|
Introduction:
As you follow Jesus, do you ever find yourself
asking the question, “Why is this happening to me?” or “Why
do these things occur in my life?” As
much or more than in any other book, the story of the life of Job
resembles our lives today, and it helps us to deal with the events
and occurrences in every facet of this life, both physically and
emotionally. Discussion: I.
God asks Satan,
“Have you considered my servant Job?” (Job
1:6-8 and Job 2:1-3) A.
Job feared God (Job
1:1). B.
God blessed Job. 1.
Children (Job
1:2). 2.
Prosperity (Job
1:3). II.
Satan asks God,
“Does Job fear God for nothing?” (Job
1:9) A.
Satan claimed that Job’s faithfulness to God was only
because of God’s rich blessings (Job
1:10-11). 1.
God allowed Satan to test Job (Job
1:12). a.
Prosperity gone (Job
1:13-17). b.
Children dead (Job
1:18-19). 2.
Job was devastated, but did not sin (Job
1:20-22). B. Satan claimed that Job’s faithfulness would fail if his health failed (Job 2:4-5). 1.
God allowed Satan to test Job again (Job
2:6). a.
Health gone. Job’s
body was covered with boils (Job
2:7). b.
Support gone. Job’s
wife urged him to curse God (Job
2:9). 2.
Job rebuked his wife and did not sin (Job
2:10). III.
Job asks, “Why is
this happening to me?” A.
Job’s friends, who came to comfort him (Job
2:11-13), claimed that his suffering must be the result of
sin in his life. B.
Job argued that he was innocent of any wrongdoing to the
point of becoming self-righteous in the eyes of his friends (Job
31:1 – 32:1). C.
Job appealed to God over and over again to explain his
circumstances. D.
God taught Job that he did not have the right (i.e., the
wisdom or knowledge) to ask why terrible things were happening to
him (Job
38). God
taught Job to trust Him. E.
Job learned that serving God doesn’t prevent unfortunate
circumstances. Similarly,
Paul teaches Christians that following Jesus Christ will involve
persecution (II
Timothy 3:12). IV.
Readers of the book of
Job should ask, “Did Job hold on to his integrity?” A.
Job was a whole man.
He never lost his integrity, despite becoming a physical
& emotional wreck. B.
Job believed that his life was not about what he owned, but
about who he was – a servant of God (Luke
12:13-15). C.
Job never lost his faith in God, even though he never
received an answer to his questions. D.
Job continued to serve God, even though he had lost
everything by the world’s standards. Conclusion: Are there people who will serve God for nothing? Yes, consider God’s servant Job. No matter how good we think we are doing in our Christian walk, there is no guarantee that bad things won’t happen in our lives. Nevertheless, we should hang on to our integrity and not allow circumstances to dictate our lives and our service to God. We should serve God simply because He is God, the Creator of the universe. We should take comfort in the fact that God limits Satan, God will answer our prayers on His timetable, and God will work out all things for good if only we will trust Him.
Glory
to God in the church by Christ Jesus
|
||||||||||
