What Job Has Taught Me
PARTIAL OUTLINE: FULL PDF HERE
Job 1:6-12
If we did not have the book of Job in the Bible, we would be lacking many precious truths that are only found in this wonderful book.
After preaching through the book of Job for the past two years, we need to ask ourselves: Have I learned anything? Am I any better for it? How has it made a difference in my life… in my relationship with God… in my relationship with others (James 1:22).
I cannot speak for you, but I’ve been edified and richly blessed by Job. God has used the Book of Job to teach me some valuable lessons I needed to apply in my life.
He taught me some lessons about…
The MINISTRY of God’s Word.
God taught me some things about ministering to hurting people.
Job was a man who had a very, very bad day. No one ever had a worse day than Job. In one day four different messengers came to him with bad news:
Messenger #1— “Job, 500 of your oxen have been stolen and your servants have been slain with a sword.” (1:14-15)
Messenger #2—“The fire of God fell and burned up all 7,000 of your sheep and your servants.” (1:16)
Messenger #3—“The Chaldeans have taken all 3,000 of your camels and killed your servants who tended them. (1:17)
Messenger #4—“Job, a tornado suddenly came from out of the wilderness and all ten of your children are dead.” (1:18-19)
Next, Job was smitten with a loathsome disease (2:7). His body was covered from head to foot with painful, oozing boils. Job could not sit down without sitting on a boil… stand up without standing on a boil… or lay down without laying on a boil.
News spread rapidly about Job’s troubles (2:11). If something happened to someone here in Port Orchard like what happened to Job, it would be on the evening news.
Job’s three friends teach me two things about ministering to hurting people.
A. Positively (2:11-13).
- Their coming— Job’s friends came from a great distance to mourn with Job and “comfort” him. Anyone can be a friend from afar. But your physical presence shows you really care.
- Their crying—They wept with Job (Rom. 12:15). Sometimes it is best not to say anything—Just be there for one who is hurting.
- Their composure—They did not say anything until Job spoke first (3:1-3, 11, 20-21). After hearing Job’s bitter words, it they must have felt compelled to tell Job what he was feeling was wrong.That was a mistake. Right or wrong, when someone is suffering, they may say things they don’t mean. It is not our place to scrutinize their words, but to pray for them, and try to understand why they are saying what they say.
B. Negatively. If you want to see how NOT to be a blessing to someone who is hurting, follow the example of Job’s three friends. Learn from their mistakes.
- They spoke words without empathy. They were more interested in proving their point instead of providing comfort. They never sensed the pain Job was feeling—No one can fully understand all Job experienced.
The first thing I need to do before offering a word of counsel to someone who is hurting is pray: “Lord, help me to feel their pain… their loss… their desperation… their loneliness.” I want them to know that I am someone who truly cares about their problem.
- They had theology without understanding. They were theologically correct, but emotionally cold. Their theology failed to include suffering as part of God’s plan.
Job’s friends believed suffering was due to personal sin, and that success came by righteous living. However, the ungodly are often very successful, and the godly are often considered failures by human standards (i.e. Jeremiah, John the Baptist, and Stephen).
Human success does not equate with God’s blessings (1 Tim. 6:5). If you equate human success with God’s blessings, then you must admit the big gambling casinos… the Mormons… the liquor industry, and Hollywood, are greatly blessed by God.
“There is a just man that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his wickedness…” (Eccl. 7:15). “There be just men, unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there be wicked men, to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous” (Eccl. 8:14). In other words, both the wicked and the righteous experience the same things.
Away with the presupposition that Christians should never grieve or suffer loss. That is unscriptural, unfeeling, and unrealistic. Some of the greatest saints in the Bible suffered greatly: Joseph… Jeremiah… Stephen… Paul.
The health and wealth gospel is a heresy spawned by Satan. In Florence Bulle’s book, “God Wants You Rich (and Other Enticing Doctrines),” she warns:
“The deception in the success-prosperity doctrine is subtle. It sounds so spiritual to assert that we cannot be sick or fail if we trust God, and that He will reward us for faith and giving and being good, by making us rich in material things. But this was not the message of the men and women of faith who throughout history set church and nation aflame with revival.
The more we pursue such poppycock, the more likely we will end up like pampered children. Getting everything we want won’t turn us into soldiers for Christ. We may wear a tailored suit with gold buttons and hash marks, but we will be no more soldiers than the six- year-old with his feet shoved in his dad’s old combat boots and carrying a wooden gun. Unchecked, the success prosperity syndrome will not see Christians developing together into a vigorous, stouthearted, indomitable church. Rather, it will reduce the body of Christ to spiritual flabbiness.”
We must have a Scriptural view of suffering if we are to be effective in ministering to people who are hurting.
3. They made accusations without evidence. Job’s friends accused Job of having sin in his life. But they could never point to a particular instance of sin in Job’s life. They could not back up their accusation with proof.
1 Timothy 6:4 calls this “evil surmisings.” “Evil surmising” is suspecting someone is wrong with no verifiable proof to confirm it. This is what Job’s three friends did.
4. They gave answers without distinction. They offered counsel without considering the uniqueness of Job’s suffering. Beware of “pre-packaged” answers and “one-size-fits-all” solutions to problems. Not everyone’s situation is the same. Be careful about giving advice based on how God worked in your experience.
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