By Faith, Job

[00:00:00] To God in prayer. [00:00:02] Father, as we come now to consider your word and to hear the things that you would speak to us, we ask that you would open our hearts and minds to the truth that you have for us here, that we might have a proper respect for your word, for your law, and for your gospel, that we might see in these things our hope, our joy, and ultimately our future in the very presence of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen. [00:00:49] The Book of Job Chapter one. [00:01:06] There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. [00:01:18] There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. [00:01:23] He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the East. [00:01:45] His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, it may be that my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts. Thus Job did continually. [00:02:21] Please be seated. [00:02:36] I feel like I'm well on my way to creating an entire series of sermons on by faith. [00:02:43] I preached here sometime back about Mary and her faith. [00:02:54] And this evening we look at Job and his faith. [00:03:03] Turn with me to Hebrews, chapter 10. [00:03:12] The writer to Hebrews said that he didn't have time enough to list all the people that he wanted to list, and I'm convinced that Job would have been in that list had the time been given for that. [00:03:27] But notice here in chapter 10, as the introduction to chapter 11, beginning with verse 32. [00:03:41] But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated, for you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. [00:04:09] Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward, for you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what is promised. [00:04:24] Forget a little while, and the coming one will come and not delay. [00:04:29] But my Righteous one shall live by faith. If he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him. [00:04:37] But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. [00:04:56] There in chapter 11, we have the following verse, verse 6. [00:05:03] And without faith it is impossible to please him. [00:05:09] For whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. [00:05:25] Without faith, God would not have been pleased with Job. [00:05:31] But as we read this opening verse to the book of Job, we notice that God is very pleased with Job. [00:05:43] As a matter of fact, these attributes that are spoken of here in verse one, God repeats them later in this first chapter and then in the second chapter. [00:06:00] Each time he describes Job, and he describes him as a man who is blameless, upright one who feared God and turned away from evil. [00:06:17] Now, when we read those words, with our more modern sort of understanding of these phrases, I'm afraid we might be misled. [00:06:30] Would you call someone blameless? [00:06:35] This does not indicate someone who is absolutely perfect and has never done anything wrong. [00:06:48] We know all too well the accounts of very public figures in our day and age. Politicians, Hollywood stars and others, the ones that make the newspapers, that we often see the blame that falls upon them. Sometimes they go to court and are convicted, sometimes they go to court and they get by in our courts with very evil acts. [00:07:24] But God is speaking here of Job in a way that. [00:07:36] Well, turn with me to Philippians chapter two. [00:07:59] Philippians chapter two. And I'm going to begin my reading with verse 12 there in Philippians chapter two. This is speaking of Christians. [00:08:10] Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence, but much more in my absence. Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you both to will and to do the work for his good pleasure. [00:08:34] Do all things without grumbling or disputing that you may be blameless and innocent children of God without blemish, in the midst of a crooked, twisted generation among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. [00:09:10] He's describing believers, believers in Jesus Christ as being blameless. [00:09:22] Blameless means that there is not some specific charge of misbehavior that can be brought to your account when we choose elders and deacons for that matter, that this very same term comes up in terms of the qualification for the office and those of us who are Elders and those who are deacons know very well that we're not perfect. [00:09:56] So don't get the notion here that Job is being described as perfect, but he is being described as pleasing to God. [00:10:10] That he lives such a life that he is upright and that he fears God. [00:10:24] And again, that's one of those terms that I think it's unfortunate that in English we tend to associate certain things with fear when it comes to our relationship with God, that we should not. [00:10:45] My sister Mickey, told me one time of a home she was in family around the table. She was there with them, father and mother and the children. [00:10:56] And she noticed that every time the father, when he was speaking at the table, he must have a little Italian in him because he was using his hands a lot. But when he would raise his hand, the kids, the littler ones, would cringe like that. And she thought, oh, she said she didn't know exactly what was going on in that home. But she said she didn't like the appearance of that. [00:11:25] Children should respect their father, but they should not fear him in some cringing sort of way. [00:11:32] And here when Job is described as fearing God, it's respect, desiring not to disappoint. [00:11:46] I don't know how many times in my teen years there were things that died, did not engage in that. Some of my friends invited me along. [00:11:58] And to tell you the honest truth, the only reason I didn't engage in them is because of my father. Found out the disappointed look on his face. [00:12:18] Job had that relationship with God. His desire was to not disappoint God in any way. [00:12:26] And again, it was not that he was perfect, but that he stood out in his generation. Just as we can stand out in our generation if we, too, have a proper fear and reverence for God. [00:12:46] And then we're told that he turned away from evil. [00:12:53] This is not suggesting that Job was involved in evil and gave it up like a bad habit or some particular sin. [00:13:03] But that when he saw sinful behavior, he did not approve of it. He did not join in with it. [00:13:15] He turned from it. He wanted nothing to do with it. [00:13:30] God had really blessed Job. [00:13:39] Job was a man of great wealth in his day and age. [00:13:52] The first thing that we're told about him, though, is his family. [00:13:58] Seven sons and three daughters. [00:14:03] I only had one son and two daughters. [00:14:09] I don't know if there's anyone here that's had seven sons and three daughters. There are families that are larger than that as well. [00:14:17] But God had blessed him with these children. [00:14:27] And then God goes on to speak about what he possessed in the way of cattle. [00:14:35] 7,000 sheep. I've never seen 7,000 sheep. [00:14:42] I've seen some herds of sheep. Nothing nearly that large amount. [00:14:50] 3,000 camels. [00:14:55] There is an exotic animal farm near Hutchinson, Kansas, and I drive by that place on my way to church on the Lord's day, Because the road goes through there that goes to Sterling, and they are raising camels there. [00:15:19] It is really strange to be driving along a road in the middle of Kansas and seeing all these camels standing there. They're ostriches, too. But 500 yoke of oxen. [00:15:41] Now, if I understand what a yoke of oxen is, that would be a thousand of them, because each yoke is two. [00:15:51] And animals, draft animals, are of great value for work, for farming, for all sorts of work in that day and age. [00:16:09] And a yoke was of a special value. [00:16:14] I remember hearing that my grandfather Friley, who was a veteran of the Civil War, a military man, when he retired, he had these two horses that would pull his carriage. [00:16:36] My great aunt was quite critical of that because she thought it was such a waste. One horse would be enough to pull a carriage, but a pair of horses have to be trained together. [00:16:55] 500 female donkeys. [00:17:01] When I was growing up, we had one female donkey, and she was plenty enough to see after. [00:17:12] But Here there are 500 and very many servants, obviously, who's going to take care of all of these animals? [00:17:23] So that this man was the greatest of all the people of the East. [00:17:29] Now, I must imagine, must admit that when I was a child and I was reading about this, I got the impression that Job lived out on a farm someplace. [00:17:44] But there's good reason to believe because of the house that it speaks about and his children's houses and so forth, that this wasn't someone who was living in a tent like Abraham and Isaac, Jacob. [00:18:02] But he was a more established, permanent sort of guy in the community, and he was the greatest in that area. [00:18:14] Everyone knew him. [00:18:16] This is not some obscure person who's living off by himself, but he's someone who is very involved in the community, and we'll see that in the book, that he would have been one of those elders in the gate. [00:18:34] He would have been one of the men who had great influence in the community, and everyone would have known him. [00:18:48] And we're told here that his sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day. [00:18:59] His day. [00:19:01] Well, it's interesting. He's got seven sons. Each one of them had A separate day, and that they would have these gatherings and their three sisters were invited to eat and drink with them. [00:19:25] And so this was a very common practice of theirs to be together. [00:19:32] I miss those days when my sisters and my brothers in law and nieces and nephews and my children were able to get together in my parents home and gather around their table as a group. This is a family that has a beautiful relationship with one another. Not true of all families. Some of you are painfully aware of that, that there are times when you're in a family and say, thanksgiving, get together. [00:20:12] And you're told by sibling A that if you invite sibling B, they're not coming. [00:20:22] And then you speak to sibling B and they say, if you invite sibling A, I'm not coming. [00:20:30] But we don't see that with Job. [00:20:33] We see a beautiful harmony in his family. [00:20:37] God has blessed this man in so many different ways. [00:20:43] People throughout history have had an attitude that when someone has that real blessed life and so many things are going well for them, that they must be lucky. [00:21:03] Well, I'm here to tell you there's no such thing as luck. [00:21:08] But then there are the others who believe that when they have all these things that they're blessed of God. [00:21:14] And that's not necessarily true either. [00:21:18] But in Job's case, that is true. [00:21:23] And Job has such a concern for his children that he gets up early in the morning and offers a burnt offering for each one of them. [00:21:44] Because his thought is, it may be that my children have sinned and have cursed God in their hearts. [00:21:53] Thus Job did continually. [00:21:58] This is a man who is so aware of the need for sacrifice for sins that he's willing to do it in a case where he's not sure whether they have or not. [00:22:25] It's this man that will be tested. [00:22:33] This man we will see in the next part of this chapter and in chapter two will be tested. [00:22:43] And what is being tested, it is his faith. [00:22:54] James, chapter five. [00:23:10] And I'll begin my reading with verse seven, but James chapter five. And you'll notice here in this text that Job is mentioned by name. [00:23:25] This is one of those things that I realize there's been a lot of literature written around the book of Job. Plays, stories, speculations. [00:23:39] But often the authors of these things see Job as just a parable, just a story, a made up story. [00:23:53] Well, made up stories have their place. Jesus told parables and that's fine. [00:24:02] There are lessons we can learn from parables, but there are also often greater lessons that we can learn from real people. [00:24:14] And I'M here to tell you that James, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, speaks of Job as a real person. [00:24:29] How much more meaning that has. [00:24:33] I find stories fascinating, but to me, a biography is even more fascinating because it's about a real person. And depending on how reliable the biographer is, you can learn all kinds of things about people. [00:25:01] Here's what James has to say. James, chapter five, beginning with verse seven. Be patient therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. [00:25:13] See how the farmer awaits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it until it receives the early and the latter rains. [00:25:24] You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. [00:25:32] Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door as an example of suffering and patience. Brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. [00:25:54] Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. [00:26:01] You have heard of the steadfastness of Job and you have seen the purpose of the Lord and how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. [00:26:17] The steadfastness of Job, or the patience of Job, or the endurance of Job, or the perseverance of Job. All of those English terms can legitimately be used to translate the Greek term. Here. [00:26:40] Job's patience means something if it's a real person going through these sufferings, that it wouldn't mean quite the same if it was just a story, a made up person, a man who actually suffered those losses and retained his faith. [00:27:07] That's the thing I want you to see as we go through the book of Job, that Job, Job is not perfect. And we're going to see that. [00:27:18] And it seems like in certain portions of the book there he's more than willing to complain. [00:27:26] You ever find yourself complaining about life? [00:27:31] We all do that, don't we? [00:27:36] But it's interesting. In the book of Job, God is not as concerned with Job's complaining as he is with the false teaching of his friends. [00:27:53] Good portion of the book is made up of that. [00:27:56] They're false accusations, they're false notions about suffering. [00:28:01] And Job, the one who is suffering, continues and continues to the very end of this book. [00:28:13] And he remains faithful. [00:28:19] We know how the story turns out. [00:28:23] It's important to follow it through and see how Job goes through these things. That's how he's an example for us that no matter what difficulties you may be going through in your life or I may be going through in my life, that if we trust God, if we believe in him and look for him to ultimately make all things right. [00:29:00] We are blessed indeed. [00:29:19] Let's look to God in prayer. [00:29:28] Father, as we consider your servant Job, the one you spoke so positively about. [00:29:43] It is difficult for us at times to wrap our minds around all that he suffered. [00:29:54] But it is not difficult to see that you sustained him, that that faith that is a gift given to him, caused him to persevere. [00:30:18] And so, Father, as those who are trusting in Jesus Christ for our ultimate deliverance, we would desire to know that same perseverance, that same experience of being held so carefully in the Father's hand. [00:30:52] And Father, though Job did not live in his lifetime here on earth to see the coming Messiah, he indeed looked forward to that one who would redeem him, the one that we know as Jesus the Christ who came to this earth not for his own benefit, but rather for us. [00:31:29] To redeem us from a curse that it would take an eternity for us to pay the price of. [00:31:43] And yet, for the one perfect and holy Redeemer, his death on the cross was sufficient, was sufficient to pay for all of our sins. [00:31:58] And his resurrection from the dead speaks of our justification. [00:32:06] That we can know that we are right with you, Father, because you accepted his sacrifice and you have exalted him to a place and given him a name above every name that at the name of Jesus Christ every knee should bow of all things in heaven and on earth. [00:32:33] And we look forward, Father, to that day when we will witness that complete and final submission to his kingship and pray that you would give us that hope, that hope to face each and every day here, no matter how long or short our lives may be. [00:33:11] We pray these things in Jesus name. [00:33:14] Amen.