Let's pray.
Father, I praise you for your faithfulness to your people.
! I thank you for the precious souls that you've pulled together here by your providence to hear your word.
I ask, Lord, that you will give us the gift of faith that we can see you by faith now and trust in your providence.
We need the hope of your promise. We need Christ more than anything else in this life.
Please do your work in our lives, Lord. We ask for your glory. And in Christ's name, amen.
Today is a special day.
Today is about death and life.
When death touches us in this life, it's only natural that we would groan.
Death has touched different ones of us in this life in different ways.
We have sickness. We have brokenness.
We have really hard news that we have to process.
We have relationships that are very broken.
And it's only natural to groan.
What does that word groan mean?
It's a deep, mournful sound uttered in pain, sorrow, and anguish.
Has your soul groaned recently?
2 Corinthians 5.2 says that we groan in this tent, desiring to put on our heavenly dwelling.
It's natural to groan while we're in this body and this life.
So, beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ and dear friends that are in earshot today,
visitors that God brought you here in his perfect timing for his purpose.
What I've been praying for this week is this,
that by faith you would be able to latch on to your only hope.
In life and in death, it's the only hope for a groaning soul like yours and like mine.
That's what we get in our passage today.
We have one of the most glorious promises of all of Scripture,
given here and elsewhere, but maybe nowhere more clearly as right here.
But what comes before this glorious promise
are some of the greatest groanings anyone in the Scripture has breathed out.
My first question for you is this,
do you know what it feels like to groan without hope?
Do you know what that feels like, to groan in your soul without hope?
There are many sources of groaning, but our passage gives us three really clear right here.
Let's see them together.
And if you're familiar with Job,
he's a man who's suffered in every way you can imagine on this earth.
What he lays out in a really concise way, one for each verse,
it's like three sharp barbed prongs poking through this suffering man.
You could even say it's like a trident that speared him like a creature,
being hunted by a spear.
Look at what he says first in verse 19,
relational suffering.
All my close friends abhor me,
and those whom I love have turned against me.
To abhor.
You can hear the root there.
It means that his friends consider him now a horror.
They have rejected him.
He's detestable.
He's been cast off.
Those who were once close,
they now loathe him and despise him.
He's rejected.
He's been abandoned.
And talking with some of you, my dear friends, these weeks,
I know some of you have felt deep rejection and abandonment in different times in your life,
maybe even as a child.
That's what Job is talking about.
Some of you are suffering today,
bleeding,
relationally.
Like Job, maybe there's one important relationship in your life right now that needs redeeming.
Well, relational suffering is the first one,
but there's two more.
Look at verse 20.
Next, it's physical suffering.
He says,
My bone clings to my skin and to my flesh.
He's using poetic language to describe extreme thinness due to his muscles wasting away.
A person who suffers for a long time experiences this.
The muscles deteriorate.
It describes a state where the bones are now visibly prominent under his skin.
You see how this man is describing himself in the strongest terms possible.
The physical suffering he's endured.
And then he uses a phrase.
He says next in verse 20,
I have escaped,
referring to death,
by the skin of my teeth.
Now,
in this clause,
the author uses this word in Hebrew,
And it literally means the bone on which your teeth are set.
This bone right up here.
And so some have interpreted this phrase to mean,
I am left with only my skull.
See what Job is saying?
He said,
I escaped death,
but just barely.
I'm still alive,
but I'm like a talking skeleton.
I've suffered so much.
I've become horrifying.
I'm the very picture of death.
That's his physical suffering.
In verse 3,
I'm sorry,
verse 21,
he's describing physical torment and suffering.
I know there are many here who have had bad news about illness and sickness and many reasons to stress lately.
And some of you right now are on pain medicine and you're in constant pain in your body.
It's death touching you while you're still alive.
Some of you are used to not sleeping well.
You can feel your ligaments,
your muscles,
your skin,
or even your hair slowly deteriorating.
And it's natural to grieve these physical losses that we suffer in this life.
We groan with Job.
Well,
the third type of suffering is in verse 21.
He's begging his friends who are giving him counsel.
And he says,
have pity on me,
oh,
you my friends.
But he's not even focused on the friends.
Look at what he says next in verse 21.
For the hand of God has struck me.
Verse 22,
why do you persecute me as God does and are not satisfied with my flesh?
See,
Job has a high view of God.
He knows God is sovereign.
And it's a high view of God's providence.
God is the one allowing these things to happen to him.
And that's the correct view of God.
I hope we have that view.
God is all powerful.
Nothing happens except through him.
And within the parameters of his will,
even our physical and spiritual and relational suffering.
Some of you are in the middle of spiritual suffering.
Like Job in verse 21,
you know that anything you suffer,
God has allowed even for you and your life.
These months,
these years,
for some of us,
this week has been very heavy spiritually,
hasn't it?
It's been a battle.
And in our weakness,
we're most vulnerable,
but that's where the enemy,
the accuser comes in,
whispering in the ear.
And he wants to accuse God to us.
He wants us to believe the lie.
God is either not loving,
not good,
or not all powerful.
And that's why when we read in Romans 8,
verses 23 and 22,
we agree.
We feel this.
The whole creation groans
and labors together
with birth pangs until now.
And we groan within ourselves.
Amen?
Do you know what it is
to groan in this life?
Maybe some of you here today
only knows what it is
to groan in this life without hope.
And I hope this is the last day
that that will be true for you.
Don't you long for your groaning
to be replaced with hope.
I hope you long for the groaning
in these moments like this week for me,
which were so heavy spiritually.
I need it to be replaced on a daily basis,
on an hourly basis,
my groaning replaced with hope.
Now, because Job is in the genre of literature,
that's poetic,
we don't get a narrative.
We don't really get any insights or testimony,
but we can't miss this.
There's a massive shift of tone
between verses 22 and 23.
You're going to want to look closely
at your own copy of God's Word.
Job 19, look at verse 22.
What we just left off.
God is persecuting him.
God has struck him.
That's verse 22.
But now look at verse 23.
Oh, that my words were written.
Wait, hold on.
Which words is he talking about?
Now we see an escalating permanence
to what he is excited about.
Oh, that they were inscribed in a book,
not just written on a scrap and blown away,
but I'm talking in a book
that's going to be published
and kept in a library.
But that's not permitted enough.
Look at verse 24.
Oh, that these words were engraved on a rock
with an iron pen and lead
for how long?
Forever.
This is what needs to be permanent.
And it's not the suffering.
That's what's common to all men.
It's a revelation.
And look at verse 25.
He says,
For I know.
He knows something.
Something happened to Job
between verse 22 and verse 23.
I know something now.
What does Job know?
What gave him this sudden hope
despite these threefold reasons for groaning?
I'm using this word hope.
And I don't mean it in a cheesy way
and some abstract feeling.
No.
Hope.
Real hope is faith in God's promises.
That's all that hope is.
Do you receive God's promises by faith?
Hold on to that.
This hour.
Who was it that spoke truth to Job
and gave him God's promise?
Who was it that ministered to Job
so that he can say,
I know.
Look at verse 25 to get the answer.
For I know that my Redeemer.
It's Job's Redeemer that ministers to him
and speaks a promise of God to Job
in the hour when he needed it the most.
It was his Redeemer.
Well, what does it mean to redeem?
What is a Redeemer?
And who is Job's Redeemer?
To redeem means to purchase back something,
to ransom it,
to liberate or rescue from captivity or bondage.
See, this describes Job.
Job was in poverty,
but the Redeemer will supply all his needs
for life and godliness.
Job is in bondage to suffering,
but the Redeemer will set him free from affliction.
Job was enslaved to misery
and held captive to depression.
But the Redeemer is the one
who comes and gives him hope,
faith in God's promise.
Who is this Redeemer?
I need to know this Redeemer.
You need to know this Redeemer.
The Bible tells us that Redeemer,
the Redeemer,
is God Himself.
In Psalm 78, 35,
it's Most High,
Yahweh.
He, the God of Israel,
is the Redeemer.
Isaiah 43, 14 says,
The Lord, your Redeemer,
the Holy One.
The Redeemer is God Himself.
Now, the Old Testament also hints
at how there's a distinction.
It's a glimpse of the holy three-in-one God.
Isaiah 44, 6,
Thus says the Lord,
the King of Israel,
and His Redeemer,
the Lord of hosts,
I am the first,
and I am the last.
Besides me,
there is no God.
So who is the Redeemer?
It's the Holy God,
the first and the last.
The God,
the King of Israel,
and His Redeemer.
How will this be?
What a mystery.
This mystery can only be appreciated
in the person
and the work
of Jesus Christ.
Truly divine,
God Himself,
the second person of the Trinity,
who took on to Himself
a body.
God the Son,
incarnate,
who took on the flesh
to turn our groaning
into hope.
Don't you long
for your groaning
to be replaced
by hope
through the Redeemer,
Jesus Christ.
Well,
how is such
a hope
possible?
Brothers and sisters,
dear friends,
it's my great
privilege
and pleasure
to proclaim to you
the work of Jesus Christ,
the Redeemer.
Jesus Christ
replaces groaning
with hope
because first
He suffered
to redeem you
and me
who believe in Him.
The Redeemer,
our Lord Jesus Christ,
think of how He
endured relational
suffering
to redeem you
who believe in Him.
Like Job
in verse 19,
Jesus Christ,
He felt the sting
of rejection.
Those He loved,
His disciples,
they all turned
against Him.
And this fulfills
what God had promised
in Isaiah 53.3.
Jesus Christ
was despised
and rejected
by men,
a man of sorrows,
acquainted
with grief.
grief.
All hid their faces
from Him.
And it wasn't
just those disciples
in the first century.
This includes you
and me
who rejected Him.
We confess bold,
I can only approach
the throne of grace
because of His work
in my place.
We behold the man
upon the cross,
my sin
upon His shoulders.
Ashamed,
I hear my mocking voice
call out
among the scoffers.
Jesus Christ,
the Redeemer,
endured relational
suffering
so that we could
be right with God.
The Redeemer,
our Lord Jesus Christ,
also endured
great physical suffering
to redeem you
who believe
in Him.
Even more so
than Job
in verse 20,
Jesus Christ
suffered physically
for you
and for me.
He became
horrifying.
He became
the picture of death.
He fulfilled
Isaiah 53, 5.
He was wounded
for our transgressions.
He was bruised
for our iniquities.
And He was oppressed
and afflicted
because only by His stripes
could you and I
be healed.
Jesus Christ
did not
escape death
by the skin
of His teeth.
But He died
and He was buried
to pay the penalty
for our sin.
We sing,
Come, O sinner,
come and see
Christ,
the Lord
upon a tree.
See the crown
of thorns
adorn the King
who labors
to breathe
in agony.
Come, O sinner,
come and see
what our God
became
to set us
free.
The Redeemer,
our Lord Jesus Christ,
endured
spiritual suffering
to redeem you
and me
who believe in Him.
Like Job
in verse 21,
Jesus Christ
suffered spiritually
when He took
our guilt
to satisfy
God's justice
and to atone
for our sin.
He fulfilled
Isaiah 53,
4 through 6,
We esteemed Him
stricken and smitten
by God
and afflicted.
The chastisement
for our peace
was upon Him.
It was the Lord God
who laid
on Jesus Christ,
the iniquity
of us all.
And of all the sufferings
that our Lord endured,
this spiritual suffering
to bear our guilt
before His own Father,
the Holy God,
was the greatest.
We sing,
how great the pain
of vile sin.
The Father
pours His wrath
on Him
because so deep
is the Father's love
for us,
so vast beyond
all measure
that He should give
His only Son
to make a wretch
His treasure.
Do you see
how Jesus Christ
fulfilled
and related
to each one
of the sufferings
known to man
under the sun
captured in these verses
in Job?
And He did this
to preach the gospel,
the glorious news
as the Redeemer.
Here's the great truth
for today.
Here's what
every believer
will want engraved
in stone forever.
verse 25,
I know
my Redeemer
lives.
Amen?
Today is a day
of death defeated.
The Lord was alive then.
Job knew this.
My Redeemer lives.
He's the Ancient of Days.
Jesus Christ died
and was buried,
but we know
He lives today.
Amen?
And we know
in Jesus Christ
there is
everlasting life.
That's the only way
that such a hope
is possible.
Well,
the good news
in this passage
has really only begun.
There's so much
more now
because of Christ's
finished work
for you
and for me.
I want to ask
two more questions
from this passage.
What is a Christian's
hope
at the end
of this life
and what is a Christian's
hope
in the life
to come?
So first,
what is a Christian's
hope at the end
of this life?
We don't know
when that will be
for you or for me.
God's word
is true
about the past.
Jesus Christ
fulfilled all
that God said
He would.
He lived,
died,
was buried,
and now He lives
and He is seated
at the right hand
of God the Father
Almighty.
We know
our Redeemer lives
by faith now,
but one day
we will know
this
by sight.
God's word
is also true
about the future.
Look at verse 25.
My Redeemer,
Job says,
He shall stand
at last
on the earth.
Our Lord Jesus Christ,
God the Son,
and His glorified body,
He is coming back.
Verse 26 says,
And after my skin
is destroyed,
these two thoughts
are what answer
our question for today.
The Christians hope
at the end of this life.
We have hope
in this life
because Christ
is coming back.
And we know
there's good news
for us
after my skin
has been destroyed.
So the moment
of your death
in this life.
And that phrase,
after my skin
is destroyed,
literally means
after my flesh
is struck off
of my body.
What the Bible teaches
we get in Genesis 3.19
that when you die,
you return to the grave.
ground,
for out of the ground
you were taken,
for you are dust,
and to dust
you shall return.
The Bible also teaches
as our confession
summarizes that
because our souls
are immortal
in their substance,
our souls
neither die
nor sleep.
When the body dies,
a Christian soul,
according to Ecclesiastes 12.7,
immediately returns
to God
who gave it.
but the Bible
is very clear.
This is only true
for those who are
in Christ.
Well,
what about the souls
of those who are
outside of Christ?
The souls of the wicked
are cast into hell
where they remain
in torment
and utter darkness
reserved
to the judgments
of the great day.
the Bible says
that Jesus
will come
and He will judge
the living
and the dead
as the King
of all the earth
and of the spiritual realm.
Revelation 14,
10-11 says,
those in hell
will drink
the wine
of God's wrath
poured
full strength
into the cup
of His anger,
tormented
with fire
and sulfur
in the presence
of the holy angels
and in the presence
of the Lamb.
And the smoke
of their torment
goes up
forever and ever
and they have
no rest
day or night.
Amen.
After your soul
leaves your body
and your skin
is destroyed,
where will you
spend eternity?
Heaven or hell?
Besides these two places,
the scripture
acknowledges none.
There are only two responses
to the Redeemer.
this day,
you will say
one or the other.
You will say
He is no Savior
or you'll say
my Savior,
my King.
In Luke 23,
we have the scene
of what Christ
accomplished
in human history.
The Lord Jesus Christ
paying for the sin
of His people
on the cross
and on either side
of Him
a criminal.
And in God's providence,
their responses
are the call
for all who will hear
the good news
of the work
of Jesus today.
The first criminal
mocked Jesus
and he said,
aren't you the Christ?
Save yourself
and us.
And in his mocking,
what he's really saying
is you are no Savior
or else you'd get
yourself off of that cross
and me.
That's one response
that you are no Savior,
no Redeemer.
But there's good news
for criminals
like you and me
that deserve death
and that's the response
of the second man
in verse 42.
He turned to Jesus.
He turned to Jesus
and looked at Him
paying for His sin
on the cross
and said,
Lord,
remember me
when you come
into your kingdom.
And in those words,
that criminal is saying,
my Savior,
my King.
Jesus said to this man
who He redeemed,
truly I say to you,
today you will be
with me in paradise.
See, that criminal's body
died
and was buried
or disposed of.
But Jesus said to him,
today you will be
with me in paradise.
Your soul united to me.
This is called
the intermediate state.
The body has not
been resurrected
but the soul
is with God.
Your soul
with Jesus Christ
if He is your Savior
and your King today
no matter when you die.
We need to think more
about this truth,
don't we?
Well, the Christians
of another century
thought the same.
William Gurnall
said,
let our hope
of heaven
master our fear
of death.
Why should you
be afraid to die
who hope
to live by dying?
That's our hope
as Christians
at the end
of this life.
But it's not
the end of the good news.
It's not even
the greatest promise.
The greatest promise
comes in
the next couple verses.
The question for us
is this,
what is a Christian's
hope
in the life
to come?
See,
there's more glory
here.
There is a life
to come
after that
intermediate state.
Look at verse 26.
And after
my skin
is destroyed,
this I know
that in my flesh
I shall see
God.
Romans 8, 23
shed some more light
on this great truth.
we groan
within ourselves
eagerly waiting
for the adoption.
What is it?
The redemption
of our body.
Our confession
puts it this way,
summarizing the teaching
of scripture.
All the dead
shall be raised up
with the self-same
bodies
and none other
although with
different qualities
which shall be
united again
to their souls
forever.
The Bible
teaches that
our bodies
will be
resurrected
and united
to our souls
that are
with God
already.
Romans 8
verse 11
says,
God who
raised Jesus
Christ from
the dead
will also
give life
to your
mortal bodies
through his
spirit
who dwells
in you.
1 Corinthians
15, 42
so it is
with the
resurrection
of the dead.
What is
sown
is perishable
but it's
raised
imperishable.
What is
sown
in dishonor
is raised
in glory.
What is
sown
in weakness
is raised
in power.
How can
this be?
Because I
know
my Redeemer
lives
because Jesus
Christ is the
firstborn
from the
dead.
there's a
great hymn
by Charles
Wesley that
captures this
truth.
In hope
of that
immortal
crown
I now
the cross
sustain
and gladly
wander up
and down
and smile
at toil
and pain
I suffer
now
my threescore
years
till my
deliverer
come
and wipe
away his
servant's
tears
and take
his exile
home.
this is
the greatest
hope
for Christians
and it's
a hope
that we
will get
in the
life to
come
that I
shall see
God
verse 26
the church
has striven
to appreciate
this wonderful
promise
that's mystery
but it's
it's such a
great hope
for the
Christians
we need
to ponder
it deeply
in the past
it's been
called the
beatific
vision
and that
just means
the blessed
vision
or the
blessed
sight
of God
look at
verse 27
I shall
see
my
redeemer
for myself
he's saying
my eyes
not another
eyes
my eyes
shall behold
him
in 1st
John 3
verses 2
and 3
we read
beloved
we are
God's
heirs
now
and what
we will
be
has
not yet
appeared
but we
know
that when
he appears
we shall
be
like
him
because
we shall
see him
as he
is
what a
glorious truth
for all
eternity
a theologian
named Samuel
Parkinson
was meditating
on this great
truth
he wrote
in that
blessed
vision
our
comprehension
and vision
and delight
which are
all finite
will be
perpetually
maximized
and as our
capacity
for vision
and comprehension
expands
so will
our delight
each level
of enjoyment
of God
will be topped
by the next
and the life
to come
David
in Psalm
17
verse 15
was captured
by this
great truth
behold
I shall
see
your face
in righteousness
oh God
when I
awake
the resurrection
I shall
be satisfied
with your
likeness
our Lord
Jesus Christ
he will
redeem
his people
in every way
every source
of groaning
will be healed
in the life
to come
relationally
Christians
will be so
at peace
with God
and with his
bride
all of his
people
with him
yet
for all
eternity
our
shalom
our relational
peace
will still
be deepened
physically
believers
bodies
will be
glorified
so that
with your
own eyes
your own
vision
you will
see God
and the
lamb
and yet
that sight
of God
and the
glorified
body
will be
perpetually
maximized
throughout
eternity
to come
spiritually
our union
to Christ
will be
immediately
unhindered
by any
remaining
corruptions
and still
with more
to come
for all
eternity
our souls
will experience
continuously
greater
wholeness
in Jesus
Christ
and with
all of
this
greater
delight
in our
communion
with the
holy
God
amen
what a
redeemer
we have
we've been
able to
meditate on
the most
glorious
truths
that God
has given
us in
his word
and I
love how
this wonderful
portion of
scripture
actually ends
with a
response
how can
we respond
to such
a promise
from our
great
God
look at
verse 27
oh how
my heart
yearns
within me
you see
the full
redemption
my heart
my inner
being now
yearns
with a new
type of
groaning
second
Corinthians
5 2
indeed
we groan
in this
tent
desiring
to put
on
our
heavenly
dwelling
the hymn
says
so let
this
feeble
body
fail
yes
let it
faint
and die
for
I
shall
drop
this
mournful
veil
and see
my
Lord
most
high
we can
say
with Job
this
I know
by faith
that in
my
flesh
one
day
in the
life
to
come
I
shall
see
God
whom
I
shall
see
for
myself
my
eyes
shall
behold
him
how
do
you
know
this
I
know
this
because
I
know
my
redeemer
lives
I
know
he's
redeemed
me
his
holy
spirit
causes
me
to
know
this
and
to
trust
him
and
he
shall
stand
at
last
on
the
earth
revelation
5
6
paints
this
for
us
near
the
throne
of
heaven
I
saw
the
lamb
standing
as
though
it
had
been
slain
and
every
creature
which
is
in
heaven
and
on
earth
and
under
the
earth
and
all
such
as
are
in
the
sea
and
all
that
are
in
them
I
heard
them
saying
blessing
and
honor
and
glory
and
power
be
to
him
who
sits
on
the
throne
and
to
the
lamb
forever
and
ever
don't
miss
out
dear
friends
run
to
Jesus
Christ
your
redeemer
let
your soul
groan
today
but
with
this
groan
of
2
Corinthians
5
2
because
God
has
stirred
your
soul
so
earnestly
to
desire
to be
clothed
in
your
new
body
and
well
suited
for
the
new
heavens
and
the
new
earth
so
that
with
your
own
eyes
in
that
resurrection
body
you
will
get
to
see
at
last
your
God
and
your
lamb
our
great
and
only
hope
and
so
as
1
Thessalonians
4
17
reassures
us
we
will
be
with
the
Lord
forever
oh
may your
soul
so grown
within
you
today
may your
heart
yearn
for this
sight of
God
let's
respond to
him in
prayer