INTRO.- Who said? Double, double toil and trouble.
William Shakespeare (1564-1616) from Macbeth. Actually, these are the words chanted by three witches in the play Macbeth, as they mix a potion. Sometimes in life it seems like we have nothing but trouble, double toil and trouble.
Job 14:1 “Man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble.”
ILL.- Goethe, the greatest of German poets, whose long life was one long success, said: “They have called me a child of fortune, nor have I any wish to complain of the course of my life. Yet it has been nothing but labor and sorrow; and I may truly say, that in seventy-five years I have not had four weeks of true comfort.”
Does that sound like you? Or your life? Double, double toil and trouble.
ILL.- Many people were deeply saddened when 13 year-old Will Reeve lost his mother Dana Reeve to cancer on March 8th, after she was diagnosed less than a year earlier. Of course, his father, Christopher Reeve died in October 2004 at age 52 after falling into a coma. He had been paralyzed since a horseback riding accident in 1995. It’s awful for that young boy. And yet there is far worse trouble. There has been far worse and will be far worse.
ILL.- Enter Job of the Old Testament. In some ways, it seems like no one person has suffered more than he did. Job seemingly had it made. He was the greatest (and perhaps the richest) man of the East. He had great wealth in the form of livestock. He also had 10 children (7 sons and 3 daughters), and was considered blameless, upright, feared God, and shunned evil.
And talk about a father of fathers. Every morning Job would make a sacrifice to God on behalf of his children. He apparently was deeply concerned about the spiritual nature of his children. He made sacrifices for them, saying, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their heart.” Would to God that we had that much concern for our children! Our greatest concern should be for their spiritual welfare.
Next enter Satan. Satan came before the Lord and He said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him….” Wow! Did you hear those words? WHAT A COMMENDATION! Wonder what God would say about us? I know that I don’t even begin to hold a candle to Job.
And we all know the rest of the story. God allowed Satan to tempt, test and try Job. All of his livestock were either killed or carried off by murderous raiders. Worse yet, Job’s 10 children were killed. And down the road, Job was inflicted with terrible health. He had painful, itching sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. He took a piece of broken pottery to scrape and scratch himself. Job was in misery. His wife had no compassion or faith. She said, “Curse God and die.” But in everything, Job did not sin or blame God.
Job’s friends supposed that Job was ill because of his evil deeds. But Job was innocent. Then, a wise man named Elihu explained the truth to Job and his friends. And God proved to them that God is great. God also showed them that he cares. Finally, God wanted Job to pray for his friends and he did. He probably prayed that God would have mercy on them in their ignorance much like Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”
In the end, God made Job successful again. Some have suggested that when Job learned the lesson of demonstrating mercy that’s when God turned his life around. COULD THIS BE TRUE FOR US? God gave him back his wealth (in fact, twice as much as he had before) and another 10 children. And Job’s daughters were more beautiful than any in all the land.
Through faith, commitment, and surrender God can turn things around for us in the midst of our toil and trouble.
Many people tend to blame God or the devil or someone else (Adam or Eve) for all their troubles and burdens. But it may be that we are the culprit. Someone said, “If you could kick the person responsible for most of your troubles in the backside, you wouldn’t be able to sit down for two weeks.”
It’s true that the devil is our enemy and is fully against us. But the Lord is on our side. He does not tempt us, but may allow us to be tested in life.
PROP.- From this text, I want us to consider some burdens that SEEM to come from God and how they can be overcome.
1- Looking but not understanding
2- Striving but not finding
I. LOOKING BUT NOT UNDERSTANDING
We often look for beauty but still don’t understand certain things about life.
3:11 “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”
There is beauty in this world and we need to look for it. Most of us would agree that God’s creation is beautiful. Some places are more scenic that others, but there is beauty almost everywhere on the earth that God created.
ILL.- I’ve got a preacher friend in Texas who may move to South Dakota. And I thought, “What in the world do you see that’s so great in South Dakota?” I am sure there is something beautiful there, but I was thinking about their winters and I don’t like cold weather!
We may see the beauty in God’s creation but have we seen the beauty that He created in people?
ILL.- The beautiful people of Hollywood are not always beautiful. Someone said, “That which is striking and beautiful is not always good; but that which is good is always beautiful.” When I speak of beauty in people I am talking about the graciousness of people, the love that people have for others and how they demonstrate it to others.
ILL.- I remember a little soft-spoken elderly lady in a church in Missouri. She attended every church service even though her husband did not. She had no money to speak of, but she always had something nice to say about people. She had little talent but she always prayed for people. And she was a beautiful person! In the eyes of the world she might not have been but in the eyes of God she was!
Even though many people see the beauty of God in this world they still don’t understand some things. They don’t understand what God has done and is trying to accomplish in this world.
ILL.- Some years ago (1988), Orel Hershiser was pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers. They had just won the World Series. And Orel had been named the Most Valuable Player.
One of the TV shows about the series showed him in the dugout just before the 9th inning started. He was leaning against the wall. And his lips were moving. So when he was a guest on the Tonight Show, Johnny Carson asked him what he had been saying. "I wasn’t saying anything," Orel responded. "Well, then, tell us what you were doing." Finally Orel replied, "I was singing." Johnny said, "You were singing? I didn’t know you were a singer. Come on, let’s here it!" And Orel said, "Nah. I don’t want to." And the audience clapped and said, "Yeah! Let’s hear it! Wooooh!!!!"
Finally, Orel Hershiser started to sing: "Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him all creatures here below. Praise him above Ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost!”
And Johnny Carson was speechless. Johnny Carson didn’t get it. He didn’t understand. Just like so many people.
Many people ooh and aah over the beauty of God’s creation or else they go berserk over the material things they have, but they don’t understand that God’s beauty (and good gifts) should cause them to praise Him! They are all caught up in themselves instead of being captivated by the Lord!
We need to look for the beauty of God in this world and at work in people’s lives! Instead of being so negative about people and things, we need to start looking for the good, the positive and the beautiful and PRAISE GOD FOR IT! God is trying to get us to focus on the good things in this world and the beauty that He has created and THEN PRAISE HIM FOR IT!
At the same there is something else that most people don’t understand or don’t seem to get in their heads. Even though there is beauty in this world there is a time when it will come to an end!
3:11 “He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom (or perhaps see) what God has done from beginning to end.”
It’s like people see but they don’t see or don’t recognize the truth of eternity. There is more to life than this life. And this is one of the hardest things for some people to comprehend.
Many people want to ignore death. They know that death is coming but they try hard to put that thought out of their mind as long as they can.
ILL.- For example, Larry King. Larry King is agnostic. He doesn’t say that God doesn’t exist. He just doesn’t know for sure. But I don’t know how he couldn’t know. He is married to a woman who believes in God and Christ. He has interviewed all kinds of Christian people on his TV show, like Billy Graham. Billy Graham has even told him plainly that he has no doubts about God, Christ, eternity, and heaven. But Larry King is not sure!
ILL.- Professor/preacher Don DeWelt use to say, “It’s as plain as your mother’s name in letters of fire 10 feet high!”
Larry King, how in the world can you not see? How can you not understand?
ILL.- Billionaire, Donald Trump was asked one time, “What about death?” the writer asked. “Don’t you worry about dying?” Trump said, “No. I’m fatalistic and I protect myself as well as anybody can. I prepare for things.”
This time, however, as Trump started walking up the stairs to have dinner with his family, he hesitated for a moment. “No,” he said finally, “I don’t believe in reincarnation, heaven or hell—but we go someplace. ” Again a pause, “Do you know,” he added, “I cannot, for the life of me, figure out where.” He’d better!
How sad to think that a man who can make millions of dollars and become a billionaire isn’t smart enough to figure out the truth of eternity. Thank God that we have it figured out! There is a heaven to be gained and Christ is our Savior!
II. STRIVING BUT NOT FINDING
3:12 “I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live.”
Most people are seeking after happiness but they are not finding it. What a burden! Could it be that they are looking for it in all the wrong places?
ILL.- Country/Western singer Buck Owens passed away on Friday, March 24th. I was interested to read some things about his life. Here is what I read: Country Music Hall of Fame member Buck Owens died of an apparent heart attack just hours after performing March 24, 2006 at his Crystal Palace restaurant, club and museum in Bakersfield, California according to his longtime spokesman, Jim Shaw.
"He had come to the club early and had a chicken-fried steak dinner and bragged that it’s his favorite meal," Shaw told the Los Angeles Times.
“After the meal, he planned to cancel his Friday appearance after telling band members he wasn’t feeling well. Before he reached his car, however, a group of fans introduced themselves and explained they had traveled from Oregon to attend the show. The 76-year-old singer returned to the club and performed the show.
Shaw recalled Owens telling the audience, "’If somebody’s come all that way, I’m gonna do the show and give it my best shot. I might groan and squeak, but I’ll see what I can do." Shaw added, "He died in his sleep...probably of heart failure. So he had his favorite meal, played a show and died in his sleep. We thought, that’s not too bad."
Brothers and sisters, we cannot judge anyone but everything that I read about Buck Owens sounded like Buck lived for Buck. I read nothing about him being a Christian or professing Christianity. He may have, but I never read anything about it.
It was as though he spent his life searching for something, searching for true happiness but never really found it. He was married three times and all of them ended in divorce.
ILL.- Max Lucado wrote, “The push for power has come to shove. And most of us are either pushing or being pushed. I might point out the difference between a passion for excellence and a passion for power. The desire for excellence is a gift of God, much needed in society. It is characterized by respect for quality and a yearning to use God’s gifts in a way that pleases him ....But there is a canyon of difference between doing your best to glorify God and doing whatever it takes to glorify yourself. The quest for excellence is a mark of maturity. The quest for power is childish.”
We might add that the quest for power and self-glorification is also sinful. It’s exactly what got Satan kicked out of heaven!
Many people are striving for things in life: money, power, honor, glory, etc. and while they may find some of these things in this life, it seems that they never find any true happiness. That’s why they keep searching.
Could it be that they are looking in all the wrong places? Has not God told us that the way to true, genuine, lasting happiness is in Him?
Matt. 11:28-29 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
CONCLUSION-------------------------------
ILL.- Did you ever have the nagging feeling you had forgotten something? Keys, wallet, cell phone, etc. Jonathan Sander sure did. He got on a Washington DC area subway recently and left his 7 and ½ month old baby daughter in the back seat of the car. A Montgomery County, Maryland, police spokeswoman says Sander had a memory flash by the time he got to Washington and headed back to the station where he had parked. But other commuters had already noticed the baby and called firefighters.
The baby girl was taken to a hospital, where she was reunited with her mother. Police say they think it was all a mistake and describe Sander as terrified and embarrassed. But they’re still charging him with leaving a child unattended. He could face a fine of up to 500 dollars and 30 days in jail.
What was that father thinking? He sure wasn’t thinking right. He wasn’t thinking about his baby. His mind was on something else. How could he have been so dumb?
Could it be that God looks down on us and thinks the same thing at times? “What are you thinking? I’ve told you the truth about life. It’s plain as can be. Can you not see? Do you not understand? I AM GOD. You need me and I love you more than you will ever know.”
