A FAITH THAT RISES ABOVE DISCOURAGE-MENT-- Job 19:23-27, 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, 19-22, 50-52, 57-58
Proposition: A faith in a living Redeemer prepares us to rise above all the discouragements of life.
Objective: My purpose is to help people to put their total trust in Christ and let Him lift one above the discouragements in life we feel.
INTRODUCTION:
Discouragement is the act or means of disheartening or deterring (to restrain or prevent); depression, pessimism.
Illus: Here’s a man sitting on his porch in Kentucky. He’s only recently retired from the post office, and he’s sitting there when his first Social Security check is delivered. He’s very, very discouraged. He thinks to himself, Is this what life is going to be from now on—sitting on the porch waiting for my check to arrive?
He decided he wouldn’t settle for that, and so he made a list of all of the things he had going for him, all the blessings and the capacities, the unique things that were in him. The list was long because he listed everything he could think of, and in the list was the fact that he was the only person on earth who knew his mother’s recipe for fried chicken. It used eleven different herbs and spices.
So he went to a nearby restaurant and asked if he could cook the chicken, and they said yes. It soon became the most popular item on the menu. So he opened his own restaurant, and then others, and a string of restaurants. Eventually Harland Sanders sold the Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise across all of America. He finally retired a second time (all this happened, you remember, after he had retired from the postal service), and he continued in the service of the company as a public relations representative for a quarter of a million dollars a year till his death. Now here was a man who did not allow himself to be defeated by discouragement. He took a look at it, recognized it was there, but then went on to look at what he had with which to deal with it and used that.
It has been said that Job lost everything during his time of affliction. It is true that he lost his family, his finances, his fitness and his friends, yet through it all, he never lost his faith or his relationship with the Lord. When the bottom fell out of Job’s life, he still maintained his confidence in the Lord. In doing so, he demonstrates to us what our duty is to God while we pass through the valleys of life. Henry Blackaby talks about a crisis of belief. He said, "When God asks you to do something that you cannot do, you will face a crisis of belief. You will have to decide what you really believe about God." Note this was the point Job was brought to in our text today. He had to answer the question involved in the crisis of belief he faced, "Do I trust God in the middle of these trials that I’m going through–things like: LOSING MY CROPS, MY LIVELIHOOD, MY HOME, MY CHILDREN, AND MY HEALTH–Or do I curse GOD and end it all?" Job had just stated his despair and utter helplessness in this life: “God has blocked the way, and I can’t get through; he has hidden my path in darkness. He has taken away all my wealth and destroyed my reputation. He batters me from every side. He uproots my hope and leaves me to wither and die” (19:8-10--GNB). When Job hits the bottom of the pit of humiliation, he has no place to go, but to stand and look up. His stance is represented by his unshaken confidence in his God. Yet, for the first time, he deals with the shock of recognition that he may not be vindicated while still alive. God gives him a flash of insight to turn the clock ahead to eternity. Bursting into the reality of God’s revelation Job is discouraged but not defeated. He knows there is One that he can trust in the difficult experiences of life. The Bible tells us that in the midst of this crisis of belief, Job chose to trust God. Before this chapter, Job struggles for his faith. Here he finds his faith. He believes that there is some meaning to the life that is to come. After this chapter he becomes objective in his faith. Even though he may have some low points yet, his faith is an inspiration and provides a way of transcending life’s crises. Elton Trueblood stated, “Faith is not a blind leap into nothing, but a thoughtful walking in the light we have.” Job walked in the light he had and was given a spiritual perception that anticipated the Redeemer to come.” The doctrine of the resurrection of believers is latent in the Old Testament in passages like this. This is one of the highest peaks in the Old Testament from which to view the New Testament revelation of believers’ resurrection. Job groped for hope in face of suffering and loss. The height of Old Testament expectation was a resurrection of the body in which an individual could see God. Such hope grew out of a personal relationship with God in life so rich and real it must surely extend beyond the grave.
I. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: A LASTING REMEM-BRANCE (vvs. 23-24) “Oh, that my words were written”-- The Assertion (Memorial)-- As you review the great names and personalities of the Scriptures, you become aware very quickly of the fact that almost all of them knew, at one time or another, great discouragement. Job is described as the noblest man living in his time, but after the troubles that were his, he cried out, "My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle and are spent without hope." Job 7:6 Just after Job was at his lowest ebb, he rose to his highest peak. Forlorn, wracked by pain, and maligned by both God and people, he then mounted in spirited confidence to a future vindication of his cause. This was a “magnificent burst of faith”
1. A desire (v. 23a) “Oh, that my words were written”--From the depths. Of despair, Job cries out, “Oh, that my words.” This expression of desire introduces one of the most important passages in the book of Job. It is the language of a man who felt that injustice was done by his friends, and that he was not likely to have justice done him by that generation. He was charged with hypocrisy; his motives were called in question; his solemn appeals, and his arguments to assert his innocence, were disregarded; and in this state of mind he expresses the earnest wish that his expressions might be permanently recorded, and go down to far distant times.
2. Description (v. 23b) “that they were inscribed in a book”-- He desired that there be a record so his innocence might be proven to all who would read the evidence. He desired that what he had said might be preserved, that future ages might be able to judge between him and his accusers, and to know the justice of his cause. The desire thus expressed has been granted, and a more permanent record bas been made than if, in accordance with his request, his sentiments had been engraved on lead or stone.
3. Durability (v. 24) that they were engraved on a rock…forever”--Anciently books were made of materials which allowed of this mode of making a record. Stone would probably be the first material; and then plates of metal, leaves, bark, skins, etc. The notion of engraving, however, is the proper idea here. Why did Job want his words to be recorded permanently? He thought he was going to die before God would vindicate him, and he wanted people to remember how he suffered and what he said. Bildad had said (18:17), “The memory of him (a wicked man) perishes from the earth,” and Job wanted his record to remain.
Illus: Have you ever gone to a cemetery and read the epitaphs on the head stones? Some of them are quite funny...
-Here lies my darling husband, Walter. May he rest in peace until we meet again.
-Sacred to the memory of Anthony Drake, Who died for peace and quietness sake; His wife was constantly scolding and scoffin’, So he sought for repose in a twelve dollar coffin.
-Beneath this stone, this lump of clay, Lies Uncle Peter Daniels. Who too early in the month of May, took off his winter flannels.
-On the tombstone of a novice farmer: Here lies Clyde Whose life was full, Until he tried to milk a bull.
-Here lies the body Of Jonathan Blake. Stepped on the gas pedal, instead of the brake
-At rest beneath this slab of stone, lies stingy Jimmy Wyatt. He died one morning, just at ten, and saved a dinner by it.
-Here lies the body of our Anna. Done to death by a banana. It wasn’t the fruit that laid her low, but the skin of the thing that made her go.
-She lived with her husband for 50 years, and died in the confident hope of a better life.
-Here lies the body of Ephraim Wise. Safely tucked between his two wives. One was Tillie and the other Sue. Both were faithful, loyal, and true. By his request, in ground that’s hilly, his coffin is set tilted toward Tillie. And a favorite...
-Here lies a man named Zeke. Second fastest draw in Cripple Creek.
Illus: In one of his lighter moments, Benjamin Franklin penned his own epitaph. He didn’t profess to be a born-again Christian, but it seems he must have been influenced by Paul’s teaching of the resurrection of the body. Here’s what he wrote: “The body of Benjamin Franklin, printer, like the cover of an old book, its contents torn out, and striped of its lettering and binding, lies here, food for worms. But the work shall not be wholly lost: for it will, as he believed, appear once more in a new and more perfect edition, corrected and amended by the Author.”
Here is Job’s epitaph. Job wants to inscribe these words as a memorial to what he believed about God. What was his belief? What did he want to inscribe? Look at the next verses...
II. ASSURANCE: A LIVING REDEEMER (v. 25a) “I know that my Redeemer lives”--With a burst of renewed faith in God, Job makes this assertion in the face of his own approaching death.
1. The reassurance “I know”--This means to ascertain by seeing. Also, it means “to understand clearly.” I am certain. On that point Job desires to express the utmost confidence. His friends might accuse him of hypocrisy - they might charge him with lack of piety, and he might not be able to refute all that they said; but in the position referred to here he would remain fixed, and with this firm confidence he would support his soul. Forlorn, wracked by pain, and maligned by both God and people, he then mounted in spirited confidence to a future vindication of his cause. This was a “magnificent burst of faith.” This is the voice of faith.
Illus: Larry Olsen describes a man lost in the desert: “He has been out of food and water for days. His lips are swollen, his tongue is swollen, he’s all beat up and bloody. Some of his bones are almost peeking through. He has been scraped and beat up by the cactus, sand and sun. He’s blistered. As he’s crawling over this little hill he comes across this little plant and props himself up on one bloody elbow, looks down at this plant and says, ‘You know, if things keep going like this I might get discouraged!’”
2. The Redeemer “my Redeemer”--This “Redeemer” (goel) is used forty-four times in the OT. “Goel” comes from a verb meaning to lay claim to a person or thing, to free or deliver. A redeemer in the OT speaks of a kinsman in close relationship who stands in defense of a brother. This redeemer was a person who provided protection or legal preservation for a close relative who could not do so for himself. He could redeem the relative’s property that had passed into other hands (Lev. 25:23-25); he could avenge a slain relative (2 Sam. 14:11); he could marry his brother’s childless widow (Ruth 4:10); he could by a close relative out of slavery (Lev. 25:47-55); and he could defend his cause in a lawsuit (Prov. 23:11). So a brother who is willing to shed his blood on Job’s behalf is his only hope. He is given an insight that is fulfilled in the atonement of Christ for our sins on the cross.
3. The realization “lives”-- Job will die, but his Redeemer lives on as his Defender, Protector, or Vindicator. His friends have often charged him with ignorance or vain knowledge; but he knows enough, and knows to good purpose, who knows Christ to be his Redeemer and that He lives.
Illus: In fact, just as courage is faith in God, so discouragement is faith in evil; and, while courage opens the door to good, discouragement opens it to evil. An allegory that I heard about is one of those warnings to motorists that we often see at the top of hills on country roads, This hill is dangerous ; and it has many a time warned people away from the dangerous descent of discouragement. An imaginary story declares that once upon a time Satan, who desired to entrap a devoted Christian worker, allied a council of his helpers to decide on the best way of doing it, and to ask for volunteers. After the case had been explained, an imp offered himself to do the work. How will you do it? asked Satan. Oh, replied the imp, I will paint to him the delights and pleasures of a life of sin in such glowing colors that he will be eager to enter upon it. That will not do, said Satan, shaking his head. The man has tried sin, and he knows better. He knows it leads to misery and ruin, and he will not listen to you. Then another imp offered himself, and again Satan asked, What will you do to win the man over? I will picture to him the trials and the self-denials of a righteous life, and will make him eager to escape from them. Ah, that will not do either, said Satan, for he has tried righteousness, and he knows that its paths are paths of peace and happiness. Then a third imp started up and declared that he was sure he could bring the man over. Why, what will you do, asked Satan, that you are so sure? I will discourage his soul, replied the imp triumphantly. That will do, that will do, exclaimed Satan, you will be successful. Go and bring back your victim.
III. ANTICIPATION: A LIVING REIGN (v. 25b) - "...and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:" Psalm 2, Isaiah 11--David McKenna states, “The eyes of faith stay wide open as Job advances to a vision of the incarnation when he affirms, ‘I know that…He shall stand at list on the earth.’”
1. The confession “He shall stand”-- He will stand up, as one does who undertakes the cause of another. Despite the deep despair of his heart, this was a strong statement of faith in God. Job believed that no matter how others saw his life presently, God would have the last word and finally vindicate him.
2. The comfort “at last”--Job knew that in the end God would stand upon the earth and, like a witness for the defendant at a court trial, would testify that Job was innocent. In that way all would not only read of his uprightness (Job 19:23-24) but also all would hear of it—from God Himself!
3. The confidence “on the earth”-- Our Redeemer will at that day stand upon the earth, or over the earth, to summon the dead out of their graves, and determine them to an unchangeable state; for to Him all judgment is committed. He shall stand, at the last, on the dust to which this earth will be reduced by the conflagration.
llus: “Faith is the pencil of the soul that pictures heavenly things.”
Illus: I heard about an old country preacher, and it was in the summertime when all Baptist churches go into summer slumps. His attendance was going down because the weather was so pretty, and he wanted to do something to get the crowds back. So he got up on Sunday morning and told his people that God had revealed to him when Jesus was going to come back. As a matter of fact, that was going to be the title of his message. "You don’t want to miss next week." Word began to spread like wildfire through that little country community. Everybody was telling their neighbors and friends, "Don’t miss next Sunday, the preacher is going to tell us exactly when Jesus is going to come back."
Sure enough the next Sunday you couldn’t get people in that church with a shoehorn. They were standing around the walls & out the door, eagerly awaiting the pastor’s message. When he got to the pulpit he said, "I am now going to tell you when Jesus is going to come back. He said, "Are you ready for this truth?" They all said, "Amen." He said, "All right, get out your pen & write it down, & it sounded like a tornado had gone through a paper mill people were getting out their pens & paper so quickly. He said, "Here we go-Jesus is going to come back when He’s good and ready."
IV. ASSERTION: A LASTING REALIZATION (v. 26)" I know…that…I shall see God”-- 1 John 3:1-2, 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18--Here is an affirmation of faith in the resurrection of our spiritual body. The resurrection of Jesus would affirm and authenticate this emerging hope.
1. The regression (deterioration) “After my skin is destroyed”--In the future, when death would take Job’s life and his skin would decompose, he knows that he will live again.
2. The responsiveness “This I know”-- After he was dead, Job then would see God. He would continue in a conscious existence; he would not be annihilated or sink into soul sleep. But how could he say he would see the Lord in his flesh after he had just said he would die? Either he meant he would receive a resurrection body or he meant he would see God “apart from” any physical flesh at all, that is, in his conscious existence after death but before the resurrection.
Illus: “Faith either removes mountains or tunnels through,”
3. The recognition “in my flesh I shall see God”-- After he was dead, Job then would see God. He would continue in a conscious existence; he would not be annihilated or sink into soul sleep. To gaze upon God in all His glory throughout all eternity was the only joy Job desired. He knew he would see God face-to-face and such an all-consuming vision was all he wanted.
Illus: When Dr. Samuel Johns, who was nearly blind and tortured from illness, wrote that human life is a struggle in which we move, not from pleasure to pleasure but from hope to hope.
V. ADORATION: A LONGING REALITY (v. 27) “My heart yearns within me”-- “Oh, how I long for that day!” “I long for that moment.” “I am overwhelmed at the thought!”
1. A personal disclosure “Whom I shall see for myself”-- “I will see him for myself.” So certain was Job of his seeing God that he repeated this point. The Hebrew word for see is the same in verses 26 and 27a. Also Job twice emphasized the word I (vv. 25, 27)—literally, “I, even I, know,” and “I, even I, will see” Him.
2. A personal discovery “And my eyes shall behold, and not another”-- This gazing on God for all eternity will be with his own eyes (either the eyes of his resurrected body, or figuratively the eyes of his soul). Job would no longer be like a stranger to God, for God would be on his side.
Illus: Corrie ten Boom lived through the terrible life of Nazi concentration camps, a place where hope was lost for many people. She survived to tell her story of unfaltering faith and tight-fisted hope in God. She saw the face of evil up close and personal. She saw some of the most atrocious and inhumane acts man can do to man. And when she came out of it all, she had this to say: “If you look at the world, you will be distressed. If you look within you will be depressed. But if you look to Christ, you will be at rest.”
3. A personal delight “How my yearns within me” One writer states, “His inner being was ready to burst with a holy passion to look upon God. This was the spiritual heartbeat of one who was consumed with the experience of a direct vision of God.”
Illus: A young African American minister was very discouraged. It seemed everything seemed to go wrong. He had built a church, since he was a carpenter and then his wife died. He was broken and defeated due to other experiences. He heard a minister over the radio. He decided that he could help so he went to see. He came out with a new light in his eyes and said, “What a man he is. When I went into his office all the stars ad fallen out of my skies, but one by one he put them all back again.”
CONCLUSION:
1. Job’s faith enables him to see through false answers presented to him.
2. Job’s faith serves as a basis for growth into a deeper understanding of God.
3. Job’s faith led to a profound relationship with God that overcame his bad experiences. I am like Job, I long for the day when this life will be over and we will all be with the Lord in Heaven. Now, the question that springs to mind is this, are you ready for the time of your change?
4. Such a man will not be defeated in the end but finds the victory through faith in our living Redeemer. In this chapter, Job moves by a leap of faith from the depths of despair to the summit of hope.
Illus: There were three boys who gave a definition of faith. One stated, “Faith is taking hold of God.” Another said, “Faith is holding on to God.” The third one said, “Faith is not letting go!” Each boy was right.
Illus: There was a seminary professor that had a little child left after the mother and his wife had gone to be with Jesus. She had died as a young woman, and this seminary professor took that little boy to the funeral home to visit the body of that mother lying in that casket. That little child didn’t understand death, and when it came time to leave, he did not want to leave. He said, "Daddy, let’s get mother to come back home with us." Well, the father tried to explain to the son that the mother couldn’t come home. He said, "Son, we’re going to go home, and God is going to take care of us and we’re going to have to live without mother for a while."
They started to leave and that little fellow broke away from his daddy and ran back into that funeral home and stood there for awhile beside that coffin and then began to say, "Mommy, wake up, wake up, Mommy, please wake up." The dad gently put his hand on the boy’s shoulder and said, "Son, don’t do that. You can’t wake her up." The little boy said, "Yes, daddy, I can wake her up. I’ve seen her like this many times before." You see he had seen her take naps before in the daytime. In fact, he used to nap with her. He said, "I’ve seen her like this before Daddy. She’ll wake up." He then said, "Wake up Mommy."
Well, you can imagine how that scene broke that daddy’s heart. With tears cascading down his cheeks, he knelt down beside that little boy and turned him around, looked him in the eye and he said, "Son, you can’t wake her up, I can’t wake her up, nobody in this world can wake her up." But then with big smile on his face he said, "But, son, when Jesus comes He’ll wake her up." And He will. My friend, you better know and you better know that you know that your soul has been redeemed. You better know Jesus as your Lord because the Savior will return, and you better know Him when you die, so that your self will be resurrected. Thank God these are things we can know.
Here Job uttered another of his statements of faith that punctuate his many expressions of grief and pain. It is significant that Job would go from the depths of despair to the heights of faith, and then back into the depths again. This is often the normal experience of people experiencing great suffering. The skies will be dark and storm, a ray of light will suddenly shine through, and then the storm will come again. However, since Christ died, was buried and rose again we have the assurance that glory will follow suffering. This is why Paul states, “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” “I know that my Redeemer liveth.”
Prepared by: Gerald Steffy, 6206 N. Hamilton Rd.
Peoria, IL 61614, Phone: 309-691-3680,Cell: 309-645-3677
E-Mail grsteffy@yahoo.com for MY SERMON NUGGETS weekly
