1.0 Introduction:
I think this will be a year of trial for our church. There is bad news everywhere! Our Children Ministry has been hard hit! Julie is off because of surgery, Pastor Byron has cancer, Alan So’s mother passed away and leaving for HK, Gladys has back and shoulder pain, Paul Hung’s father-in-law fell & hurt, and Mrs. Ng also has cancer. They are all veterans of the Children Ministry and make us wonder what will happen to the rest of us. People have been very concerned about what will happen to our children's program this coming Spring & Summer programs.
Many of us may have the question “If God is good, why He let people suffer and die?
Today, I am supposed to preach on the 40 Days of Community - Part 4 theme on How We Help Each Other Grow but I am taking a detour as God has put a burden on me to talk about this subject:
“Why Do Good Righteous People Suffer?”
The insight is found in the book of Job on the subject of theodicy (the defense of God’s goodness and power in the light of the existence of evil and the suffering of the righteous).
Job was a righteous man. With a life filled with prestige, possessions, and people, he was suddenly assaulted on every side, devastated, and stripped down to his foundation. But his life was built on God, and he endured. Let's turn to the book of Job Chapter 1 and learn about the mystery of the suffering of a righteous person and try to find an answer to the age-old question: Why do good righteous people suffer?
2.0 Job the Blessed 1:1-5
Job was a historical person. In Ezk 14:14, God mentioned Job as one of the three righteous men along with Noah & Daniel. He lived in the land of Uz in the area to the southeast of the Dead Sea. In Lam 4:21 the land of Uz is related to the Edom’s territory (where Ruth is from).
The name Job is a common West-Semitic name in the 2000 B.C. It may mean "Where is [my] father" or "the persecuted one", possibly suggesting orphancy or illegitimacy.
From 1:1-5, we learn some background about him:
vs1 Job - the model "Christian" (Perfect, just, reverent, turn away from evil)
“Blameless, upright, feared God and turned from evil.”
vs2 Job - the blessed parent with many children (7 sons & 3 daughters).
vs3 Job - the great wealthy successful businessman.
vs4,5 Job - the model parent.
vs4 Family in harmony. (His sons & daughters love one another.)
vs5 Responsible parent in the family to teach, reproof & correct his children.
- Self as a model vs1.
- Send servants to remind them & purify them vs 5b.
- Rise early to intercede (pray) for them vs 5c.
(Also a type of Messianic expiation of sins. Romans 8:26,27)
v2:9 Job - the one woman's husband.
What more can we ask from such a "perfect man" and a blessed life?
But, one day his life was changed forever. Just like the attack on the World Trade Center on 911, everything crumbles down in a matter of minutes!
3.0 Job the Cursed One 1:13-19
We then follow the story & jump to vs13-19... One day Job’s life is devastated.
Here the passage will give us deep insight into why we need a good foundation in God. We need that insight and maturity to prepare us for our own life experiences in the tempest times.
Satan attacked him:
vs14 The attack begins - Oxen & donkeys are taken by the Sabeans (Arabians) and the servants are slain. Only 1 servant lived to report the bad news.
vs16 "While he (the messenger) was still speaking" - Fire consumed the sheep & servants. Only 1 servant lived to report the bad news.
vs17 "While he was still speaking" - Chaldeans raid the camels & servants slew. Only 1 servant lived to report the bad news.
vs18 "While he was still speaking" - Sons & daughters are killed by a great wind. Only 1 servant lived to report the bad news.
Do you see the parallel picture of the airliners crashing into the buildings one after another up to 4 planes on the day of 911? This is exactly how Satan works! The result is very shocking to the world and those in it. How could all these things happen at the same time? In our little parallel in ChM… People are sick and threatened with death.
If you think Satan is timid, think again! When he strikes, none of us may stand except with the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. The blow will not be once but many times over.
Try to put yourself into Job's shoes! What will then happen to you?
(I think I will die of shock by just hearing the bad news one after another).
Bad things happened in the worst time of our life. -> Rocky's father was sick & passed away at the time no one could care for his father and he had the final exam at the same time. Can you cope with such emotional stress?
In analyzing the attacks, we can summarize Satan's tactics in the following:
1. Material & property losses: Robbers -> man-made (vs 15,17).
2. Material & property losses: Accident -> natural causes (vs 16).
3. Other’s sins -> Why should I keep upright?: "Why, I the 'honest' should not be honored?" and "Why other can cheat, but I cannot!" (vs15,17).
4. Emotion attachment stresses: the loss of someone very dear to us (vs 18,19).
5. His attacks are so brutal, severe & rapid that we would not be able to catch our breath in between (vs 14-19).
4.0 Lessons Learned from Job’s Misfortune
There is no easy way to endure or overcome suffering. Many of us will fail because our foundation in God is frail & shaky. So what can we do?
4.1 First we should understand some principles from the Scripture about Christian sufferings:
1. Sometimes, things that we may never know the reasons. The puzzles can only be picked up in heaven. vs6-11 There was a dialogue that Job never knew. It is better to know God than to know the answer. Job 42:5 "My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you."
2. Everything is under God's control. We are not at the mercy of some blind blunt force or Satan. vs12 and Satan is only like a dog on the leash. He can only do what God permits him to do.
3. It is about God's complete confidence in his faithful. vs 8,12
4. 'The Lord gave & the Lord has taken away' vs21 - God has every right to take away all we have. But Christians have Jesus Christ in them that no one can take away.
5. Suffering is allowed for Christian testimony, which calls for genuine love so that we may witness the grace of God in the light of the gospel. (Rm 12:15) Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.
4.2 Second we can also learn from Job’s counterattack. vs1:20-22
And here is how Job counters Satan's attacks vs 20-22:
vs20 Job rent his robe, shaved his head & fell upon the ground & worshiped God.
vs21 And he said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, & naked I will depart. The Lord gave & the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised."
vs22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.
1. Job let his sorrow out vs20 – Job did not hide his overwhelming sorrow. He did not lose faith in God; instead, his emotions showed his love for his family. God makes tear ducts for a purpose! Crying & sharing the sorrow with others will help (Rm 12:15). -> Sometimes, by keeping matters to ourselves will make us worse & sick. e.g. Women cry and scream but men keep it to themselves and commit suicide. So letting it out is better.
2. Job submitted to God in worship. vs22
Job reacted rightly by acknowledging God has sovereignty over everything that God had given him. In submission, he let God to comfort him. i.e. In sorrow, let God comfort us with His truth. Heb 13:5,6 'God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" -> May we be able to say that when all are gone but God, He is enough!
5.0 Lessons Learned from the Nature of Satan 1:6-12
What leads to Job’s misfortunes, he has no idea! It happened in Haven. One day when God was having a meeting with His angels, Satan came as an intruder, and Job's life was changed forever!
vs7-12 The dialogues between God & Satan.
vs8 A comment was made on Job, "Have you considered my servant Job?".
vs9-10 Satan's accusation. "Does Job fear God for nothing?"
vs11-12 Satan was permitted to tempt Job (Only by permission like a dog on a leash).
Job never knew what had happened to the end.
From this conversation, we learn a great deal about Satan.
(1) He is accountable to God. All angelic beings, good and evil, are compelled to present themselves before God (1:6). God knew that Satan was intent on attacking Job.
(2) Satan can be in only one place at a time (1:6,7). His demons aid him in his work; but as a created being, he is limited.
(3) Satan cannot see into our minds or foretell the future (1:9-11). If he could, he would have known that Job would not break under pressure.
(4) Because Satan can do nothing without God's permission (1:12), God's people can overcome his attacks through God's power.
(5) God puts limitations on what Satan can do (1:12; 2:6). Satan's response to the Lord's question (1:7) tells us that Satan is real and very active on earth. Knowing this about Satan should cause us to remain close to the One who is greater than Satan. -> God himself!
6.0 Conclusion:
On April 20, 1999, Cassie Bernall, a 17-year-old junior at Columbine High in Littleton, Colorado, was a typical teenager having a typical day in the library. With the single word “Yes”, she was killed when she was asked, “Do you believe in God?”. Many are puzzled by this senseless killing.
A year ago, she was a hopeless teenager with all kinds of suicide threats, murderous writings to her parents, and associated with dangerous friends. Her life was turned around one night, on a church camp as she looked up the Colorado mountain sky and saw the beauty of creation and how small she is on earth.
On the night of her death, Cassie's brother Chris found the poem that Cassie had written just two days before her death. It read:
"Now I have given up on everything else
I have found it to be the only way
To really know Christ
and to experience the mighty power that brought Him back to life again,
and to find out what it means to suffer and to die with him.
So, whatever it takes I will be one who lives in the fresh
Newness of life of those who are alive from the dead."
Her testimony changes many lives and after all, her death is not in vain! Her parents were comforted.
There is no one answer to “Why do good people suffer?” but “Are you willing to take a stand for God today?”
And can you say, "For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." - Philippians 1:21
In a hurricane, trees snap like toothpicks. Rooftops fly, cars tumble like toys, walls collapse, and a mountain of water jumps the shore and engulfs the land. A hurricane cuts and tears, and only solid foundations survive her unbridled fury.
Lives are like buildings, and the quality of their foundation will determine the quality of the whole. If inferior materials are used, and when tests come, LIFE CRUMBLE! To have a good foundation in God means: to know the Scripture better: its interpretation and its applications; Know yourself, know God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit better. Faith grows as we know God and His truth better! So that we may not ask "why" anymore but keep on building the upward calling of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Back to the 40 Days theme: HOW WE HELP EACH OTHER GROW?
1. BY AFFIRMING EACH OTHER’S WORTH.
• With Acceptance
• With Attention
• With Affection
• With Appreciation
2. BY PRAYING FOR EACH OTHER’S GROWTH.
3. BY ADMITTING OUR OWN MISTAKES.
4. BY ENCOURAGING EACH OTHER’S COMMITMENT.
• Commit to love Jesus Christ.
• Commit to love other believers.
• Commit to grow in God’s Word.
• Commit to serving in ministry.
• Commit to sharing the Good News.
Let's Pray!
