.
And I say from experience,
how we respond in those moments of pain
and suffering is important
because we can either make it push us towards God
to live for Him in the midst of that pain,
or we can make it push us away from God
and hate Him.
So, let's see how Job responds to his physical suffering.
Verse 6.
God gives Satan permission to afflict Job's body,
but he must spare Job's life.
Satan wants to destroy Job,
but God wants to prove the genuineness of his faith
through the test of suffering.
So, friends, Satan is still bound
under the sovereign rule of God
and unable to go beyond what God allows.
And so, verse 7.
Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.
You see that immediately?
It's that kind of language.
And afflicted Job with painful sores
from the soles of his feet
to the crown on his head.
Job's body is covered from head to toe
with painful, pus-filled oozing sores.
His skin is discolored, disfigured,
and peeling off.
Now sit with him for a second.
Imagine how he feels with this absolute,
total, intimate suffering.
With no respite.
No medicine.
No cure.
And to Job's knowledge,
no reason.
Imagine that burning sensation
that he must be consuming him.
The pain of not being able to sit
without touching a sore that will erupt.
The pain of day and night
not resting or sleeping
because of the pain he's in.
The Lord's faithful servant suffers.
Once a rich man loved by many,
now poor, isolated and alone.
In verse 8,
Job took a piece of pottery,
broken pottery,
and scraped himself
as he sat among the ashes.
So Job leaves the town
and he goes to the dump.
He goes to the place
outside the city
where all the rubbish would be burned
and he sits in the ashes
and he mourns.
He goes into isolation,
all alone,
abandoned,
cut off from his friends,
all but his wife,
dead,
scarred with sores
that plague him day and night
and he has no idea why.
It's so bad that Job
even takes a piece of pottery
to take the pus out of these sores
to at least get a little bit of relief
if possible.
It's important to say here
that he is not self-harming,
but he's trying to ease the pain
a little bit.
So Job is in isolated mourning
and friends,
we need to sit with him in that pain
and realize the devastation
that he is going through.
And we need to learn something here
about mourning.
We need to know that there is
absolutely nothing wrong
with sitting on the ashes
and weeping the suffering
that you're going through.
I know that for some of you,
this week has been agony.
It's been a nightmare.
Things have happened
that have kept you up at night.
Doctors appointments
have left you with decisions
that you never wanted to make.
It's been a week of despair.
Or maybe it wasn't this week,
but it is a long-term illness.
Or maybe you're continuing
to feel the effects
of some trauma
from your past friends.
It is okay to mourn.
In fact, in the Bible,
it is expected
that when suffering
comes your way,
you take a seat
with Job in the ashes
and you weep.
In the UK,
we hide behind
a stiff upper lip.
We don't like
to think of pain
in our lives
or our bodies
because it's hard.
And we don't like
to show emotions.
But that is suppressing
the very emotions
that God has gifted us with
in order to help us
in the midst
of our suffering.
It is okay to grieve.
It's okay to cry.
It's okay to mourn.
And it is okay
to ask why.
The book of Psalms
is full of that kind
of lament
and grief.
So we can go to God
with our hard questions
and our physical pain
and cry out to Him.
Psalm 13 says,
How long, O Lord?
Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide
your face from me?
Psalm 10.
Why, O Lord,
do you stand far away?
Why do you hide yourself
in times of trouble?
And in Psalm 88,
the psalmist describes
darkness
as his closest friend.
Brothers and sisters in Christ,
in our pain,
in our suffering,
we can and we should
grieve and mourn.
When suffering breaches the skin,
Job sits on the ash heap
and he mourns.
And as he sits
on those ashes,
mourning his loss,
mourning his suffering,
in verses 9 to 13,
we see three different responses
to suffering in the ashes.
Three different responses
to suffering in the ashes.
Now there's one bad response
and two good responses here.
And I hope that seeing
these responses
will help us
as we suffer,
but also as we help
and care for those
others who suffer.
So the first response
is the bad one
in verse 9
and it is the response
of a suffering spouse.
Read verse 9 with me.
His wife said to him,
are you still
maintaining your integrity?
Just curse God
and die.
I'll take a step back
from this for a second.
We cannot be too harsh
on Job's wife
because all of the
suffering that Job
went through in chapter 1,
the exact same
has happened to her.
And now in addition
to all of that,
losing her possessions,
losing all 10
of her children,
she's looking at her husband
who is a shadow
of a man he used to be.
So we can't be too harsh
on her.
And we actually
don't know her intentions
behind what she says.
It could be that she thinks
her husband is dying
and out of love for him,
she doesn't want him
to suffer anymore.
And so she says,
just curse God
and suffer some form
of divine judgment
and so it will all be over.
It could be that she thinks
Job is suffering
because of some sin
in his life
and she thinks
that he's under
the judgment of God.
And so she says,
just curse God and die.
Get it over and done with.
Or it could be
that she is angry.
Angry at the amount
of pain and suffering
that is afflicting
her husband.
And in her anger,
she says,
why are you holding on
to a God
who seems to have
forgotten you?
Regardless
of what's going on
in her mind,
her conclusion
is the same.
She is telling
her husband
to give up on God.
And do you see
how that is not
a good or a right
response when we
face suffering?
Job and his wife
have not seen
the heavenly courtroom
which has brought
about all this suffering.
They aren't aware
that all of this
is a test
to prove the genuineness
of Job's faith.
And Job's wife
doesn't see
that all of this
suffering is under
the control
of a sovereign
good God
who promises
to preserve
Job's life.
Job's wife
is acting
a bit like
a second Eve.
Tempting
her husband
to sin.
Tempting him
to curse
the very one
who has given
them both breath.
To curse
the one
who has blessed
them abundantly
in their lives.
She's tempting
her husband
to fall
into Satan's
hand
and do exactly
what Satan
wants Job to do.
Now regardless
of her intentions
she is acting
as a mouthpiece
for Satan.
Job's wife
is tempting
him to go
against the God
he loves
and the God
that loves him.
And this is
especially hard
because family
are supposed
to stick
by you
in your
moments of
suffering.
I could not
go one day
without the
support that
Sabina and
my family
give me.
Many of you
have been
that pillar
of support
for others.
For a spouse
for a parent
for a partner
for a friend
it is challenging
to see a loved
one suffer
isn't it?
Because that
in and of
itself
is suffering.
Seeing a loved
one suffer
but it's hard
because you're
supporting them
at the same
time.
Job's wife
doesn't see
the whole picture
and friends
we often won't
see the big
picture of
what's going
on.
We probably
won't know
the reasons
behind our
suffering
but remember
that Job
is here to
teach us
how to
suffer well
for the
glory of
God.
In our
suffering we
should not
curse God
but we should
make our
suffering push
us into
his loving
arms with
all of our
questions
with all of
our tears
and with that
same resilience
and faith
that Job
has that
enables him
to say
even in
the darkest
valley of
despair
that the
Lord gives
and the
Lord takes
away.
Blessed be
the name
of the
Lord.
We're
supposed to
look at
Job's wife
and learn
not to do
what she
does.
If you're
a spouse
a parent
or whatever
you also
have a role
of glorifying
God as
you see
someone else
suffering
and you
help them
in that.
It's hard
to see a
loved one
suffer
but as
the
caregiver
and supporter
you must
maintain your
faith and
encourage them
in their
suffering to
do the
same.
Whether we're
the one
suffering or
we're supporting
the sufferer
we all
have a role
to glorify
God in
it.
Cursing
God should
never be an
option for
us because
we don't
know what's
going on.
God never
gives up on
his people so
why should
we give up
on him?
God never
can't
so this is
the first
response the
bad response
of a
suffering
spouse.
And then in
verse 10 we
get our
second response
and it's a
good one.
It's the
response of a
faithful
suffering
servant.
Read verse
10 with me.
This is Job
responding to
his wife and
he says
you are
talking like
a foolish
woman.
Shall we
accept good
from God
and not
trouble?
And in
all of this
Job did
not sin
in what
he said.
Now Job
is not
calling his
wife stupid.
We need
to be clear
on that.
And we
need to
remember that
this is part
of wisdom
literature.
And in
wisdom
literature the
wise person
is one who
is faithful
and lives
according to
God's word
and the
foolish person
who is the
person who
is not
faithful to
the Lord
and who
lives in
religious
ignorance.
An example
of this is
Psalm 14
verse 1
where it
says the
fool says
in his
heart there
is no
God.
So Job
isn't talking
about his
wife's
intellect but
about her
encouragement for
Job to
abandon his
faith in
God.
And then we
get another
amazing statement
from a man
who is literally
sitting in
ash in the
midst of
suffering.
He says
shall we
accept good
from God
and not
trouble?
Job's
heart and
mind are
fixed on
God.
Job
recognizes that
all the
good he has
received in
life is from
God and so
he trusts
that this
same God
who is
trustworthy
and knows
best even
when harmful
things come
his way.
Job knows
that God
doesn't owe
him anything.
God isn't
a blessing
dispenser who
messes up
when things
go wrong.
Job doesn't
understand why
he is suffering
and he never
finds out the
reason behind
it but he
finds comfort
in the character
of the Lord
who is afflicting
him.
Now that
is not an
easy place
to get to
when you're
suffering but
it is a
place that
we should
all be
striving
towards.
Horatio
Spafford
was a
man who
sent his
wife and
four children
on a
boat from
the States
to England
in 1873
and on
route the
boat collided
with another
ship and
200 people
on board
drowned
including all
of Horatio's
children.
When his
wife got to
England she
sent a
telegram which
read saved
alone.
And Horatio
jumped on
the next
boat to
England and
it stopped
where the
tragic accident
took place.
And in
that moment
Spafford
penned
these
wonderful
words.
When
peace
like a
river
attendeth
my way
when
sorrows
like sea
billows
roll
whatever
my lot
thou
hast
taught me
to say
it is
well
it is
well
with my
soul.
Friends we
cannot only
accept
good gifts
from God
and even
when
suffering
does come
our way
we must
rely on
God's
good
character
on God's
faithfulness
on his
holiness
and trust
that he
can use
even the
most horrific
situations
for his
glory
because his
glory
is far
more
important
than our
comfort
and than
our
health.
Charles Spurgeon
a London
minister from
years ago
who suffered
depression for
a long time
and who went
through a
tremendous amount
of suffering
in his life
puts it like
this
I have
learned to
kiss the
waves
that throw
me up
against
the rock
of ages.
Brothers and
sisters
when you
suffer
let it be
a wave
that throws
you against
the Lord.
Let it
push you
to God
because there
is no
better place
for you
to rest.
There is
no better
place for
you to
cry.
there is
no better
place for
you to
suffer pain
than in
the hands
of a
good God
who can
work all
things for
your good
even when
it doesn't
feel like
it.
So that's
the response
of a
faithful
suffering
servant
resilient
faith
even in
the face
of devastating
suffering.
And the
final response
and the
second good
one is
comforting
silence.
In verses
11 to
13.
Job's
three friends
hear about
the devastation
that has
come upon
him and
in verse
11 says
they make
an appointment
to go
together
to sympathize
with him
and comfort
Job in
his suffering.
Now at
this point
Job has
been sitting
on the
ash pile
for a
few months.
He says
that in
Job chapter
7 verse
3.
So Job
has been
isolated
in agony
sitting in
pain and
suffering for
months when
they show
up.
And when
they arrive
they see him
from a
distance and
they can't
recognize him.
His appearance
is so marred
by the tragedies
that he isn't
recognizable.
His suffering
has taken
such a toll
on him that
he is not
the same
man they
once knew.
his appearance
is so
changed that
when they
see him
verse 12
says this
they began
to weep
aloud and
they tore
their robes
and sprinkled
dust on
their heads.
They're
responding as
if Job
has died
because of
the suffering
he's in.
They look
at their
friends sitting
in the ashes
and they
cannot help
but weep
with him
and mourn.
But do you
notice they
don't do it
from a
distance?
Verse 13
Then they
sat on the
ground with
him for
seven days
and seven
nights.
No one
said a
word to
him because
they saw
how great
his suffering
was.
Today this
is what
Christian
community
should look
like.
Romans 15
gives us
the example
of the church
being a place
where you
rejoice with
those who
rejoice and
will you
mourn with
those who
mourn?
Like the
friends mourn
when they
see Job
as a
church we
share in
each other's
sufferings
because it
is hard to
see another
member of
our local
body in
pain.
This is
what the
local church
should look
like.
Brothers
and sisters
sitting
alongside
each other
in the
ashes and
crying.
When
someone
goes
through
that
amount
of
suffering
sure
dropping
them a
text
would be
nice.
Giving
them a
call
might be
a little
bit of
help for
a while.
Dropping
around a
meal is
good and
a practical
thing to
do but
what will
really help
someone in
their suffering
is having a
church family
and friends
who will drop
everything and
run to the
person in
need and
sit with
them out of
a genuine
love for
them and
be silent.
Because a
person who
is suffering
most they
need the
presence of
faithful
friends.
Words
won't help
at first.
Out of
context Bible
verses will
not help but
getting on your
hands and knees
and sitting in
the dirt and
in the ashes
with a brother
or sister in
Christ and
weeping with
them.
That is
true comfort
that goes
beyond words.
Being present
with those who
suffer is far
more precious
than any
worldly wisdom.
Sitting silently
with someone
who suffers
is a powerful
witness of
your love
for them.
Now Job's
friends mess
up as the
book develops
but I think
they get it
100% right
here.
They sit
with Job.
They don't
pretend to
know what's
happening.
They don't
try to
justify the
suffering but
they are
just silent.
Friends this
is what it
looks like to
have perspective
in suffering.
To know
that even in
the midst of
our darkest
valleys the
Lord is
good and
trustworthy.
Job was a
righteous man
who suffered
not for any
sin that he
had committed
but he is a
foreshadow of
the righteous
man who
suffered not
for any
sin that he
committed but
Jesus Christ
who suffered
for your
sin and
for mine.
Job's
appearance was
so marred by
the pain and
agony that he
went through in
absolute isolation.
Jesus was
beaten,
mocked,
whipped,
his flesh was
torn, a crown
of thorns was
pushed on his
head and Isaiah
says that his
appearance was so
disfigured beyond
that of any
human being
and his form
marred beyond
any human
likeness and
he was nailed
to a cruel
cross where
he would die
alone as his
followers ran
away in fear.
Friends it is
that man,
the truly
righteous one,
the perfect
suffering servant
who went
through agony
and isolation
so that his
people, so
that the
Lord's people
could be saved
from the
ultimate
eternal
suffering
of eternal
life in hell
under the
judgment in
God because
they have
cursed God
in their
hearts.
Job's
suffering
teaches us
how to
suffer well
for the
glory of
God.
Jesus'
suffering is
the moment
that God
himself took
on immense
suffering in
our place
and it is
Jesus, the
perfect suffering
servant who
draws near in
those times of
personal suffering
and he says
I know
I'm here.
Finish the
race well and
live for those
words that
will give you
life.
Well done
good and
faithful servant.
That's the
perspective we
need in our
suffering.
Joni Erickson
has been
bound to a
wheelchair for
over 50
years.
She travels
the world
encouraging people
in the midst
of their
suffering not
by giving
them half
baked truths
or theological
sound bites
but she
sits with
them.
She listens
and she
tells people
of the
great God
who even
in the midst
of turmoil
can bring
hope beyond
words.
Joni has
learned that
sometimes God
allows what he
hates to
happen to
bring forth
in us
Christ the
hope of
glory.
Job got
through his
suffering
because he
knew who
God was
and friends
that's how you
get through
suffering today.
That's the
perspective you
need to see
our suffering
in light of
eternity and
in light of
the good God
that we
serve who
sent his
son so
that we
could be
spared the
ultimate
suffering of
separation
from God.
Let's pray
together.
Amen.
Father I
don't know
everyone in
this room
or everyone
watching this
and what is
going on in
their lives.
I don't know
the suffering
they are going
through but
you do.
Father would
you give
them the
perspective
that they
need to
not turn
their back
on you
but would
you help
them run
to you in
their pain
and cling
to you for
their dear
lives.
Father would
you help
us all
as we
help those
who suffer
not be
the voice
of temptation
that says
curse God
but be the
voice of
encouragement
that points
people to
Christ
to the
hope of
eternity
with you
and to
the wonderful
promise of
the Lord's
presence in
our everyday.
Help us
suffer well
for your
glory.
In Jesus
name we
pray.
Amen.