Two men were walking through a field one day when they spotted an enraged bull. Instantly they darted toward the nearest fence. The storming bull followed in hot pursuit, and it was soon apparent they wouldn’t make it. Terrified, the one shouted to the other, "Put up a prayer, John. We’re in for it!" John answered, "I can’t. I’ve never made a public prayer in my life." "But you must!" implored his companion. "The bull is catching up to us." "All right," panted John, "I’ll say the only prayer I know, the one my father used to repeat at the table: ’O Lord, for what we are about to receive, make us truly thankful.’"
“The Truest Test of Trust”
Job 13:15
Job 13:15 Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him:
Introduction:
I. The Testing We Face
a. The permission for testing
As you study the life of Job there is one thing that is absolutely certain and that is all testing that comes into our lives is ordered and ordained by God. Someone said, “There are no accidents in life, only appointments.” Satan is very powerful and the earth is his sphere of influence and He is very active but he can’t do anything without God’s permission. This is obvious from the narrative between God and Satan in the first two chapters of the book.
Job 1:12 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.
Job 2:6 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life. 7 So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.
In quick succession Job suffered the loss of all his domestic animals (0xen & donkeys) in verse (15), herds of sheep (16), his camels (17), his 10 precious children (19) with all but a few servants spared to bring the bad news. In chapter 2 verse (7) Job loses his health (boils) and verse (9) even his wife turns on him. To summarize he loses his possessions, his posterity, and the support of his partner in life.
b. The purpose of testing
God’s plan for Job’s life included His permissive will. What is the difference between His perfect will for Job and His permissive will for Job? 4) One thing to remember is that our English word permission suggests sanction but this is not true with God. There are many things that He permits that He does not sanction (sin). Just because God lets something happen doesn’t mean that He sanctions it! God permits evil but He doesn’t sanction it!
When you think about God’s will you need to understand that it is a multi-faceted teaching. One Bible scholar described the permissive will of God in the following way;
“There is what we might call God's "permissive will." This is what God allows, even though it is sin. God allowed Joseph's brothers to betray him, and to deceive their father, so that He might bring the Israelites (few in number) to Egypt, where God would spare them, and they would greatly multiply (Genesis 50:20). God allows man to reject the gospel, to willfully disobey His laws, to persecute the righteous, and so on. But in all of this, God is still in control, and His purposes are being accomplished. His "decretive will" often allows or permits (His permissive will) men to violate His preferential will (what gives Him pleasure) and His prescriptive will (His Word). God's permissive will is never outside His decretive will. God "permits" those things which will lead to the accomplishment of His decretive will. We also know that testing is for a reason.” Bible.Org
It can be for conversion, correction or construction. Let me give you three quick examples from Scripture:
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
His perfect will is repentance for all but we do know that some choose to perish in spite of His perfect will.
2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
God’s prescriptive will (which is part of His perfect will) is found in His Word and when applied we receive His correction but the truth is that He permits us to disobey and reject correction.
1 Thessalonians 4:3 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: 4 That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;
His perfect will is that men are sanctified but we know that all men are not which is His permissive will.
Illustration: A PLAN FOR EVERYONE
In the opening pages of his autobiography, An American Life, Ronald Reagan writes, I was raised to believe that God had a plan for everyone and that seemingly random twists of fate are all a part of His plan.
My mother - a small woman with auburn hair and a sense of optimism that ran as deep as the cosmos - told me that everything in life happened for a purpose. She said all things were part of God’s plan, even the most disheartening setbacks, and in the end, everything worked out for the best. If something went wrong, she said, you didn’t let it get you down: You stepped away from it, stepped over it, and moved on. Later on, she added, something good will happen and you’ll find yourself thinking - "If I hadn’t had that problem back then, then this better thing that did happen wouldn’t have happened to me."
After I lost the job at Montgomery Ward, I left home again in search of work. Although I didn’t know it then, I was beginning a journey that would take me a long way from Dixon and fulfill all my dreams and then some.
My mother, as usual, was right.
SOURCE: An American Life by Ronald Reagan
c. The pinnacle of testing
We need to recognize that the optimal testing comes when “our life is on the line.” Remember what Job endured. I believe that he fully expected to die very shortly as a result of his last trial. God knew that Job wasn’t going to die and Satan knew it but Job didn’t. Notice the difference between Satan’s cynical opinion about Job and the reality of Job’s confession in our text.
Job 2:4 And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.
Job 2:6 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.
Job 1:21 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.
Psalm 31:15 My times are in thy hand: deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me.
Illustration - “Another aspect of a fully surrendered life is trust. Abraham followed God’s leading without knowing where it would take him. Hannah waited for God’s perfect timing without knowing when. Mary expected a miracle without knowing how. Joseph trusted God’s purpose without knowing why circumstances happened the way they did.”
Rick Warren "The Purpose Driven Life"
Second, let’s examine what it means to trust. You would think that this would be a simple concept but as with many things in the Bible and in life it can get complicated.
II. The Trusting in Focus
a. The operation of trust
I have heard the phrase “blind faith” used over the years and in many ways this is a misnomer for faith, true faith is intentional and intelligent. Faith is a choice that we make of our own volition, it is no accident. It is willful and deliberate! When we trust God we do so with knowledge of what His word tells us about God’s character and conduct. In that sense it is never blind. Faith involves an intellectual agreement to the facts or truth about God, acceptance of this truth on a personal level, and assurance of God’s plans and purposes for our lives. This trust believes that God is at work on our behalf, that He has given His angels charge over us and that He is working “all things together for good…” for, in, and through us.
SPECIAL DELIVERY - Susan Filipp writes:
My husband, Alex, and I were overjoyed when the doctor confirmed I was pregnant. "Thank you, God," I prayed. "Please let everything go right." And things did—until I went into labor two weeks early.
Alex and I rushed to the hospital at 5:30 A.M. In the delivery room, I could tell something was wrong. The doctors’ and nurses’ eyes were serious. I heard their urgent whispers. "Breech birth . . . she’s too cold . . . quick!" Why won’t they let me hold her? I wondered as I drifted off, exhausted.
When I woke up, my husband told me gently, "Our daughter’s in the ICU, honey. She had some trouble. Her temperature was only 96 degrees. Her left lung collapsed. Plus her hip is dislocated."
I gasped. Could a tiny baby survive so many problems?
Alex took my hand. "But there’s good news." He explained that our neighbor, a pediatrician, had been out for his predawn jog when he noticed our porch light on and guessed that I’d gone into labor. He had come straight to the hospital, so he was on hand to help with the delivery.
"And just yesterday they had a state-of-the-art incubator come in," Alex went on. "Our daughter’s the first one to use it. Now she’s a healthy 98.6 degrees, and her breathing’s back to normal too."
"What about her hip?" I asked.
"That’s going to be okay too," he assured me. Apparently, a while back an orthopedic specialist at the hospital had read about an apparatus that could be used to correct dislocated hips in infants.
"He ordered one on a whim," Alex said, "and it’s been sitting in his office. Isn’t that incredible?"
I should have known that God was capable of doing incredible things; including making sure that the world was ready for our daughter before she was even brought into it.
By Susan Filipp, Glenmont, New York. Guideposts Magazine, March, 2001.
b. The object of trust
Our faith is only as good as the object we place our faith in! Someone has said that, “when you trust in man you get what man can do, but that when you trust in God you get what God can do.”
COLVER'S MINISTRY
Nathaniel Colver was born on May 10, 1874 and lived in Champlain, New York; his family was one of thirteen families to reside there at the time. He was born into a Christian home and spent the vast majority of his youth learning to read from three books: The Bible, a Psalm book, and a spelling book. At the age of 18, he fought in the War of 1812 and afterwards returned to cobbling shoes and "thinking about religion."
In 1819, Mr. Colver was asked to attend a prayer meeting at a church in West Stockbridge that was without a pastor. Upon arriving, one of the deacons announced that Nathaniel would be preaching that night. Colver informed the deacon that he was not a preacher, and the deacon handed him a text, "This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." The deacon then informed him that he was a preacher "now." After that meeting, the deacon board announced that Nathaniel would be preaching again at the school house in a matter of minutes.
Colver's account of the event says "I felt I belonged to God, no longer to myself, and that henceforth I would think only of God and God's cause, and leave Him to take care of Nathaniel Colver."
Thus the ministry of Nathaniel Colver began. He went on to serve as a Baptist pastor in Ogdensburg, Gouverneur, and in "that desolate outpost, Malone." But his pastoral ministry was not the most influential aspect of his life. The legacy that continues began when he served at Hamilton Theological and Literary Institution, which is now known as Colgate University. He was also influential in the fight against slavery and, from that fame, was a co-founder of two theological schools that are still in operation today: Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, Virginia and Divinity School at the University of Chicago (then known as Baptist Theological Union).
Source: From Lewis N Powell's book, "Out of the North Country: Christian Pioneers of Northern New York". Taken from a sermon by Ken Pell, "A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste" 7/13/08, SermonCentral.com)
c. The opportunity to trust
Every trial or test is an opportunity to trust God more! Let’s look at our text one more time. Job declares, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in Him.” Job is saying, “If the end result of this affliction is my death, I will still trust in Him.”
1 Peter 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
Conclusion: We are given many opportunities throughout our lives to trust in God but the greatest comes when we lay our head on the dying pillow.
Charles E. Fuller once announced that he would be speaking the following Sunday on “Heaven.” During that week, a beautiful letter was received from an old man who was very ill. The following is part of his letter:
“Next Sunday you are to talk about Heaven. I am interested in that land, because I have held a clear title to a bit of property there for over fifty-five years. I did not buy it. It was given to me without money and without price. But the donor purchased it for me at tremendous sacrifice. I am not holding it for speculation since the title is not transferable. It is not a vacant lot. For more than half a century I have been sending materials out of which the greatest architect and builder of the universe has been building a home for me which will never need to be remodeled or repaired because it will suit me perfectly, individually, and will never grow old.
Termites can never undermine its foundations for they rest on the rock of ages. Fire cannot destroy it. Floods cannot wash it away. No locks or bolts will ever be placed upon its doors, for no vicious person can ever enter that land where my dwelling stands. It is now almost completed and ready for me to enter in and abide in peace eternally, without fear of ever being rejected. I hope to hear your sermon on heaven next Sunday from my home in Los Angeles, but I have no assurance that I shall be able to do so. My ticket to heaven has no date marked for the journey -- no return coupon -- and no permit for baggage. Yes, I am all ready to go and I may not be here while you are talking next Sunday, but I shall meet you there some day.” (Ency of 7700 Illust. P. 545, #2183)
William Cowper
Jesus! whose blood so freely stream’d
To satisfy the law’s demand;
By Thee from guilt and wrath redeem’d,
Before the Father’s face I stand.
To reconcile offending man,
Make Justice drop her angry rod;
What creature could have formed the plan,
Or who fulfill it but a God?
No drop remains of all the curse,
For wretches who deserved the whole;
No arrows dipped in wrath to pierce
The guilty, but returning soul.
Peace by such means so dearly bought,
What rebel could have hoped to see?
Peace, by his injured Sovereign wrought,
His Sovereign fastened to a tree.
Now, Lord, Thy feeble worm prepare!
For strife with earth, and hell begins;
Confirm and gird me for the war;
They hate the soul that hates his sins.
Let them in horrid league agree!
They may assault, they may distress;
But cannot quench Thy love to me,
Nor rob me of the Lord my peace.
Olney Hymns, William Cowper, from Cowper’s Poems, Sheldon & Company, New York
