A Christian response to suffering

Amen.

All right, very good.

If you have your Bibles, please turn with me to Job chapter 2.

Job 2 · chapter mention

! Job chapter 2, we're going to be looking at verses 1 to 10 this morning.

Job 2 · chapter mention

! Job, you can find that just before the book of Psalms.

Psalms 2 · chapter mention

Chapter 2.

Have you ever asked yourself the question,

why do bad things happen to good people?

That's a question for the ages, isn't it?

And this passage shed some light on at least a small part of that answer.

Now, certainly not at all times,

but sometimes those hardships can be a test of our faith.

And here we see the patriarch Job put through one such agonizing test.

And how did he fare?

Well, let's see, shall we?

Job chapter 2, beginning with verse 1.

Job 2 · chapter mention

One day the members of the heavenly court,

I have a different translation up there.

Let's use that one.

On another day, the angels came to present themselves before the Lord,

and Satan also came with them to present himself before him.

And the Lord said to Satan,

Where have you come from?

And Satan answered the Lord,

From roaming throughout the earth, going to and fro on it.

Then the Lord said to Satan,

Have you considered my servant Job?

There is no one on earth like him.

He is blameless and upright,

A man who fears God,

And shuns evil.

And he still maintains his integrity,

Though you incited me against him,

To ruin him without any reason.

Skin for skin, Satan replied,

A man will give all he has for his own life.

But now stretch out your hand,

And strike his flesh and bones,

And he will surely curse you to your face.

And the Lord said to Satan,

Very well then, he is in your hands,

But you must spare his life.

So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord,

And afflicted Job,

With painful sores from the soles of his feet,

To the crown of his head.

Then Job took a piece of broken pottery,

And scraped himself with it,

As he sat among the ashes.

His wife said to him,

Are you still maintaining your integrity?

Curse God and die.

He replied,

You are talking like a foolish woman.

Shall we accept good from God and not trouble?

In all this,

Job did not sin in what he said.

Amen.

Thus far the reading of God's word,

The grass withers and the flower fades,

But the word of our God stands forever.

Let's pray.

Holy Spirit, once again,

We humble ourselves before you,

Before your word.

We ask, Lord,

That you would speak mightily through it.

That, Lord, we would be edified in our faith,

And that you would be glorified.

And all that is said and done,

We pray for the sake of Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

You know,

It's hard not to notice

The weather is turning here in Edinburgh.

Spring is upon us,

And spring brings us to wedding season.

Do you have wedding season in Scotland?

At least we have that in the States.

And you know,

One of the happiest days of a person's life

Is usually the day they get married.

I mean,

Who can resist rejoicing

When two young people in love

Come together before friends and family

And loved one in the church

To pledge their undying loyalty

And affection to each other.

They get all dressed up

With the men in their sharp-looking tuxedos

And the bride in her stunning white gown.

And the groom waits for his bride

At the center aisle.

And they make solemn vows before God.

Usually those vows sound something like this.

I, Prince Charming,

Take you,

Fairy Princess,

And, of course, vice versa.

To be my wedded wife.

And I do promise and covenant before God

And these witnesses

To be your loving and faithful spouse.

For better or for worse.

In plenty in want.

In joy and in sorrow.

In sickness and in health.

To love and to cherish.

As long as we both shall live.

And,

If the statistics are to be believed,

Roughly 40 to 50% of the time,

They're both lying through their teeth,

Aren't they?

At least that's what the divorce researchers tell us

On the Divorce Reform website.

Approximately 40 to 50%,

Depends on which statistics you follow,

40 to 50% of British marriages

Ultimately end in divorce.

Now, usually there are dreams of

Happily ever after.

After the wedding.

But the sad fact is that

After the honeymoon is over,

Life hits.

And we still live in a fallen world.

And sometimes,

There will be those times

When things aren't better.

But they're worse.

When we're not in plenty.

We're in want.

Times when there's no joy.

There's only sorrow.

Health went away.

And now we are dealing with sickness.

And it's at times like that,

That a married couple's love

Is put to the test.

You see,

You can't tell

What a married couple's

Relationship is made of

Until they go through

Some hard times.

And that's when we see

If their love has that

Stick togetherness

That is essential

For a happy marriage.

And of course,

What's true of a happy marriage

Is also true

Of your relationship with God.

You see,

It's easy

To serve the Lord

When you've got no problems

And things are going well.

But how is your faith

Going to hold up

When hardship hits?

When bad things happen to you

For some unknown reason.

When things just don't seem

To make any sense.

And God doesn't seem

To be looking out for you.

Like he doesn't care for you.

He's not looking out

For your interests.

You see,

That's what this text

Is really about this morning.

Job was a righteous man.

He was prosperous.

He had served the Lord

All of his life.

And here we see

His faith is put to a test

To see if he would remain righteous

If his prosperity

Were taken away.

And as you see from the text,

We see how he passed the test.

And that leads us

To our proposition this morning.

So, what is the sermon about?

Well, here it is in a nutshell.

By way of summary.

Since hardship and adversity

Reveal the true mettle

Of your faith,

Be prepared.

For your faith

To be tested

Through the tough times.

That's really where

I want to go with this

In Job chapter 2.

Job 2 · chapter mention

And you'll see how we get there

As we begin to unpack this text.

But with that said,

Let's go ahead and dive in,

Shall we?

The first thing I want you

To take away from this text

Is the fact that

Because hardship reveals

The true nature

Of your faith,

Point number one,

You need to prepare

To be tested.

Because that hardship

Is coming.

It's not optional.

Not a single one of us

Is going to escape it.

And that hardship

Is going to test

Whether or not

Our profession of faith

Has any substance

Minded or not.

Whether our Christian life

Is all talk

And no walk.

Consider Job for a moment.

Why was he being singled out

Like this?

It was because

He was a righteous man.

He wasn't about to endure

This adversity

Because he was somehow

Sinning

And he's somehow

Reaping the consequences

Of his sinful behavior.

No, it's because

He lived a life

Totally dedicated

To God.

And in so doing

He made a powerful enemy

For himself, didn't he?

The devil.

And as we see

Through chapter one

He suffered for it.

He lost his livelihood.

He lost his wealth.

He lost his property.

He lost his status.

He even lost his children

To freak accidents.

And these things

Were only the beginning

Of his troubles

Because Satan's hatred

Of Job

Wouldn't let up.

He was hated

With a passionate hatred.

Why?

Because God loved him.

And so even after

All these things

Satan comes to God

With a request

To afflict Job

Even more.

But this time

The hurt will be

In his own body.

Look at verses four and five

Again.

Satan replied to the Lord

Skin for skin

A man will give up

Everything he has

To save his life

But reach out

And take away his health

And he will surely

Curse you

To your face.

So Satan

Says

Let me torment him

With sickness

And Job

Will deny his faith

You'll see

He'll curse you

To your face

Of course

The Lord knows

The integrity

Of Job's faith

And essentially says

Go ahead

Knock yourself out

Just don't kill him

And so Satan

Goes out

To bring more

Troubles

On this righteous man

You see

Job's faith

Is about to be

Tested to the extreme

And only then

Will we see

What kind

Of believer

He really is

Have you ever heard

The phrase

The proof of the pudding

Is in the Eden

Maybe that's

Just an American

Term of phrase

But the only way

That you can tell

If the pudding

Is any good

Is you got to

Give it a taste

Right

The proof of the pudding

Is in the Eden

Well that's what

We have here

Job

May look like

A righteous man

Outwardly

What's he really

Made of

Let's put him

To the test

Oh it's easy

To serve the Lord

On a sunny day

When there are no

Clouds in the sky

But what's going

To happen

When the storm

Comes

Is Job going

To lose his peace

Is he going

To abandon

His faith

Is he going

To curse God

And die

We'll only know

After his faith

Has been

Tested

You see

This is what

The apostle Peter

Is talking about

In 1st Peter chapter 1

And verse 7

Where he says

So be truly glad

There is wonderful

Joy ahead

Even though

It is necessary

For you to endure

Many trials

For a while

These trials

Are only a test

Your faith

To show that

It is strong

And pure

It is being tested

As fire tests

And purifies gold

And your faith

Is far more precious

To God

Than mere gold

So if your faith

Remains strong

After being tried

By fiery trials

It will bring you

Much praise

And glory

And honor

On the day

When Jesus Christ

Is revealed

To the whole world

And there you have it

True faith

Is only known

After it has been tested

And proven true

And the same is true

With you as well

Do you

Profess faith in Christ

Well then prepare

To have your faith

Tested

Because the same devil

That hated Job

With a passionate hatred

Hates you too

And for the same reason

Because you're loved

By God

And he hates

Everything that God

Stands for

And everything

That's precious to him

And so it seems

As if you're in a

A difficult

Catch-22

I mean on the one hand

If you serve the Lord

You earn the hatred

Of the devil

And he'll do his utmost

To bring your life

To misery and ruin

Then again

On the other hand

If you don't

Obey the Lord

Well the devil

Isn't interested in you

Is he?

He's got you right

Where he wants you

But then you're liable

To fall into the

Vengeable hands

Of someone else

Who will be much more

Terrible on judgment day

Someone who will

Hold you accountable

For your sin

And who will punish you

With the devil

And his angels

For all eternity

Sounds like

We're in a tough spot

And indeed we are

As long as we live

In this fallen world

And so what's the answer?

Well you need to obey

The Lord Jesus Christ

And trust in him

For salvation

We love him

So if you profess

Faith in Christ

This morning

And you probably

Wouldn't be here

This morning

If you didn't

Well then

Point number one

Prepare to have

Your faith tested

Now moving on

The next thing

I want you to take

Away from this passage

Is exactly how

Your faith

Is going to be tested

You see you might

Have to go through

Various trials

Now after all

The disasters

That came upon him

In chapter one

You might just

Go back and

Kind of skim

Chapter one

You'll see all

These things

That happened to him

Verse seven

Now shows us

How Job begins

To suffer

In the flesh

Satan comes to him

And torments him

With severe boils

All over his body

Look at verse seven

Again

So Satan

Left the Lord's

Presence

And he struck

Job

With terrible boils

From head

To foot

Now

When you have

A severe inflammation

Or what some

Of your translations

Might call

A loathsome sore

On your body

That's pain enough

But this text

Indicates that

Satan struck him

From head to foot

All over his body

Like it must have

Been a smallpox

Or something like that

Or even worse

Where sores break out

From head to foot

All over the face

And the neck

And the back

So much

That it's impossible

To lie down

Without writhing

In pain

And that's what's

Happening to Job

Here

Job is in absolute

Agony

And misery

And so he goes

And sits

In a pile of ashes

And he begins

To scrape himself

With a broken piece

Of pottery

Why ashes?

Well

If you know anything

About that ancient culture

You realize that ashes

Were a sign of humility

You might recall

In several places

In the Old Testament

They repented with

In dust and ashes

Or in sackcloth

And ashes

You see the meaning

Was the same

The ashes symbolized

A repentant

And humble heart

It's almost as if

The Lord

It's almost as if

Job is saying

Not through with his words

But by his actions

Lord if I've done

Anything wrong

I'm so sorry

And so

Job scrapes himself

Notice there's

There's no healing

Ointment

There's nobody

Tenderly waiting

Upon him

And bandaging

His wounds

There's nobody

Around

Who even cares

He feels abandoned

By God

In the midst

Of this trial

But even in the

Middle of it all

He didn't sin

He didn't understand

What was going on

But neither did he

Blame God

Either

He humbly

Endured

And patiently

Went through

That trial

And that patient

Endurance

Proved

The character

Of his faith

I think many of you

Know that I have

A military background

And it makes me

Think about the

First time I

Encountered

The special

Training that

Our military

Special forces

Go through

What I learned

As I was preparing

This sermon this

Week was that

The American

Special forces

That I'm familiar

With

They took their

Inspiration

From the British

SAS services

Here in

England

And Scotland

But when it

Comes to special

Forces

The kind of

Training that

They go

Through

It really

Blows my

Mind

I mean of

Course I

Don't have

First hand

Experience of

That

Because I

Haven't

Gone through

It

But I

Know what's

Involved

I remember

When I

Was a

Chaplain

On a

Guided

Missile

Cruiser

Out of

Hawaii

I had

A young

Man

Who was

A young

Officer

Lieutenant

Junior

Grade

In the

Prime of

Life

He was

A physical

Specimen

An athlete

And he

Was excited

Because he

Got accepted

To try out

For the

Navy

Seals

And he

Was all

Excited

About it

Expecting him

To become

A Navy

Seal

About two

Weeks later

I was walking

On the

Ship and

There he

Was

What happened

What's

Going on

And he

Just looked

At me

No

It's not

Going to

Happen

You know

He tried

He gave

It his

Best

And he

Couldn't

Make it

You know

I have to

Confess I

Was appalled

When I

First learned

About what

Those guys

Go through

In order

To make

Those

Those

Seal

Teams

Between

The intense

Physical

Training

And sleep

Deprivation

And exposure

To the

Elements

I find

It amazing

That anyone

Can actually

Survive

A course

Like that

But then

Again

That trial

By fire

As it

Were

Is necessary

To prove

Beyond a

Shadow of a

Doubt

Who's got

What it

Takes

And who

Doesn't

Because after

All these

Guys are

Supposed to

Be our

Best

And in

Real life

Situations

They may

Find

Themselves

In even

Worse

Circumstances

And so

Of all the

Wannabes

How can

You tell

Who has

It

And who

Doesn't

Well you

Test them

You push

Them to

Their limits

And the

Cream rises

To the

Top

You might

Have two

Athletes

Who outwardly

Seem evenly

Matched but

The real

Question is

Who has

The stamina

Who has

The endurance

Necessary to

Get the job

Done

The only

The only

Way to

Find out

Is to

Test them

And that

Trial by

Fire

As it

Were

Makes it

Obvious

Who's got

It

And who

Doesn't

And in

The same

Way

You have a

Similar

Principle here

In the

Christian life

As well

Do you

Profess faith

In Christ

Well then

Prepare

To go

Through

Trials

Now please

Understand

These things

Should not

Seem strange

To us

When we

Find ourselves

Going through

Difficult

Times

Because

Hardship

And

Adversity

Are part

And parcel

Of the

Christian life

Let me say

That again

Hardship

And adversity

Are part

And parcel

Of the

Christian

Life

You know

So often

We are

Attracted by

I want to

Say sub

Gospel messages

That indicate

That Christian

Life is all

About prosperity

And blessing

And it's all

Going to be

Good

It's all

Going to be

Happily ever

After

That's not

Necessarily

The case

Is it

I mean

Consider our

Prime example

The Lord

Jesus himself

As we examine

His life

In scripture

We see that

This life

Was not an

Easy ride

For him

Jesus didn't

Have it

Peaches and

Cream

The apostle

Paul didn't

Have it

Peaches and

Cream

And you

Won't have

It easy

Either

If you

Intend

To be

Faithful

To the

Lord

In this

Life

That's why

Peter

Tells us

In 1st

Peter chapter

4

In verse

12

Dear friends

Do not

Be surprised

At the

Painful

Trial

That you

Are suffering

As though

Something strange

Were happening

To you

But rejoice

That you

Participate in

The sufferings

Of Christ

So that you

May be

Overjoyed

When his

Glory

Is revealed

1st

Peter 4

In verse

12

Likewise

Our lord

Tells us

In

Zechariah

Zechariah 13 · chapter mention

Chapter

13

That he

Will refine

His people

Like silver

And test

Them like

Gold

And then

They will

Call on

His name

And he

Will answer

Them

And he

Will be

Their god

And they

Will be

His people

You see

The apostle

Paul understood

This clearly

And that's

Why he warns

Us in 2nd

Peter chapter

3

In verse

12

A passage

Of scripture

That I'm

Sure some

Of you

Have probably

Memorized

That all

Those who

Desire to

Live godly

In christ

Jesus shall

What's the word

Shall suffer

All those

Who desire

To live godly

In christ

Jesus

Shall suffer

2nd

Timothy

Chapter

3

Verse

12

The point

Is that

We need

To prepare

For the

Trial

To expect

It

To know

That it's

Coming

Knowing

Full well

That the

Lord

Does not

Intend

To keep

Us

From all

Hardship

But rather

To sustain

Us

And uphold

Us

Through

Those

Difficult

Trials

Yea

Though I

Walk

Through the

Valley

Of the

Shadow

Of death

I will

Fear

No evil

For thou

Art with

Me

God

Doesn't

Keep

You

From

Trials

But he

Is with

You

Through

Those

Trials

Indeed

His

Grace

Is sufficient

For us

For his

Power

Is made

Perfect

In weakness

So

Point number

Two

Prepare

For trials

Because they

Really are

The Lord's

Refining

Fire

And finally

This

Adversity

This

Misfortune

Can take

A different

Form as

Well

Because

Hard

Times

Reveal

The real

Substance

Of our

Faith

We

Also

Need

To

Be

Prepared

For

Temptation

Another

Tactic

That the

Enemy

Uses

Against

You

In

Spiritual

Warfare

Is to

Tempt

You

When

You're

Vulnerable

To

Wait

Until

Your resolve

Is weakened

And then

To

Sort of

Hit

You

In

Your

Soft

Spot

Look

At

What

Happened

To

Job

Look

At

Verse

Nine

!

And

His

Wife

Said

To

Him

Are

You

Still

Trying

To

Maintain

Your

Integrity

Curse

God

And

Die

So

Here

Job

Is

Tempted

By

His

Wife

To

Blaspheme

God

In

The

Middle

Of

His

Despair

Now

Please

Understand

This

Was

Probably

A

Very

Tempting

Thing

To

Do

I

Mean

After

All

Job

Might

Have

Rationalized

In

His

Mind

I

Haven't

Done

Anything

Wrong

I

Mean

Why

Is

God

All

Me

To

Go

Through

All

Of

This

I

Mean

What

Kind

!

Of

God

Is

Hold

Fast

To

Your

Integrity

In

Other

Words

Can't

You

See

That

Your

Devotion

To

God

Is

Worthless

He

Hasn't

Protected

You

God

Doesn't

Love

You

God

Doesn't

Care

About

You

All

Your

Faith

Has

Brought

You

Is

This

Misery

And

This

Ruin

And

This

Misfortune

And

So

Satan

Tempts

Job

Through

The

One

Who

Is

Closest

To

Him

The

One

Who

Should

Have

Supported

Him

The

Who

Should

Have

Been

Trying

To

Help

Him

Even

His

Very

Own

Wife

Isn't

That

Odd

How

The

Devil

Sometimes

Uses

Those

Who

Are

Dearest

To

Us

To

Tempt

Us

Think

Of

Adam

Being

Tempted

By

His

Wife

Think

Of

Jesus

Himself

Being

Tempted

By

One

Of

His

Dearest

Friends

The

Disciple

Peter

Right

And

So

Here

Satan

Urges

Job

Through

His

Wife

To

Turn

His

Back

On

God

The

Key is

That

Job

Knew

That

Even

Though

He

Didn't

Understand

The

Situation

That

God

Was

Still

In

Control

That

Somehow

God

Was

Justified

Shall

We

Receive

Good

From

God

And

Not

Evil

You

See

In

This

Statement

Job

Is

Acknowledging

God's

Providence

He's

The

Creator

Of

The

World

He's

The

Sustainer

Of

Everything

In

It

And

So

Nothing

Can

Happen

Apart

From

God's

Sovereign

Control

So

Job

Once

Again

Reaffirms

His

Faith

By

Insisting

That

Both

Good

And

Evil

Can

Come

From

The

Lord

Who

Is

Always

Just

And

Does

As

He

Pleases

On

The

Earth

Now

This

Is

A

Hard

Saying

Because

Sometimes

We

Like

To

Think

That

God

Would

Never

Send

Bad

Times

God

Would

Never

Send

Hardship

What

Does

The

Scripture

Say

Consider

Isaiah

Isaiah 45 · chapter mention

Chapter

45

In

Verse

7

Where

The

Lord

Says

I

Am

The

One

Who

Creates

The

Light

And

Makes

The

Darkness

I

Am

The

One

Who

Sends

The

Good

Times

And

The

Bad

Times

I

The

Lord

Am

The

One

Who

Does

These

Things

Isaiah

45

So

Satan

Tempts

Job

To

Deny

His

Faith

And

To

Curse

His

God

But

Job's

Faith

Is

You

Know

It

Makes

Me

Think

Of

Some

Of

Those

Hidden

Camera

Reality

TV

Shows

That

You

See

From

Time

To

Time

On

Television

I

Think

You

Know

What

I'm

Talking

About

Maybe

You've

Seen

Some

Of

These

Shows

Before

A

Show

That

Shows

Various

Clips

Of

Hidden

Cameras

That

Catch

People

In

The

Act

Of

Stealing

Or

Some

Kind

Of

Misconduct

The

Target

Is

Usually

A

Babysitter

Or

Put

In

A

Position

Of

Trust

And

Then

The

Camera

Catches

Them

When

They

Are

Violating

That

Trust

By

Stealing

Money

Or

What

Have

You

Now

I'm

Not

Going

To

Pass

Judgment

On

How

Uncouth

Some

Of

Those

Shows

May

Be

But

The

Point

Is

That

You

Can't

Tell

If

Somebody

Is

Honest

Just

By

Looking

At

Them

It's

Only

When

They

Face

That

Moment

Of

Temptation

That

They

Show

Their

True

Colors

You

See

That's

When

The

Trusted

Housekeeper

Becomes

A

Thief

Or

When

The

Responsible

Employee

Is

Exposed

As

A

Fraud

Likewise

Your

Character

Is

Similarly

Revealed

When

You

Go

Through

That

Moment

Of

Temptation

Because

Temptation

Can

Sometimes

Serve

As

A

Test

Of

Our

Faith

And

Here

Is

Job's

Moment

Of

Weakness

And

Here

He's

Tempted

To

Abandon

!

See

Are

You

Going

To

Obey

The

Lord

Or

Will

You

Succumb

To

The

Lure

Of

Sin

What's

Most

Important

To

You

At

That

Moment

You

See

Temptation

Is

Where

The

Rubber

Meets

The

Road

Because

Again

It's

Easy

To

Serve

The

Lord

When

Everything

Is

Going

Great

But

What

About

That

Moment

When

God's

Ways

Don't

Seem

To

Make

Any

Sense

And

Sin

Seems

!

Seems

Some

Of

God's

Purposes

It

Serves

To

Refine

Our

Faith

And

To

Prove

The

Integrity

Of

Our

Christian

Walk

So

Don't

Think

For

A

Moment

That

The

Lord

Is

Going

To

Spare

You

From

All

Temptation

In

Fact

If

You

Have

Made

A

Half

Hearted

Effort

To

Live

The

Christian

Life

You

Already

Know

Very

Well

That

Temptation

Is

An

Ever

Present

Reality

And

That's

Why

We

Need

God's

Grace

And

Power

To

Work

In

Our

Lives

To

Enable

Us

To

Say

No

To

Sin

Because

After

All

Until

We

Get

That

New

Nature

!

From

Him

We're

Still

In

Bondage

To