After This

AFTER THIS

Job 42:16-17

Intro: You are probably finding it strange that I read those two verses and intend to preach a message on them. The reason I say that is because if a person were to just open their Bibles and read those two verses as “stand-alone” or “independent” there is not a lot of meaning to them. In fact, there are 42 chapters and 1, 070 verses in the book of Job. I just read verses 1,069 and1, 070. Those two verses are kind of like the dash or hyphen between the birth date and the death date on a tombstone. To the onlooker it is just a numeric symbol. To the person who is lying beneath it is their testimony.

There are two words in those passages of scripture that are kind of like that dash on that tombstone. They may not mean much to the onlooker especially if they don’t know the content of the other 1,068 verses that come before them. You see a lot of people don’t understand why it is we gather down here on a Friday night and sing, and shout and cry and run and act up in the Holy Ghost. The reason is they didn’t know us before he got us. And those that did know us either try to ignore us or stay away from us because they are afraid they may have to change too. If they ever get a good dose of what we got then they will understand what it is that makes up stand up and praise him. They will understand what it is that causes us to love him. They will know what it is that causes us to exalt him.

The writer of this book (suspectedly Moses) makes a statement in verse 16 “After this lived Job an hundred and forty years,” (v.17) So Job died , being old and full of days. “After this” lived Job? I want to preach on the subject; “AFTER THIS.”

I. JOB FACTS

A. He was a perfect and upright man

B. He was a wealthy man

C. He has seven sons and three daughters

D. He feared God and eschewed evil

E. He offered sacrifice just in case his sons had cursed God in their heart and did so continually

F. But the test, the trying of faith was about to come

II. THE FIRST TEST

A. In just a few verses we find an exchange between the Lord and Satan and suddenly Job is the centerpiece of their conversation

B. Satan makes an accusatory claim that the only ready Job serves him is because of the increase in his substance (1:9)

C. It is then the Lord give Satan power over all of the substance of Job

D. And it wasn’t long until Satan was hard at work trying to get Job to turn his back on the Lord

E. Right now in this place the devil is hard at work trying to get some of you to turn your back on the Lord

F. He wants you to give up, he wants you to give in.

G. He wants you to collapse and quit but Im here to proclaim to you this right now you may just be in chapter 1 of what is going on but chapter 42 is coming…

H. The devil was attacking with vengeance

I. The Sabeans took the oxen and the asses

J. Fire fell from the sky and burned up the sheep and the servants

K. The Chaldeans stole the camels

L. And if that wasn’t enough a strong wind (tornado) has come and hit the house and killed all seven of your sons and all three of your daughters

M. I can see job as sadness and heartbreak and grief overwhelmed him

N. I can watch him as the tears streamed down his face while he buried his children

O. But I can also see the devil laughing, standing back going watch this Lord he is about to cave in

P. The devil has put a lot of pressure on a lot of people and many of them have caved in but there has been a few…well hallelujah…

Q. (v. 20) Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground and worshipped

R. The devil wasn’t counting on worship, he was counting on whining. He was counting on quitting. He was counting on Job being mad at God

S. You want to throw the devil for a loop.

T. Worship instead of whine. Praise instead of pout.

U. We need to let the trying of our faith enable us instead of disable us

V. (v.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.