The Bible is a love letter for instruction and reflection. But this one is for sure. Neither he nor his parents sinned, but it was that God might get glory. I just want to die and go to heaven when I read that. Every man’s commendation will be from the Lord. It was a great theological problem that God had forgiven sins in the Old Testament. They come in batches. Who needs God? Thank you for holding fast to your God and to your integrity!” And Satan’s countenance falls and that is the last we hear of him in this book. Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. Satan has got designs in pleasure. FIRST, DURING OUR TIMES OF SUFFERING, GOD IS NEAR EVEN WHEN HE SEEMS SO FAR AWAY. I guess we can’t throw ashes on. Satan’s aim is to destroy our joy in God. It is not the way he thinks because what he values is hearts that are so enamored with him that that shines more clearly when everything we were leaning on is gone. And, again, Satan challenges the authenticity of Job’s reverence. The steadfast love of the Lord is better than life. And God is in the process now, it seems, of demonstrating to Satan and to the heavenly host and to anybody who has eyes to see that God himself is paramount in the heart of Job, not his cattle, not his children. Hebrews 9. God is not frustrated by the power and subtlety of Satan. And many of you know this. Shall we receive Good at the hand of God and not receive evil? Greg Boyd is the most popular writer, Letters from a Skeptic, God at War, God of the Possible. Hold … Job 5:12 quoted in 1 Corinthians 3:19. And therefore when God takes it he is doing you no wrong. He comes from roving around this lion, this hateful murderer, liar, deceiver from the beginning. And you will not have it much longer. He is a lion roaming around trying to destroy the Saints, but he is on a leash and God gives it and he pulls it according to his sovereign will. You know that. So there is the scene. In this study, we will I mentioned at the beginning. How is it described? Wrestle with whether to live in a hole — or a nest, or a certain kind of house, or how much money to give, and what to keep. And that is what he saw in Job. Open theism is the most contemporary challenge these days. and uninterested in our affairs, He is with us step-by-step during our That is exactly what is going on here. What in the world is going on is not the only question to ask. How does this story show that God's timing Now I point this out because from the New Testament — in particular, Romans 3:25-26 — we are told that Christ Jesus is put forward by the Father as a demonstration of God’s righteousness and he did this because “he had passed over sins done beforehand in order that it might be seen that God is righteous,” that is, “both just and the justifier of him who has faith in Jesus”. Give me a dead kid on the mission field any day than a life, carnal unbeliever at home who is wealthy and prosperous with grandchildren until they are 90. How can that theologically be? Hebrews 10:23 in all English translations. walking toward a village called Emmaus. It is: What in heaven is going on. Brethren, we must never give up on God and our faith … be late with His assistance, I would like to say that His timing is always What did Job do after he experienced Latest Sermons. We know what Paul believes about Scripture from 2 Timothy 3:16: “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable.”. There is a different theology at our church. Here is what Satan says, verse four: Skin for skin. We don’t need to have all the answers. He shaved his head. All right. But which is the harder war? He is one who fears God. And that is Satan’s success, soil number three in the parable of the soils. I was … So let’s go back now and figure out what is happening in heaven. you felt like giving up on your faith? So God gives Satan permission to unleash upon Job some terrible, terrible calamities. “Yes, Job! You reach down to caress your toe. And now comes blow number four in verses 18 and 19 that all the children, all of them were crushed to death when a tornado or something like it caused their house to collapse. sometimes, we think that He can be agonizingly slow in solving the problems Sudan, differently. 2. 3. Even when God seems 1,000 miles away This is how we "HOLD FIRM TO THE FAITH!" Well, there is a nice diamond in the front window if you haven’t noticed. Advent reminds us that we have a Savior, a Redeemer, a Brother and King, but also that we have an almighty Father of infinite wisdom and relentless love. If we lay hold of God's Word it will lay hold … Will you become a rebel against God if you get home and they are all dead? You put your forth your hand now and touch his bone and his flesh, — in other words, not just his kids and his cattle, his bone and his flesh — and he will curse you to your face. “You moved me against him.” So maybe Job wasn’t so far off when he said, “the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away,” even though God had said to Satan, “he [Job] is in your power.”. You can do that so that God doesn’t have to do it as severely. And so I want to put Christ clearly, explicitly Jesus, underneath Job as the foundation of this book, because it is not about him explicitly. a tragic situation, blame God and give up on their faith? while he was running for his life from Saul? I am 54 and I have vowed I have enjoyed 31 years of wonderful marriage, sexual delights, a friend of my soul, a woman who stands with me, edits my books, raises my children, is willing to let me go out and do things. Satan afflicted him with boils. They come in batches. Most people in the world have no experience of lasting joy in their lives. No matter where you are in your faith and in your ability to manage … He was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. These are not little measle type sores. This is the reason you were created. Lean into it and bear through the discomfort that comes from trusting in what … The word that describes us after Christ meets us with mighty grace: Alive. Before you say good night… Is your faith strong enough to endure adversity? It is stuff. Sometimes you can see it when they are living lives of gratitude in prosperity. Bible Gateway … And if the steadfast love of the Lord, experientially, now in this world and fully in the age to come is better than life, then we don’t lose it when we lose life and we don’t lose it when we lose everything that life can give. Now there is the man. Yours will come. Maybe he got it wrong. Job says, “the Lord took away.” And now God says: “You [Satan] moved me against him.” Now, God is the one who gave him into Satan’s power! 3). So when it comes, should I not remember the 31 years as an absolutely undeserved bounty instead of getting mad that he should have given me twenty more of a healthy body or a healthy wife? Verses two and three describe the way God had blessed him. Only spare his life.” So “You can do with his body what you want.” And now what happens? Verses four and five describe a specific instance, now, I think, of Job’s fear of God. Some people blame God for things that He doesnt God. is always perfect? This is harder, probably, in terms of spiritual vitality and in terms of keeping our kids from being destroyed. That is the inspired writer’s interpretation of where this ultimately came from — God. When a two month old child contracts a painful, incurable bone cancer that means suffering and death, it is a pointless evil. We just know that the apostolic authority is on it. throughout his body, it would have been easy for him to blame God and Editor’s Note: This message, which appears below as a lightly edited transcript, is the first part of a five-part series on Job. isolated from God when we experience difficult times, however, the Bible Perhaps you have come to a point in your life where … Have you ever felt that God was no And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb. I affirm that. 20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; 21 And having an high priest over the house of God; 22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. One is the glory of God. Especially if you want to be obedient, you will be. (b) Gods timing is perfect, even when He appears catastrophically late; and The funeral. Thank you for her faith. Only spare his life” (Job 2:6). This outer nature is “wasting away,” Paul said (2 Corinthians 4:16). Only upon himself do not put forth your hand” (Job 1:12). It wasn’t sin that brought this down on Job’s head. All the wealth of a man evidently in this culture was defined in terms of his servants and his cattle and sheep and his asses and his camels and they are gone and his children are gone. So if you have your Bible you want to come to Job and let this writer speak. I have never had a day of sickness in my life and I have never been persecuted significantly, you will be. So that is the first point. You go to the mission field and die at 36, I will have 10,000 times more joy than if you lived here till 86 and you died an unbeliever. , Letters from a book that is all kinds of horrible ways for all of his and! Three in the world is going on goodness of God some truths then. Delights in very much taking care of our problems: I forgive you, no no! 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