Hymns: RHC 335 Keep on Believing, 326 Only Believe, 337 Never Give Up

Job 3:20-26

KJV Job 3:20 20Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul; 21Which long for death, but it cometh not; and dig for it more than for hid treasures; 22Which rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they can find the grave? 23Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in? 24For my sighing cometh before I eat, and my roarings are poured out like the waters. 25For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me. 26I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came. (Job 3:1-26 KJV)

Lamentation of a Depressed Soul (3)

OUTLINE

(1) Why Was I Born? (v1-10)

(2) Why Did I Not Die Earlier? (v11-19)

(3) Why Am I Still Alive? (v20-26)

Hymns: RHC 327 All Things Work Out for Good; 358 What a Friend We Have In Jesus; 324 Trusting Jesus

Job 3:11-19

11Why died I not from the womb? why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly? 12Why did the knees prevent me? or why the breasts that I should suck? 13For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I been at rest, 14With kings and counsellors of the earth, which built desolate places for themselves; 15Or with princes that had gold, who filled their houses with silver: 16Or as an hidden untimely birth I had not been; as infants which never saw light. 17There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest. 18There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor. 19The small and great are there; and the servant isfree from his master. 20Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul; 21Which long for death, but it cometh not; and dig for it more than for hid treasures; 22Which rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they can find the grave? 23Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in? 24For my sighing cometh before I eat, and my roarings are poured out like the waters. 25For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me. 26I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came. (Job 3:1-26 KJV)

Lamentation of a Depressed Soul (2)

OUTLINE

(1) Why Was I Born? (v1-10)

(2) Why Did I Not Die Earlier? (v11-19)

(3) Why Am I Still Alive? (v20-26)

Hymns: RHC 10 Still, Still with Thee; 13 Abide with Me; 337 Never Give Up

Job 3:1-10

KJV Job 3:1After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day. 2And Job spake, and said, 3Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived. 4Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it. 5Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it. 6As for that night, let darkness seize upon it; let it not be joined unto the days of the year, let it not come into the number of the months. 7Lo, let that night be solitary, let no joyful voice come therein. 8Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning. 9Let the stars of the twilight thereof be dark; let it look for light, but have none; neither let it see the dawning of the day: 10Because it shut not up the doors of my mother’swomb, nor hid sorrow from mine eyes. (Job 3:1-10 KJV)

Lamentation of a Depressed Soul

OUTLINE

(1) Why Was I Born? (v1-10)

(2) Why Did I Not Die Earlier? (v11-19)

(3) Why Am I Still Alive? (v20-26)

Hymns: RHC 109 Jesus Is All the World to Me; 116 Higher Ground; 358 What a Friend We Have In Jesus

Job 2:11-13

11Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him. 12And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven. 13So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great. (Job 2:11-13 KJV)

Who Is a Friend?

OUTLINE

(1) Together Mourn and Comfort (v11)

(2) Together Weep and be Silent (v12-13)

INTRODUCTION

It is easy to live life with God when you are bestowed with everything in life, having every reason to feel secure. It is another thing to when these “comforts” are taken away and life bares before us its harsh side. Does it mean God has forsaken us? Easy to conclude that way. As we look at Job’s life and the trauma that has befallen him as he sits there helpless, destitute and vulnerable, alone! Imagine, God’s perfect man’s predicament, makes us sit straight and take a hard look at life. Today, we shall begin to look at the impact on friends upon a suffering saint.

When we are without friends, life can indeed be very lonely. Friendship played a significant part in the lives of men of God.

Hymns: RHC 106 Christ Liveth In Me, 399 I Am Thine, O Lord, 335 Keep on Believing

Job 2:7-10

7So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. 8And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes. 9Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die. 10But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips. (Job 2:7-10 KJV)

Hold Fast Thine Integrity

OUTLINE

(1) In Adverse Circumstances (v7-8)

(2) With Difficult Loved Ones (v9)

(3) Godly Response to Provocation (v10)

INTRODUCTION

Why do Christians face setbacks in life? Why do we go through trials? Trials are designed to prove our faith in God. That it may become evident whether we truly belong to Him and we truly love Him and whether we fully embrace as the God of our life. For if we belong to Him, this is how the Christian go through trials? With joy and with a steadfast love toward God looking for His approval, holding faith in God without wavering.

Hymns: RHC 389 I Need Thee Every Hour, 368 From Every Stormy Wind that Blows, 364 ‘Tis the Blessed Hour of Prayer

Job 2:1-7

KJV Job 2:1Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD. 2And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. 3And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause. 4And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. 5But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face. 6And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life. 7So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. (Job 2:1-7 KJV)

Touch His Bone and His Flesh

OUTLINE

(1) The Adversary’s Adversarial Work Revealed (v1-5)

(2) The Grace of God Does Prevail (v6-7)

Hymns: RHC 306 Pass Me Not, 319 It Is Well With My Soul, 7 God Moves In a Mysterious Way

Job 1:20-22

20Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, 21And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. 22In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly. (Job 1:20-22 KJV)

It Is Well With My Soul

OUTLINE

(1) Submission to God’s Will (v20-21)

(2) Sin Not to Murmur Against God (v22)

INTRODUCTION

The hymn “It is Well with My Soul” was a song given in the storm of life. After the great fire of 1871, Horatio Spafford (1828-1888), a Chicago lawyer, arranged an ocean voyage to Europe form his family, where he would join them later. The ship on which the happy family sailed, the Ville du Havre, never got farther than halfway across the Alantic. In the dead of the night, it was rammed by a sailing vessel and cut into two. On the confusion and disaster that followed, Mrs. Spafford saw her four daughters swept away to their deaths. A falling mast knocked her unconscious, and a wave freakishly deposited her body on a piece of wreckage where she regained consciousness. When she and a few other survivors reached Wales, she cabled two words to her husband: “Saved alone.”

Godly Response to Afflictions

6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.
7 And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
8 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?
9 Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
10 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
11 But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.
12 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.
13 And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house:
14 And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them:
15 And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
16 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
17 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
18 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house:
19 And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
20 Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,
21 And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.
22 In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly. (Job 1:6-22 KJV)

When the Storm Hits

OUTLINE

(1) Preparation (v5)

(2) Permission (v8-12)

(3) Persecution (v13-19)

INTRODUCTION

Jesus gave these words of wisdom, comfort and cheer to His disciples before He went to the cross in John 16:33, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 is the record of the last words of our Lord’s last sermon to His disciples. The discourse began in John 13:31 after Judas had left the group to betray Jesus. The Lord was in the Upper Room with the disciples before He went to the cross. And He gave His disciples these comforting words of assurance of His abiding presence with them. Just as His Father’s presence was with Him without let-up, so too they would find rest in Jesus’ abiding presence in times of severe trial and testing. His abiding peace (v33a) resting with us and persevering courage to live for Jesus (v33b), trusting in Him to see us through hard days.

Hymns: RHC 324 Simply Trusting, 327 All Thing Work Out for Good, 332 Moment by Moment

Job 1:1-12

1There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil. 2And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters. 3His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east. 4And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. 5And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.6Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. 7And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. 8And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? 9Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? 10Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. 11But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. 12And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

Brewing of a Spiritual Storm

OUTLINE

(1) Piety in the Calm of Life (v1-5)

(2) Storm Clouds Brewing in the Heavenlies (v6-12)