MINISTRY TRACK PROJECT

by

Michael Bittle SID 8943314

Old Testament Wisdom Literature OT 2CO3

Instructor: Edward Ho June 18, 2010

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Assignment: You will choose a topic of your interest for a series of three to four sermons based on one of the wisdom books. You will describe the audience, the setting, the style of worship, the length and place of the sermons. I have chosen the Book of Job for this series of sermons, looking primarily at the relationship between suffering and faith. The audience is a group of 60 or so (predominantly) middle-aged woman and men in a Sunday morning church service, in a mainstream liturgical Protestant denomination (such as Anglican or Lutheran), during the Lenten season. Each sermon is about 20 minutes in length, and occurs during a regular Communion service following an Old Testament reading, a responsorial Psalm, a New Testament reading, and a Gospel reading. There would be 4 sermons in this series:

1. Why Have Faith? 2. Wrestling with Suffering 3. I know that my Redeemer lives! 4. Overcome by Faith

The second part of this project includes a statement on the purpose, a title, an outline, a brief introduction, and a brief conclusion for each of the sermons in the series.

1. Why Have Faith? (outline) 2. Wrestling with Suffering. (outline) 3. I know that my Redeemer lives! (outline) 4. Overcome by Faith (outline)

The third part of this project will be a full script of one of the sermons.

Overcome by Faith (full sermon)

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Why Have Faith? The Book of Job

Introduction

"Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there; the LORD

gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." (Job 1:21)

Job was a wealthy man, with a large family and many possessions. He was an

exceptionally pious man and "careful not to do anything evil". (Job 1:1) In fact, the Bible

– and God – both describe him as “blameless”. (Job 2.3)

Then, in one day, everything changed. His herds of animals were stolen, his crops

were destroyed, his servants were slaughtered, and his 10 sons and daughters were killed.

Then, Job himself broke out in painful sores that covered his entire body. His friends

arrived and tried to convince him he was being punished for his sins.

Unknown to Job, God had actually agreed to allow the satan to create all this

misfortune, in order to test Job’s faith. The satan had told God that "a man will give all he

has for his life," (Job 2:4) but God had confidence in Job.

For many people, the natural reaction to such a calamity would be to ask God:

what have I done to deserve such bad fortune? Job’s response was entirely different.

Main Preaching Point (Statement of Purpose)

Faith can be said to have three main ingredients: choice, commitment, and

confidence. How do these apply to the faith of Job?

1. Choice: “Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” (Job 2:10)

2. Commitment: “Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him.” (Job 13:15)

3. Confidence: “I know that my Redeemer lives and that in the end he will stand upon the

earth.” (Job 19:25)

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Preaching Point 1: Choice

In addition to everything else, Job was a man of faith and the loss of virtually

everything in his life was the most extreme test of that faith. We can sympathize with him

because we know the role the satan played in all this.

How could anyone cope with such unexpected and unexplained tragedies? Many

people would have simply become angry with God and turned away from him.

Instead, Job's loyalty remains unshaken. In response to his wife’s contemptuous

command to “curse God and die,” Job chooses to remain faithful to God, and exclaims:

“Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” (Job 2:10)

Preaching Point 2: Commitment

Job laments that his miseries outweigh the sands of the seas, but the worst is the

silence from God. One day God seems to be his friend, and the next day he seems to be

his enemy. Job cries out for understanding but hears nothing but the reproving voices of

his three visitors.

He is confused by God’s silence, and tries to seek out the reasons for this

behaviour. He searches his soul to discover what he could have done to deserve such

treatment, and is left with as little understanding as at the beginning.

Yet, Job proclaims his commitment to God, which disproves the satan’s

hypothesis that "a man will give all he has for his life": “Even if God kills me, I’ll still put

my hope in him.” (Job 13:15)

Preaching Point 3: Confidence

In the better days, when Job sought God, he took pleasure in knowing that he

did what God expected of him. In the bitter days, when he desperately cries out to

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God, God is seemingly nowhere to be found.

God has seemingly abandoned him, but Job declares his confidence in God, with

the hope and expectation that some day, even if not in this life (perhaps at the

resurrection and the second coming of Christ), he will meet God face-to-face and receive

an explanation: “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon

the earth.” (Job 19:25)

Conclusion

Suffering through trials and tribulations is sometimes necessary for the growth of

faith – it certainly was for Job. Like anyone suffering grief, Job goes the normal

emotional process of denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

In spite of Job’s shifting moods, when God does finally appear, he does not

condemn Job for his complaints and accusations. Indeed, God does not even address the

cause of his suffering. Rather, God focuses on Job’s response - his faith – and commends

Job for him for having spoken of him “what is right.” (Job 42:7).

The God in whom Job placed his faith had in fact listened to all that Job had said,

and, in the end, God doubly blessed Job, restoring his family and his fortune.

Paul writes in Ephesians 2:8-9, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through

faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God." There are times when faith falters,

as Job's faith sometimes did, but by his choice to remain faithful to God even in tough

times, by his commitment to trust God even when God did not answer him, and by his

confidence that God would someday hear and respond to him, Job’s faith reached even

deeper depths and found even greater favour with the Lord.

All praise to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. Amen.

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Wrestling with Suffering. The Book of Job.

Introduction

If someone asked you what the book of Job was about, how would you answer?

Most of us would point out that it deals with the question of human suffering, and we

would be partly correct in this. Job was a wealthy man, with a large family and many

possessions. He was an exceptionally pious man and "careful not to do anything evil".

(Job 1:1) In fact, the Bible – and God – both describe him as “blameless”. (Job 2:3) Then,

in one day, everything changed. His herds of animals were stolen, his crops were

destroyed, his servants were slaughtered, and his 10 sons and daughters were killed. Then,

Job himself broke out in painful sores that covered his entire body.

Three of Job’s friends came to comfort him, but they added to his misery by

stating that his misfortune was caused by his sins. They insisted that if Job would repent

of his sins, God would forgive him and release him from his misery. But through it all,

Job maintains his innocence.

Main Preaching Point (Statement of Purpose)

The suffering of Job is only a secondary issue of this story. Everyone suffers at

some point in their lives. Of far greater importance is how we respond to our suffering –

do we curse God, or praise him?

Job had to withstand three different sources of suffering: the satan, his three

friends, and a final commentator named Elihu. How did he respond to each of these?

Preaching Point 1: Job’s response to the satan’s trials

Round 1 – the satan took everything from Job - his herds, his children, his servants.

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And Job's response? - Job 1:20-22 - He didn't blame God! God retained Job's

respect even when those blessings were removed.

Round 2 – the satan then claims the suffering wasn't personal enough and inflicts sores

on Job - Job 2:3-6

And Job’s response? Job 2:10 – still Job did not blame God “Shall we accept

good from God, and not trouble?" In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.”

Preaching Point 2: Job’s response to his 3 friends

Round 1 – Eliphaz – Job 4:7-8, "Think now, who that was innocent ever perished? Or

where were the upright cut off? As I have seen those who plow iniquity and sow trouble

reap the same." Suffering is the result of sin, and prosperity is the result of righteousness.

And Job’s response? Job protests his innocence – Job 6:10, "I have not denied

the words of the Holy One." He returns the rebuke of Eliphaz in Job 6:24, "Teach me,

and I will be silent; make me understand how I have erred." He cannot see how Eliphaz'

simple principle of justice answers his own case.

Round 2 – Bildad - vigorously insists on Eliphaz' principle of retributive justice, even for

Job's children. In Job 8:3-4 he says, "Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty

pervert the right? If your children have sinned against him, he has delivered them into the

power of their transgression." Job’s children must have been guilty of some unknown sin.

And Job’s response? Job 9:22-24 he says, "It is all one; therefore I say, [God]

destroys both the blameless and the wicked." Job insists that he is not guilty as charged.

He is righteous. He prays in Job 10:6-7, "Thou dost seek out my iniquity and search for

my sin, although thou knowest that I am not guilty."

Round 3 - Zophar – rebukes Job for claiming to be innocent and he tells him to put away

his sin so that God might restore him (Job 11:14-15): "If iniquity is in your hand, put it

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far away, and let not wickedness dwell in your tents." So according to his friends, Job is

suffering because he refuses to put iniquity far from him.

And Job’s response – Job 11:12-14 with sarcasm. Everybody knows these moral

commonplaces (Job 12:3)! Your maxims are proverbs of ashes (Job 13:12)! Worthless

physicians are you all (Job 13:4)! He longs to argue his case with God because he knows

God is just and he is convinced he is innocent. "I would speak to the Almighty, and I

desire to argue my case with God" (Job 13:3).

Preaching Point 3: Job’s response to Elihu/God

Round 1 - Elihu's is the fourth man to visit Job – says Job's 3 friends had avoided the

issues Job raised - Job 32:11-12- Job's claim of innocence is not right - Job 33:8-12; God

has the right to discipline men - Job 33:13-30; God does not act unjustly - Job 34:10-15;

God doesn't act out of ignorance - Job 34:21-23 - but Job has - Job 34:35-37; Job’s

righteousness or sinfulness doesn't change God - Job 35:2-8; God is exalted in His power

- Job 36:22-26; 37:5, 13, 23-24

And Job’s response – Job does not get to respond

Round 2 - God appears: God does not discuss Job's sufferings; he tells of his power and

wisdom by revealing the universe he has created; God demonstrates that His knowledge

is vastly beyond man's comprehension.

And now Job gets to respond Job 40:3-4; 42:1-6: “Is there anything in the nature

of God what would cause us to fear Him, even if He did not bless us, even if we suffer

terribly?”

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Conclusion

In response to tragedies, Job kept his faith and revered God. In reply to a question

from his wife, Job said, "Shall we receive good at the hand of the God and shall we not

receive evil?" (Job 2:10). In doing this, Job knew he had done nothing to warrant

punishment from God, and he affirmed the absoluteness of God's sovereignity over all

things, and his submission to God’s will.

All praise to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. Amen.

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I know that my Redeemer lives! The Book of Job.

Introduction

Have you ever felt like you were caught up in a situation with no way out? That

you need someone to step in and lend you a helping hand? That is just how Job felt.

Job was a wealthy man, with a large family and many possessions. Then, in one

day, his herds of animals were stolen, his crops were destroyed, his servants were

slaughtered, and his 10 sons and daughters were killed. Then, Job himself broke out in

painful sores that covered his entire body. Three of Job’s friends came to comfort him,

but they only added to his misery. But through it all, Job maintains his innocence. In spite

of everything that has happened and his very unhelpful friends, Job's trust in God doesn't

give up. He proclaims, "Oh, that my words were inscribed with an iron tool on lead, or

engraved in rock forever! I know that my Redeemer lives." (Job 19:25).

Main Preaching Point (Statement of Purpose)

Who is my Redeemer? - Hebrew word (goel) in this text that needs special attention. It

can be translated as "kinsman-redeemer". Job is saying that God, his "kinsman-redeemer",

will come to help him. What is a "kinsman-redeemer"?

Preaching Point 1 – Law of Moses - made allowance for the poor person forced to sell

part of his property or himself into slavery. His nearest of kin could step in and "buy

back" what his relative was forced to sell (Leviticus 25:48). "If a fellow countryman of

yours becomes so poor he has to sell part of his property, then his nearest kinsman is to

come and buy back what his relative has sold" (Leviticus 25:25; Ruth 4:4, 6).

Four things were required in order for a kinsman to redeem a relative:

• He must be near of kin. (Leviticus 25:48; 25:25 Ruth 3:12-13)

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• He must be able to redeem (Ruth 4:4-6). He must be free of any calamity or need

redemption himself.

• He must be willing to redeem (Ruth 4:6)

• Redemption was completed when the price was completely paid (Leviticus 25:27;

Ruth 4:7-11).

Preaching Point 2 – God as redeemer - Goel was used for things consecrated to God

(Leviticus 27:13-31), of God as redeeming man (Exodus 6:6; Isaiah 43:1; 44:22; 48:20;

49:7), and those redeemed by God (Isaiah 35:9; 51:10; Job 19:25). The right of

redemption and the office belonged to the nearest kinsman, or "near of kin, near relative"

(Leviticus 25:25; Ruth 3:12; 4:1, 6, 8, etc.). God is the great redeemer-kinsman of His

people. When their liberty was lost in Egypt, He rescued them from bondage. "I am the

LORD . . . I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments"

(Exodus 6:6).

Preaching Point 3 - Job saw himself in need of a "kinsman-redeemer". He has been

weighed down with suffering and grief and overwhelmed with God's punishing power

and anger. He believes that he hasn't deserved all this. But he doesn't give up

trusting God. God is his "kinsman-redeemer" who will come to his rescue. His faith is

seen reaching out and proclaiming that Yahweh will provide His Goel! "As for me, I

know that my redeemer (kinsman) lives, and at the last He will take His stand on the

earth" (Job 19:25). Job affirmed his faith that his redeemer will come to the earth.

Conclusion

Jesus Christ is my Goel. Like Job, Christians also believe that our redeemer came

to earth. At one time we used to refer to the death of Christ as a propitiatory expiation!

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The words were correct, of course: the Lord's death did cover our sins and satisfy the

justice of God.

But another way of saying this is that Jesus was our kinsman-redeemer. "For what

the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in

the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh"

(Romans 8:3). There were four requirements for a kinsman-redeemer:

• He must be near of kin. God "emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant,

and being made in the likeness of men"(Philippians 2:7).

• He must be able to redeem. "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,

that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through

His poverty might become rich" (2 Cor 8:9).

• He must be willing to redeem. Jesus "gave Himself for us to redeem us from

every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession,

zealous for good deeds" (Titus 2:14; 1 John 1:7; 2:2; Hebrews 10:12).

• Redemption was completed when the price was completely paid. "For God so

loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in

Him shall not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16).

We can see in Job how faith in our Kinsman-Redeemer makes all the difference.

In spite of everything that had happened, Job never gave up hope that God will save him

and help him through this difficult time. He was poor, homeless and childless, but he was

confident that his Kinsman-Redeemer would come to his rescue.

All praise to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. Amen.

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Overcoming by Faith. A sermon on the Book of Job.

Introduction

Recently, a friend of mine died after several months in the hospital. Her name was

Elizabeth. Her death was a slow, painful process and her emotional state as she was

preparing for her final breath can be summed up in one word: peaceful.

At peace.

Why on earth, you might ask, would anyone be “peaceful” to know they were

about to die, and to do so in a slow and painful manner?

The answer is simple: although Elizabeth was in great pain, she accepted her

suffering through faith. I will come back to Elizabeth in a few moments to explain.

Main Preaching Point (Statement of Purpose)

We need to acknowledge that the book of Job is a testament to us from God who says that

all suffering is not a result of sin. The primary symbol of the Christian faith is the cross,

the way of the cross, the way of suffering to save the world.

Preaching Point 1 - The Heavenly Council

A discussion takes place between God and the satan - Job 1:6-11

1. suggests that God has bought Job's loyalty

2. if blessings were removed, Job would curse God

3. in other words, God cannot command worship

4. take away everything that you have given Job, and you will see what he really

thinks about you.”

5. God has faith in Job and accepts the challenge

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Preaching Point 2 - The Dialogues

His three friends conclude that Job must be a terrible sinner – "Job," they said,

"you are suffering terribly; therefore, you must have sinned terribly." They explain that if

we are faithful God will bless us, and if we are not faithful, God will withdraw that

blessing. This was the basic theological belief of their age – it was called retributive

justice. Some people today still think this is how God works!

Preaching Point 3 - What Can We Learn from Suffering?

In 2 Corinthians, we read that the Apostle Paul sees his “thorn” as a blessing

rather than a curse. "I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and

calamities for the sake of Christ;" he says, "for whenever I am weak, then I am strong." In

the end, he used even his handicap, whatever it was, as an argument in favor of his

authority.

Preaching Point 4 - What was Job’s response to suffering?

For Job there is only one conclusion: God must be unfair! He is evidently an

unfeeling tyrant who acts capriciously with his people. Now, we must understand, Job

never really turns on God as such. He questions God, but he does not reject Him. Job's

words reflect a struggling faith, but it is faith nonetheless and not contentious unbelief.

At the end of all the speeches, there is a long pause and then there is a whirlwind,

and God speaks out of the whirlwind and says (Job 38), "Who are you to question my

wisdom, Job?” Finally, Job falls to his knees.

Preaching Point 5 - Overcoming Suffering

So what lesson is there in all this for the rest of us? What can we do when faced

with the trials and tribulations of life?

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Throughout all the long dialogue in the Book of Job, God was present and

listening to every word that was said. So if Job felt separation from God, but God was

present all the time, who really gave up on whom? Where suffering is, there is God in the

midst of those people.

Conclusion

At this point, you can see that there is a world of difference between us and Job.

We have the revelation of Christ, Who has told us and shown us His great and undying

love. He has told us that through Him we have direct access to the Father. And He has

told us that we may and should come to Him with every problem we face, and there find

Him not only sympathetic, but full of grace & mercy perfectly suited to our specific need.

Through Christ, we overcome all suffering. With that advantage over Job, Job's

faith is all the more remarkable. And ours is all the more reasonable.

When she died, the church was full of her family and friends. If Elizabeth could

have spoken the eulogy at her own funeral, I know exactly what she would have said. She

would have said that she was content with everything life had dished out to her, good and

bad, because the final result she could leave this life without fear of what lay ahead. She

would have undoubtedly quoted Job: “I know that my redeemer lives!”

There are many reasons for our suffering that we may not know. But there is a

God whom we do know, whose character is unchangeably just, and whose heart is

unchangeably good and loving and gracious. Through Jesus Christ, we know Him, and

knowing Him we may trust Him implicitly.

In the name of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. Amen.

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Overcoming by Faith. A sermon on the Book of Job.

Introduction

Recently, a friend of mine died after several months in the hospital. Her name was

Elizabeth. Her death was a slow, painful process and her emotional state as she was

preparing for her final breath can be summed up in one word: peaceful.

At peace.

Why on earth, you might ask, would anyone be “peaceful” to know they were

about to die, and to do so in a slow and painful manner?

The answer is simple: although Elizabeth was in great pain, she accepted her

suffering through faith. I will come back to Elizabeth in a few moments to explain.

The Old Testament Book of Job has been described as “one of the greatest

masterpieces … in all of world literature.” (Estes, p. 11). It is a beautiful piece of work,

and its poetic prose relates captivating scenes of intense passion. The main character of

the book is a man called Job. Job then had a horrific experience, he became very sick, but

he did not die. Instead, unlike Elizabeth, he suffered terribly. Let me tell you his story.

Right at the start, Job is introduced to us as a man of great piety. He "was

blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil" (Job 1:1). In today’s

language, we would say that he loved God and he walked in his ways.

Job was also a man of great prosperity. His material holdings made him "the

greatest man of all the people of the East" (1:2). And he had a wonderful family of 10

grown sons and daughters. Everything seemed to be going good for Job; there wasn’t a

cloud in the sky.

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The Heavenly Council

Next, the book of Job shows us a scene in the heavenly council, and a discussion

taking place between God and the satan - Job 1:6-11. The term “the satan” doesn’t refer

to “Satan” as he is thought of today. Instead, it was the title for one of God’s angels

whose job was to search the Earth for faithful and unfaithful people.

6. the satan basically suggests that God has bought Job's loyalty through all the

blessings God has given him

7. in effect, the satan is saying that Job's faith is really quite shallow and, if those

blessings were removed, Job would curse God

8. in other words, the satan is suggesting that God cannot command worship, so

He buys it by giving gifts to people in return for their worship

9. the satan says to God in verse 11, "But now stretch out your hand and strike

everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face." In other words,

the satan is saying “take away everything that you have given Job, and you

will see what he really thinks about you.”

10. God has such faith in Job that he accepts the challenge and instructs the satan

to carry out the plan.

. Back on earth, Job is just minding his own business when he gets a message that

raiders have attacked and stolen all his livestock and killed all the servants with them.

Then he gets another message that fire has destroyed all his sheep and the servants with

them. Then he receives still another message that raiders have stolen all his camels and

killed the servants. And finally, just when he might think it couldn’t get worse, he

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receives a fourth message that all ten of his children were gathered in the home of the

oldest brother and were crushed to death when a tornado caused the house to collapse.

I imagine that if this happened to any one of us, we would be struck dumb-

founded. I cannot even begin to imagine how I would cope with such a loss. I think it

would be unbearable. And how did Job react?

Verses 20-21: “At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he

fell to the ground in worship and said: ‘Naked I came from my mother's womb, and

naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the

LORD be praised’." Without knowing why any of these things happened, Job proved the

satan to be wrong: Job did not curse God; instead he praised God. So is this the end of the

story? Of course not – it is just the beginning.

Back in heaven, God points out to the satan that Job has been faithful to him.

God “1”, Satan “0”.

The satan is probably a sore loser, since he again challenges the authenticity of

Job's reverence. "Skin for skin!" the 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 once again God agrees to this challenge, on the condition

that Job is not killed.

And back on earth, Job is afflicted "with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot

to the crown of his head." This was not a simple case of chicken pox. Job was covered

with boils that ran with puss and infested with worms - from the top of his head to the

bottom of his feet.

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This proves to be too much for Job’s wife. She had endured with him the loss of

her children and wealth. But now with the life of her husband draining away – perhaps

leaving her utterly destitute - her faith collapses. His wife said to him, "Are you still

maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!" A smile must have crossed the satan’s

lips at this.

But then comes the shattering victory of Job's faith. "But he said to her, 'You

speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good at the hand of

God, and shall we not receive evil?'" In other words, I do not praise God because he gives

me good things, so why would I curse him when he gives me bad things? And the result

of this statement? We do not hear from the satan again in this story!

God “2”, Satan “0”. Game over.

The Dialogues

Hearing about Job’s misfortune, three of Job's "friends" then arrive on the scene

to offer him their comfort. They sit quietly with Job for a full week, until Job finally

speaks. We are not told what Job is thinking about during that long week, but it is very

clear what his final conclusion is: Job still does not curse God, but he does curse the day

he was born. And he does this with a lot of passion. I suppose sitting in the dirt and

scraping away at sores and worms might do this to anyone.

His three friends conclude that Job must be a terrible sinner – "Job," they said,

"you are suffering terribly; therefore, you must have sinned terribly." They explain that if

we are faithful God will bless us, and if we are not faithful, God will withdraw that

blessing. This was the basic theological belief of their age – it was called retributive

justice. Some people today still think this is how God works!

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Job strongly denies that he committed any sin, but as there seems to be no end in

sight for his suffering, his confidence in God begins to wane and he says a whole lot of

things about God that are not true. He then begins to insist on his own righteousness at

the expense of God's justice. For example, in Job 13:22-24 he says to God, "summon me

and I will answer, or let me speak, and you reply to me. How many wrongs and sins have

I committed? Show me my offense and my sin. Why do you hide your face and consider

me your enemy?" Job could only think that God was ignoring his faithfulness and

treating him as an enemy.

The main body of the book of Job, then, consists of a series of debates about this

very issue - God's relation to suffering and punishment of sinners. And throughout the

debate, while Job stands firm against their accusations, he has obviously lost his friends’

support. They do not change their belief that Job must have sinned greatly.

Yet it seems, though, that Job may really be in basic agreement with the theology

of his friends. He agrees that God is both righteous and sovereign and that blessing

should follow faithfulness. But there is for Job this great problem: he is convinced that he

was faithful! There was nothing in him that warrants this suffering.

What Can We Learn from Suffering?

So what is it we can learn from all this about suffering? What lessons are there for

us that may help in our own times of grief?

In 2 Corinthians, we read that the Apostle Paul is responding to a challenge that

called his ministry into question. We find him right in the middle of defending himself

against what he called "false apostles." They called themselves apostles, but offered

interpretations of Jesus that were wholly out of keeping with Paul's understanding. So, to

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prop up his own authority, Paul lays out an entire catalogue of the things he had suffered

for the sake of the gospel: sleepless nights, hunger and thirst, beatings and so on. Then,

he goes on to share an experience he had of being "caught up to the third heaven" and

seeing visions and revelations. His point is, on the one hand, that he was willing to go to

the wall for the churches he had established, and on the other hand, that he was a person

God apparently trusted, which meant they should trust him as well.

Then his argument takes an interesting turn. Paul says that, with all of this to his

credit, he might well have lost his head. He might have become so full of himself that he

would have had no room left to be full of Christ. But, he says, to prevent him from going

off the deep end God, in His infinite wisdom and mercy, gave him a "thorn in the flesh."

We have no idea what that thorn was. Over the years, people have made all kinds of

guesses, but there is no way of knowing for sure. What we do know, is that it caused him

great pain, and that because he doesn't bother to explain himself to the Corinthians, they

probably already knew what he was talking about.

At first, Paul prayed fervently for relief. But when he didn't get any, he came to

believe this thorn in the flesh was part of God's plan. In a classic case of turning lemons

into lemonade, Paul began to see it as a blessing rather than a curse. "I am content with

weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ;" he

says, "for whenever I am weak, then I am strong." In the end, he used even his handicap,

whatever it was, as an argument in favor of his authority.

What was Job’s response to suffering?

It is difficult to adequately appreciate the real horror of Job's circumstances. Job

lost his wealth, his children, his health, the support of his wife and friends, and now he

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seems also to have lost his God.

Physically, Job loses vast amounts of wealth and all of his children - all in single

day. Job himself is then struck with a terrible disease which leaves him with awful boils

all over his body.

Socially, Job is brought from the most outstanding leader of his community, to sit

on an ash heap at the city dump. There he is - alienated from his friends and family – and

even those who had come to console him now turn on him.

Spiritually, it seems he has been separated from his God - God remains hauntingly

silent through the entire affair. Job feels that God must be angry with him, and that

without cause. And emotionally, we can only imagine the bitterness of Job's groanings of

pain and troubled mind and spirit, the depths of his despair and loneliness.

So there is for Job only one conclusion: God must be unfair! He is evidently an

unfeeling tyrant who acts capriciously with his people. Now, we must understand, Job

never really turns on God as such. He questions God, but he does not reject Him. Job's

words reflect a struggling faith, but it is faith nonetheless and not contentious unbelief.

So we find Job summoning God to court, as it were. He wants to protest his case,

argue his cause personally with God. But, of course, such a thought is staggering - "Who

can contend with God?"

At the end of all the speeches, there is a long pause and then there is a whirlwind,

and God speaks out of the whirlwind and says (Job 38), "Who are you to question my

wisdom, Job? With your ignorant and empty words. Stand up like a man like a man Job,

and answer the questions that I ask you. Where were you, Job, when I made the world?

Where were you when I created the days and the nights and laid the foundations of the

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earth? Where were you when I made the leviathan and sea monsters? Where were you

Job when I created all the world, you Job who think you know so much about me? Who

are you to say that I am the cause of evil in your life? Who are you to blame me? Job, you

know so little. Are you, Job, trying to tell me that I the Lord God am unjust? Are you

saying that I am unfair because you have suffered in this world?"

Finally, Job falls to his knees and says in chapter 42, "Lord God, I know that you

are all powerful. I am so very ignorant. I have talked about things I did not really

understand." This is the key line in the whole book, "In the past, I knew only what others

have told me but now I have seen you with my own eyes and I am ashamed of what I

have said and done." In my suffering, I have seen you with my own eyes. Job falls to his

knees in repentance.

After God had finished speaking, he told Job's three friends to go and give

sacrifices and ask repentance for giving Job such bad advice. Shortly after, Job's brothers

and sisters gathered around him and they had pity on him. What Job's friends never had

was pity. His friends gave advice; they did not have pity. Some people are good at giving

advice but not good and giving compassion and pity.

The book of Job concludes positively, with Job receiving children and

grandchildren and living to a ripe old age.

Overcoming Suffering

So what lesson is there in all this for the rest of us? What can we do when faced

with the trials and tribulations of life?

Well, first, we need to acknowledge that the book of Job is a testament to us from

God who says that all suffering is not a result of sin. The primary symbol of the Christian

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faith is the cross, the way of the cross, the way of suffering to save the world.In Romans

8:32, the Apostle Paul writes, "God did not spare his Son from the cross, but God chose

the way of the cross and the way of suffering in order to save the world." When you get

to the New Testament, you find a whole new attitude towards suffering. If God did not

spare his son, Jesus, from the cross, why should God protect you or me from the cross?

God used suffering to save the world. It is part of the grand mystery that none of us

understand.

Second, we need to recognize that there are times when suffering is actually

beneficial to us, even if we don’t think so. In Romans 5:3-4, Paul says, "Suffering

produces endurance and endurance produces character and character produces hope and

hope will not disappoint us." Paul invites us to learn the wisdom of the cross, the wisdom

of the crucified Christ, the wisdom and benefits of suffering.

Third, we need to affirm that in the midst of our suffering, God is always with us.

Throughout the book Job feels lost, lost in maze of unanswered questions. His greatest

concern is his desire for God. This is why we hear him say things like, "O that I knew

where I might find Him!" He cries out that God has abandoned him and that he is alone

in his misery. But does God really do that to us?

Throughout all the long dialogue in the Book of Job, God was present and

listening to every word that was said. We know this to be true since the Lord repeated

back whole sentences word for word. So if Job felt separation from God, but God was

present all the time, who really gave up on whom? In the Old Testament and the

background of the New Testament, when someone had leprosy, blindness or lameness,

they were avoided since it was believed they were being punished by God. But in the

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New Testament, when someone is suffering, you go to the place of suffering. Where

people are being crucified the most, you go the most. Where suffering is, there is God in

the midst of those people.

Conclusion

At this point, you can see that there is a world of difference between us and Job.

We have the revelation of Christ, Who has told us and shown us His great and undying

love. He has told us that through Him we have direct access to the Father. And He has

told us that we may and should come to Him with every problem we face, and there find

Him not only sympathetic, but full of grace & mercy perfectly suited to our specific need.

Through Christ, we overcome all suffering. With that advantage over Job, Job's

faith is all the more remarkable. And ours is all the more reasonable.

At the start of this sermon, I spoke about my friend Elizabeth who passed away

recently. She had spent 35 of the past 42 years as a chronic alcoholic. Her health

deteriorated until the point where she weighed only 97 pounds. She didn’t eat, but she

drank every day to the point where she passed out. And when she woke up, the first thing

she did was take another drink. She was alone, shunned by her family; she had no friends.

Every day, she prayed for death but God never answered that prayer.

One day, she was visiting her doctor, and there was a Christian bible tract in the

waiting room. She read it.

Later that day, she prayed to Jesus for help. Within the next 24 hours, Elizabeth

went to a detox facility and then to her first meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous. In

response to that prayer, God set her feet on a new path. In Alcoholics Anonymous, she

was faced with the proposition that either God is everything or God is nothing. What was

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her choice going to be? She chose everything.

Elizabeth worked the AA 12 step program which led her into a deep and effective

relationship with Jesus. She spent the last 7 years of her life sober, happy, and grateful to

God for a 2nd chance at life. Her family life was restored and for 7 years she was an active

AA member helping other alcoholics, and an active church member.

When she died, the church was full of her family and friends. If Elizabeth could

have spoken the eulogy at her own funeral, I know exactly what she would have said. She

would have said that she was content with everything life had dished out to her, good and

bad, because the final result she could leave this life without fear of what lay ahead. She

would have undoubtedly quoted Job: “I know that my redeemer lives!”

There are many reasons for our suffering that we may not know. But there is a

God whom we do know, whose character is unchangeably just, and whose heart is

unchangeably good and loving and gracious. Through Jesus Christ, we know Him, and

knowing Him we may trust Him implicitly.

In the name of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. Amen.

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