"Job At Ground Zero"

“Job At Ground Zero”

INTRODUCTION: (My thanks to Denn Guptill for his excellent sermon on Job)

This A.M. we’re going to look at the life of Job. The Book of Job is probably the OLDEST book in the Bible … written before the Book of Genesis. We don’t know who WROTE the book of Job … or exactly WHEN it was written. Job probably lived about 4000 years ago … at the same time as Jacob.

Job is known for his PATIENCE … the “patience of Job”. James 5:11 – “We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the patience of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.”

Maybe you’ve even used this phrase to describe yourself … “To be your mother, I have to have the ‘patience of Job’!”

Let’s take a look at the “patience of Job”.

1:1 – We don’t know exactly where “Uz” is … BUT … that’s where Job lived.

We learn something here about this man Job … he lived a Godly life. Job respected God … loved what God loved, and hated what God hated (“shunned evil”). YET … we’re going to see that he wasn’t exempt from bad things happening to him.

1:2-4 – Job was the richest man around … God had really blessed him. He had 10 children … and they would meet at each son’s house on their birthday and have a great celebration feast.

1:5 - After each feast, Job would offer a sacrifice to God on behalf of his children. Job was concerned about their spiritual well-being … like any good parent.

NOW … the scene shifts to Heaven.

1:6 – I have to confess that I don’t really understand this. BUT … there’s a LOT I don’t understand!

God apparently required the angels to report to Him periodically, and on this occasion Satan shows up.

1:7 – Satan is “the god of this world” (2 Cor. 4:4) … the “prince and power of the air” (Eph. 2:2).

1 Peter 5:8 – “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”

LESSON: Satan is accountable to God. He has lots of power & authority … BUT … he answers to God! God is in charge … God is sovereign … God is in control!

1:8 – I don’t quite understand this either! It wasn’t Satan who brought up the subject of Job … it was God who brought it up.

PERSONALLY, I’d rather that God not specifically point me out to Satan. I’ve got enough trouble with Satan without God telling Satan to focus on me! BUT … God had a REASON for it … WHAT DO YOU THINK THAT WAS?

Everything was going good for Job … he was a good and Godly man.

• MAYBE things were going TOO GOOD for Job.

• MAYBE Job was taking too much PRIDE in himself. He offered sacrifices for the sins of his children … BUT … nothing is mentioned about sacrifices for HIS sins.

• MAYBE he was so good that he didn’t see himself as a sinner before God … nothing to REPENT of.

• MAYBE Job is beginning to feel self-sufficient … that because he’s so good, he DESERVES what God has done for him. That’s what PROSPERITY will do for you … bring your focus on yourself, and away from God.

1:9-12 – Satan tells God that the only reason Job is so good … is because God has been so good to Job.

“BUT … take away everything You’ve given him … AND … he will curse You to Your face!” Satan tells God that Job loves God for what Job can get out of the relationship.

LET ME ASK YOU … Do you love God MORE in the good times, than the bad times? Is your love for God dependant on whether or not He blesses you? OR …by HOW MUCH He does, or doesn’t, bless you?

Satan ALSO tells God that he hasn’t been able to touch Job before, because God has put a “hedge” around him (1:10). If you’re a Child of God, God has put a “hedge” around you. Satan can’t touch you, unless God permits it.

NOT SO with the LOST … they are a “child of the Devil”.

When God allows Satan to go through that “hedge”, it’s because God has a PURPOSE for it. Satan can’t enter there, without the permission of God. Everything that happens to you, must first pass through the Throne Room of God.

AND … God has a REASON for everything that He allows Satan to do in your life. It’s for your ultimate GOOD … though we usually can’t see it at the time. Don’t WASTE the hard times … the trials, troubles & tribulations … God allows them for your ultimate GOOD. Romans 8:28 – “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”