Relationships of a hard knocked life (March 5th, 2006)

Obtaining Righteousness (March 12th, 2006)

Good God and Evil  (March 19th,  2006)

where nobody stands alone

Job Message Series Title:  Relationships of a hard knocked life Job 2: 11 – 13 (NAS) 11 Now when Job's three friends heard of all this adversity that had come upon him, they came each one from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite; and they made an appointment together to come to sympathize with him and comfort him. 12 When they lifted up their eyes at a distance and did not recognize him, they raised their voices and wept. And each of them tore his robe and they threw dust over their heads toward the sky. 13 Then they sat down on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights with no one speaking a word to him, for they saw that {his} pain was very great. I. Walk beside those in need (32: 1 – 37: 24) a. Job had some true friends i. they threw dust in the air 1. this symbolizes disease and deepest mourning a. Joshua 7:6, Acts 22:23 ii. at first glance they didn’t recognize their friend 1. his former estate was dominated with landscape 2. his body is now so disfigured. b. Friends will go the distance i. These friends came from another part of the world to minister to their friend of which they didn’t recognize. 1. Vision statement  - We are called out to be friends to the world a. How Big is Your God? It is the dream of a place socially active in global and local outreaches. This place will facilitate a glocal (global + local) small group outreach.  There will be an active small group outreach in every city of Robertson County.  Social and spiritual outreach will be conducted in every country of the world by supporting foreign missionaries.  This is a place that desires to be a community church, not a church in the community.  It is the dream of a place that expands its public ministry into every home through televised and/or webcasted services.  It is the dream of being a place that is locally specific and globally aware. c. Friends will be there i. A true friend is there for you in time of need 1. Two men were out hunting in the northern U.S. Suddenly one yelled and the other looked up to see a grizzly charging them. The first started to frantically put on his tennis shoes and his friend anxiously asked, "What are you doing? Don't you know you can't outrun a grizzly bear?" "I don't have to outrun a grizzly. I just have to outrun you!" ii. Don’t walk in front of me; I may not follow.  Don’t walk behind me; I may not lead.  Just walk beside me and be my friend. 1. Albert Camus, French Novelist, Essayist and Playwright, 1957 d. The walked beside Job in three ways i. By the kind visit they paid him in his affliction, to mourn with him and to comfort him, v. 11. ii. By their tender sympathy with him and concern for him in his affliction. iii. They shared in his pain 1. Coming to mourn with him, they vented their undissembled grief in all the then usual expressions of that passion. They wept aloud; the sight of them (as is usual) revived Job’s grief, and set him a weeping afresh, which fetched floods of tears from their eyes. They rent their clothes, and sprinkled dust upon their heads, as men that would strip themselves, and abase themselves, with their friend that was stripped and abased. 2. Coming to comfort him, they sat down with him upon the ground, II. Be careful who you call friend a. Counsel of job’s friends Job’s unwise friends (4: 1 – 27: 23) b. The first three friends reported in the book i. Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite c. The preceded with personal judgement and not godly judgement i. when they saw how he was visited, they conceived an evil opinion of him, as though he was a hypocrite and so justly plagued by God for his sins. d. Their Responsibility  was to console and comfort (2: 11) i. To console and comfort 1. The word to console (Heb nud) means literally “to shake the head or to rock the body back and forth” as a sign of shared grief. 2. To comfort (Heb. Niham) is to attempt to ease the deepest pain caused by a tragedy or death. ii. With the best of intentions, the initial three earnestly desired to help Job bear his sorrow. a. The Hebrew word used here is hesed, also found in 1 Samuel 20: 14 – 15 with jonathan and david i. Hesed is a friendship characterized by loyal love e. The friends wish to comfort Job, but they were simply in the way and Job rejects the friends’ counsel i. They accuse him of flagrant sins. 1. “Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one” – C S Lewis ii. Their exhortation tempted him to seek God for material gain. iii. They told him that he ought to be cursing God for what is going on. 1. 22: 45 – Eliphaz states that Job is guilty of great wickedness. f. Wise counsel is grounded in true wisdom (Bible) i. Job suffers and complains that God is silent. Job accuses God of injustice ii. Then enters wise young friend # 4 1. Elihu teaches that god disciplines by suffering and that God send an angel – mediator to rescue those near death. 2. Elihu argues for God’s justice and concludes that Job is wrong in condemning God. g. A true friend is not condemning i. Illustration: 1. Jackie Robinson was the first black to play major league baseball. Breaking baseball's color barrier, he faced jeering crowds in every stadium. While playing one day in his home stadium in Brooklyn, he committed an error. The fans began to ridicule him. He stood at second base, humiliated, while the fans jeered. Then, shortstop Pee Wee Reese came over and stood next to him. He put his arm around Jackie Robinson and faced the crowd. The fans grew quiet. Robinson later said that arm around his shoulder saved his career. III. Rely on your Divine Friend -- Job’s theophany (38: 1 – 42: 6) a. Once I told my old man, 'Nobody likes me.' He said, 'Don't say that--everybody hasn't met you yet.' Rodney Dangerfield, I Don't Get No Respect. b. Yahweh’s second speech (40: 6 – 41: 6) i. God confronts Job with the major flaw in his accusations. 1. in defending his own innocence so emphatically and lashing out so vehemently at God because of his suffering, Job has essentially charged God with acting unjustly. 2. For a mortal to presume himself guiltless and to impugn God’s just governance of the world approaches the sin of presumptuous pride. c. In times of trial and heart ache, we have a friend in Jesus i. What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer! O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer. ii. Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere? We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer. Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share? Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer. iii. Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care? Precious Savior, still our refuge, take it to the Lord in prayer. Do your friends despise, forsake you? Take it to the Lord in prayer! In His arms He'll take and shield you; you will find a solace there. iv. Blessed Savior, Thou hast promised Thou wilt all our burdens bear May we ever, Lord, be bringing all to Thee in earnest prayer. Soon in glory bright unclouded there will be no need for prayer Rapture, praise and endless worship will be our sweet portion there. d. Job asks God to speak to him. i. God appears to Job and addresses him. ii. Job submits to God and God accepts him. iii. God blesses Job 1. Job’s estate doubles and Job lives a long, full life. e. God is proving himself to be the true friend. i. It doesn’t matter where you are at in life he will be there. ii. Job’s friends came from a long distance to comfort him. iii. God will come a long distance for you. iv. He will find you in the gutter and lift you up. v. He will find you lonely and give you someone to talk to vi. He will fine you bankrupt and will fill your account. vii. You see our God is a Wal-Mart God. 1. You don’t need a receipt or warranty for Him to take you back. viii. Meaning of a friend 1. Intimate counselor 1 Chronicles 27: 33 2. A closeness Deuteronomy 13: 7 3. A party in a legal dispute  Exodus 22: 8 f. If ever there is tomorrow when we're not together.. there is something you must always remember. you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. but the most important thing is, even if we're apart.. i'll always be with you.” – Winnie the Pooh reminds us of what a true friend should tell us.

Job character message series Opening Illustration In the Antarctic summer of 1908-9, Sir Ernest Shackleton and three companions attempted to travel to the South Pole from their winter quarters. They set off with four ponies to help carry the load. Weeks later, their ponies dead, rations all but exhausted, they turned back toward their base, their goal not accomplished. Altogether, they trekked 127 days. On the return journey, as Shackleton records in The Heart of the Antarctic, the time was spent talking about food -- elaborate feasts, gourmet delights, sumptuous menus. As they staggered along, suffering from dysentery, not knowing whether they would survive, every waking hour was occupied with thoughts of eating. Jesus, who also knew the ravages of food deprivation, said, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for RIGHTEOUSNESS." We can understand Shackleton's obsession with food, which offers a glimpse of the passion Jesus intends for our quest for righteousness. Source Unknown. “People must have righteous principals in the first, and then they will not fail to perform virtuous actions.”   Martin Luther quotes (German Priest and Scholar whose questioning of certain church practices led to the Protestant Reformation. 1483-1546) When we say the word righteous, we must give our best surfer “Righteous”. Job 1:1 (NAS) 1 There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil. Thesis:  To have a Godly righteousness is a three fold equation:  intimately holy, submission, endurance I. God’s people will be intimately holy a. Why will they be intimately holy? i. Because they will have an close relationship with Him. 1. James 5: 16 – The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. 2. this shows that when a person that is close to God they will be a. righteous b. they will have a better successful prayer life. 3. Effective a. intense and fervent, not "wavering" 4. it is the prayer of faith, which knows God and counts upon Him and draws near Him. i. It works because the Holy Ghost is working inside the believer ii. The prayer is energized by the Holy Spirit iii. John 9: 31 (NAS) 1. "We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him. b. His prayer will accomplish much, because God knows the person and they know God i. Job 1: 8 (NAS) 1. The LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil." ii. This is someone that will walk with the Lord and not walk against the Lord. 1. Kingdom in and Kingdom out 2. God won’t bless a mess. b. Epiphany DNA i. Upgrading for the Untouchables – desiring righteousness to cover our land 1. It is the dream of a place that effectively engages the postmodern mindset most often overlooked by the modern day church by being culturally relevant, innovative, and authentic.  This place will be one of the leading drug and alcohol rehabilitation, divorce care, and minister / leadership training centers in northern middle Tennessee. II. God’s people will be submissive a. Illustration:  Obedience i. Peter T. Forsythe was right when he said, "The first duty of every soul is to find not its freedom but its Master". Warren W. Wiersbe, The Integrity Crisis, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1991, p. 22. b. Submission of, to God i. Job 40:3-5 1. 3 Then Job answered the LORD and said, 4 "Behold, I am insignificant; what can I reply to You? I lay my hand on my mouth. 5 "Once I have spoken, and I will not answer; Even twice, and I will add nothing more." a. Overwhelmed by God’s majesty, he is aware of his own insignificance. i. He will no longer mouth off about God, but will lay his hand on his mouth to trap any haphazard words. 1. It is bad to thing foolish thoughts, it is worse to speak them. ii. if thou hast thought evil, lay thy hand upon thy mouth and let it go no further (Prov. 30:32) ii. 42:4-6 – After God’s second speech to Job, Job answers: 1. 4 'Hear, now, and I will speak; I will ask You, and You instruct me.' 5 "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You; 6 Therefore I retract, And I repent in dust and ashes." a. Repentance changes men’s opinion of themselves. b. Job had been too bold in demanding a conference with God, and thought he could make his part good with him i. but now he is convinced of his error, and owns himself utterly unable to stand before God or to produce any thing worth his notice, the veriest dunghill-worm that ever crawled upon God’s ground. ii. There are only two kinds of men: the righteous who believe they are sinners, the sinners who believe they are righteous.” – Blaise Pascal (French Mathematician, Philosopher and Physicist, 1623-1662) c. James 5: 16 (NAS) - Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. i. Let the brother confess his faults as a demonstration of repentance and let brethren pray for each other. ii. Repentance, confession and prayer are the conditions of the forgiveness of sins committed by church members. c. Illustration:  Obedience i. Roger Staubach who led the Dallas Cowboys to the World Championship in '71 admitted that his position as a quarterback who didn't call his own signals was a source of trial for him. Coach Landry sent in every play. He told Roger when to pass, when to run and only in emergency situations could he change the play (and he had better be right!). Even though Roger considered coach Landry to have a "genius mind" when it came to football strategy, pride said that he should be able to run his own team. ii. Roger later said, "I faced up to the issue of obedience. Once I learned to obey there was harmony, fulfillment, and victory." d. Transition: When you embrace submission to God, then you will have at your fingertips, endurance. III. God’s people will endure a. “Let the lying lips be put to silence; which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.” Psalm 31: 18 b. Connect Groups are a great place to find endurance. i. They provide you with people that are going through similar things. ii. People that you can lean on in trouble times. iii. People that will help you endure. c. Endurance of Job i. Job 1:20-22 1. 20 Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped. 21 He said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD." 22 Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God. ii. James 5:11 1. 11 We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord's dealings that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful. d. God will preserve the church i. Ezekiel 14:14 Though these three men, i Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver their own souls only by their k righteousness, saith the Lord GOD.20 even [if] Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live"-the declaration of the Lord God-"they could not deliver [their] son or daughter. They would deliver [only] themselves by their righteousness. ii. Meaning, that a very few would escape these plagues, whom God has sanctified and made righteous, so that this righteousness is a sign that they are the Church of God, whom he would preserve for his own sake. e. Illustration:  Endurance i. The Greeks had a race in their Olympic games that was unique. The winner was not the runner who finished first. It was the runner who finished with his torch still lit. I want to run all the way with the flame of my torch still lit for Him.  J. Stowell, Fan The Flame, Moody, 1986, p. 32. IV. Invitation a. Do you need strength to endure? b. Do you have something keeping you from being closely connected to God? c. You need that connection to endure.

Job character message series Part 3, from whence does evil come? Job 1: 6 – 12 (NAS) 6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. 7 The LORD said to Satan, "From where do you come?" Then Satan answered the LORD and said, "From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it." 8 The LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil." 9 Then Satan answered the LORD, "Does Job fear God for nothing? 10 "Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 "But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face." 12 Then the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power, only do not put forth your hand on him." So Satan departed from the presence of the LORD. What is evil? Give an example … is it someone dying? If someone passes away and you know that they have went to be with the Father, then can you call that evil? I. Who is an instigator of evil?  Where is the satan? a. v. 6 – 7 Where have you been Satan? b. In this passage it may be suggesting “the satan” i. The Hebrew word here is “hassatan” 1. the portion “has” is an antecendent meaning a, an or the. 2. It transliterates “the satan” 3. suggesting not the devil himself, but one that is playing a devil’s advocacy role. a. Like a prosecuting attorney, he seeks to find the wrong in life. c. Satan was roaming i. Satan was roaming. 1. the term roaming suggest that he moved randomly about the earth, perhaps like an emperor’s spy looking for any secret disloyalty to the crown. ii. Satan insinuates that all good deeds spring from selfish motives (v. 9, 10) 1. v. 10 – God had planted a hedge of protection around Job and had also blessed him with riches. 2. The satan asks the question, how could one believe that Job served God freely out of love? 3. v. 11 – the satan suggests that if God stretched his hand out and struck Job, then he would surely curse God. 4. the satan blamed Job’s loyalty as being self-serving. a. That is how we pray or desire God to be in our life. i. Well God if you do this, then I will do this for you. ii. It seems that most of the world has a warped view of a relationship to God… a loyalty that is only self-serving.  What is in it for me?  A consumerism concept.  A consumer Christian. 1. Why do I want to go to that church?  What is in it for me? What is evil? Is it the people that flew planes into buildings?  Was it the plane?  Was it their actions or the outcome? Was it a hurricane?  The response of the government or the outcome of the hurricane? Two types of evil:  moral and natural:  John 9 and Luke 13. a. Why does suffering occur? b. Some Christians simply explain suffering as the consequence of sins, But Jesus rejected this as a blanket explanation for suffering, instructing His disciples in John 9 and Luke 13 that they could not always trace suffering back to sin. i. No superficial answer will do. 1. Our quandary is well known, and the atheists think they have our number. 2. As a character in Archibald MacLeish's play, J.B. asserts, "If God is God He is not good, if God is good He is not God; take the even, take the odd . . . ." As he sees it, God can be good, or He can be powerful, but He cannot be both. II. Trials are placed in Job’s life a. Affliction from the Satan, allowed by God i. David Hume - Is he willing to prevent evil, but not able? then is he impotent. Is he able, but not willing? then is he malevolent. Is he both able and willing? whence then is evil? b. Trial of, by affliction of Satan Job 1:13-19; 2:7-10 i. The plan to test Job was not hatched in a secret meeting between Yahweh and the Satan. 1. It was decided openly before the heavenly assembly. 2. God had full confidence in Job. a. Yahweh’s motivation, based on his complete confidence in Job, was fully known and thus it was above the question. c. v. 12 – the Satan puts trials in Job’s life i. Dr. Albert Mohler (president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) – “The problem of evil and suffering is undoubtedly the greatest theological challenge we face.” d. Why do bad things happen to good people (a few things to understand first) ii. Man has choice. Romans 3: 23 – we are sinful people 1. The choice can be good or evil and can make his her surroundings evil. a. that is why Titus 3: 9 – 11, Thess. 3 i. Avoid troublemakers that will cast evil into your life. iii. The devil is real, but under God’s control. 1. He prowls around, seeking to devour (1 Peter 5: 8) 2. If we allow the devil to run in our life, then God will allow it. 3. The devil will cast evil in our life. iv. It may be a perception thing. 1. Is it really evil that sometimes comes our way? a. or is the gold of our life being refined by the trials and tribulations, the fire of life? c. First, the Bible reveals that God is omnipotent and omniscient. i. These are unconditional and categorical attributes. ii. The Creator rules over all creation. 1. Not even a sparrow falls without His knowledge. a. He knows the number of hairs upon our heads. b. God rules and reigns over all nations and principalities. c. Not one atom or molecule of the universe is outside His active rule. iii. The sovereignty of God was affirmed by King Nebuchadnezzar, who confessed that God "does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and no one can ward off His hand or say to Him, 'What have You done?'" [Daniel 4:36]. iv. Illustration:  God is sovereign 1. In the frigid waters around Greenland are countless icebergs, some little and some gigantic. If you'd observe them carefully, you'd notice that sometimes the small ice floes move in one direction while their massive counterparts flow in another. The explanation is simple. Surface winds drive the little ones, whereas the huge masses of ice are carried along by deep ocean currents. When we face trials and tragedies, it's helpful to see our lives as being subject to two forces--surface winds and ocean currents. The winds represent everything changeable, unpredictable, and distressing. But operating simultaneously with these gusts and gales is another force that's even more powerful. It is the sure movement of God's wise and sovereign purposes, the deep flow of His unchanging love. v. The openness theists argue that God is always ready with Plan B when Plan A fails. 1. He is infinitely resourceful, they stress, just not really sovereign. a. These are roads we dare not take, for the God of the Bible causes the rising and falling of nations and empires, and His rule is active and universal. 2. Limited sovereignty is no sovereignty at all. d. The great error is to ascribe evil to God. i. God is absolute righteousness, love, goodness, and justice. ii. Most errors related to this issue occur because of our human tendency to impose an external standard--a human construction of goodness--upon God. iii. But good does not so much define God as God defines good. e. How then do we speak of God's rule and reconcile this with the reality of evil? i. the Bible points us to the radical affirmation of God's sovereignty as the ground of our salvation and the assurance of our own good. 1. We cannot explain why God has allowed sin, but we understand that God's glory is more perfectly demonstrated through the victory of Christ over sin. 2. We cannot understand why God would allow sickness and suffering, but we must affirm that even these realities are rooted in sin and its cosmic effects. 3. and we cannot fall back to speak of His mere permission, as if this allows a denial of His sovereignty and active will. f. God is God, and God is good. i. "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, who are the called according to His purpose." [Romans 8:28] ii. We dare not speak on God's behalf to explain why He allowed these particular acts of evil to happen at this time to these persons and in this manner. 1. Yet, at the same time, we dare not be silent when we should testify to the God of righteousness and love and justice who rules over all in omnipotence. g. Humility requires that we affirm all that the Bible teaches, and go no further. i. There is much we do not understand. ii. As Charles Spurgeon explained, when we cannot trace God's hand, we must simply trust His heart. II. What is evil?  I would suggest that anything that does not glorify God is evil. a. Not something that like eating a certain food, but something that deglorifies the essence of God. b. Walk with God, and He will preserve you c. Consider Job i. v. 8 – God brags on Job d. God will preserve the faithful i. Ezekiel 14:14 Though these three men, i Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver their own souls only by their k righteousness, saith the Lord GOD.20 even [if] Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live"-the declaration of the Lord God-"they could not deliver [their] son or daughter. They would deliver [only] themselves by their righteousness. ii. 1 Corinthians 10: 13 (NAS) No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. iii. Our response to evil:  Submission of, to God 1. Job 40:3-5 a. 3 Then Job answered the LORD and said, 4 "Behold, I am insignificant; what can I reply to You? I lay R1093 my hand on my mouth. 5 "Once I have spoken, and I R1094 will not answer; Even twice, and I will add nothing more." 2. 42:4-6 a. Job says:  4 'Hear, now, and I will speak; I will ask R1125 You, and You instruct me.' 5 "I have heard R1126 of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye R1127 sees You; 6 Therefore I retract, And I repent in dust and ashes." 3. James 4: 7 (NAS) a. Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. III. No one enjoys going through trials and tribulations, but remember if God didn’t allow Himself to go through it, then the greater good would not have been accomplished. a. It is because God’s suffering that others were able to see and obtain victory in their life. b. It maybe because of your suffering, that others will be able to see and obtain victory in their life.