“Developing Longsuffering”
Job1:1ff
Introduction:
I pray that everyone is getting something out of this series on “Developing Character”. I hope that we are not just warming a pew, listening to good music, and leaving here unchallenged. My desire is that each one of us would take seriously the challenge set before us though the preaching of Gods word. And not only hear the message, but also go out of here determined to apply what we have learned and make the necessary changes in our lives.
With that said, I want to pause just for a moment to recap what we have been preaching on which is the “Fruit of the Spirit”. If you are a first time guest or have joined us in the last month we have been talking about the spiritual make-up of a Christian. In other words, what does the word of God have to say about the ingredients of a balanced spiritual life?
The first week we looked at Gal 5:22 and realized that when we are saved we then posses the “Fruit of the Spirit” and no matter if you were saved yesterday or fifty years ago you carry the characteristics of the fruit. And Gal. tells us that these are love, joy, peace, longsuffering, goodness, gentleness, faith, meekness, and temperance.
I really want you to notice two things about this list. First, it exemplifies the important things in life, the things that are truly significant and will bring long lasting satisfaction with eternal benefits. And secondly, it excludes the insignificant things such as; pride, power, position, wealth, and fame.
As we continue with our series “Developing Character” we shift gears into an area of “Developing Longsuffering”. Correct me if I am wrong, but everyone wants to “Develop Joy” right?
And not to many of us would pass on the opportunity to live a life of “Peace”, however it’s this fourth characteristic that many have trouble developing within their Christian character.
It’s like this poor fellow that was accompanied by his wife to the doctors office;
After his checkup, the doctor called the wife into his office alone. He said, "Your husband has been suffering a long time from a very severe stress disorder. If you don’t do the following, your husband will surely die."
"Each morning, fix him a healthy breakfast. Be pleasant at all times. For lunch make him a nutritious meal. For dinner prepare an especially nice meal for him. Don’t burden him with chores. Don’t discuss your problems with him; it will only make his stress worse and no nagging. If you can do this for the next 10 months to a year, I think your husband will regain his health completely."
On the way home, the husband asked his wife. "What did the doctor say?"
“He said you’re going to die,” This poor fellow has a lot of "Longsuffering" ahead of him.
The truth of the matter is that quite often we are faced with difficulties so trying that we feel like giving up.
a. Have you been there? Maybe you’re there right now.
b. Does it feel like the suffering will never end? And it might be;
·Shaky marriage.
·Pressure at work.
·Problems with the kids.
·Health issues.
·Financial troubles
·You fill in the blank___________.
I believe that the scriptures have something to say to anyone who goes through prolonged times like these.
We don’t have to think very hard this morning where to turn to examine "Longsuffering” for it was Job’s endurance in times of peril that has entitled him the label of “patience”. I believe that everyone sometime in his or her life has heard someone use the phrase, “you have the patience of Job”. However this morning as we will see, there is quite a contrast between “patience” and “longsuffering”. And I believe that Job forbear much during this time.
Patience defined though the scriptures mean cheerful (or hopeful) endurance, whereas longsuffering carries the idea of fortitude, which means patient courage under affliction.
Patience and longsuffering can be likened to taking a long ride in a car when you were a child. You know those really long ones that would take hours to arrive. And of course your mom asks you to go the bathroom and you say I don’t have to go. Ultimately ten minutes into the ride you realize that you have made a mistake and have to go really bad. Patience in my family meant that I was going to have to wait five minutes down the road, "Longsuffering" means you are waiting until your parents feel good and ready to stop.
There are some quality traits that we see exemplified in the life of Job during this period in his life. And I believe that if we learn them we too can “Develop Longsuffering”
1. Don’t react abruptly to the initial crisis.
2. Trust God throughout the calamity.
3. Learn from the situation.
If you have your bibles this morning turn with me to the book of Job, which is found in the O.T. And starting in chapter one we are going to see how Job endured the hardships that he would have to face. In other words, that patient courage under affliction.
But before we get started there are some things that we should understand about Job’s character:
1)Job was a righteous man (1:1).
a)He wanted to live a life pleasing before God.
2)Job was a family man (1:2)
a)He was a concerned father (1:5).
3)Job was a wealthy man (1:3).
a)He had achieved financial security.
So looking at Job’s live everything was great. So how did Job a man of God handle this issue of longsuffering?
I. JOB DIDN’T REACT ABRUPTLY TO THE INITIAL CRISIS. (1:13-19)
I want you to understand that what happened to Job was enough to overload the strongest of Christians. In my eyes, Job had every reason to go off the deep end. He just lost everything that meant anything to him.
1)His initial response was not to blame God.
a)He didn’t shake his fist at God and say, “Why have you done this to me?”
b)He didn’t turn his back on God and say, “thanks for looking out for me”.
c)He didn’t say, "O great God, you didn’t see this one coming?"
2)What is our initial response when faced with adversity?
a)Do we immediately hold God accountable?
b)Do we jump to the conclusion that God is dull to what is happening in our lives?
c)Or even worse, that God must be punishing us for some cruel reason.
3)A Christian’s initial reaction to adversity is the level of spiritual maturity.
a)If a Christian’s reaction is to doubt or blame God during hardships, their level of spirituality is wanting.
i)The last thing God wants to do is see you hurt.
b)However, if you find yourself turning to God for comfort and direction during these times, you understand the comfort that can only come from a relationship like this.
Test pilots have a litmus test for evaluating problems. When something goes wrong, they ask, "Is this thing still flying?" If the answer is yes, then there’s no immediate danger, no need to react. When Apollo 12 took off, the spacecraft was hit by lightning. The entire console began to glow with orange and red trouble lights. There was a temptation to "Do Something!" But the pilots asked themselves, "Is this thing still flying in the right direction?" The answer was yes--it was headed for the moon. They let the lights glow as they addressed the individual problems, and watched orange and red lights blink out, one by one. That’s something to think about in any pressure situation. If your thing is still flying, think first, and then act .
Georges Gurdijieff notes, each man has a definite inventory of roles which he plays in ordinary circumstances. But put him into a slightly different circumstance and he is unable to find a suitable role. For a short time, he becomes himself
1)Job’s response to adversity. (1:20-22)
a)He immediately sought God. He did not wait or confide in others, he immediately sought the highest authority available.
b)He realized his mortality. In other words Job understood that he was a byproduct of an imperfect world where imperfect things happen.
c)He also realized that he was not immune to pain, heartache, sorrow and even death as unpleasant as it is.
d)Most importantly He did not blame God. He realized that Satan uses situations like these to cast doubt on Gods character.
i)God do you really care about me.
ii)God are you really all powerful.
iii)God why do you allow bad things to happen to good people.
Have you arrived at the point in your spiritual life when difficulty sets in that you don’t react abruptly? If not, think how Job handled the situation so you wont regret doing or saying something later.
II. JOB TRUSTED GOD THROUGHOUT THE CALAMITY. (13:15)
David wrote in the Psalms “Ps 18:2-6 The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies. The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me. In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.”
1)Job reiterated his commitment to trust God. (13:15-16)
a)No matter what else happens, “I will trust you Lord”
b)No matter how bad it gets, “I will have confidence that you will protect me.”
c)No matter if I have to stand alone, “You will be there”
d)When the outside appearances are bleak “I will turn to you.”
e)When everyone has given up on me, “I know you haven’t”
f)When my pain is overwhelming, “I know you care”
g)If death sets in, “I will still trust you”.
Dr. E. Stanley Jones. I am inwardly fashioned for faith, not for fear. Fear is not my native land; faith is. I am so made that worry and anxiety are sand in the machinery of life; faith is the oil. I live better by faith and confidence than by fear, doubt and anxiety. In anxiety and worry, my being is gasping for breath--these are not my native air. But in faith and confidence, I breathe freely--these are my native air. A John Hopkins University doctor says, "We do not know why it is that worriers die sooner than the non-worriers, but that is a fact." But I, who am simple of mind, think I know; We are inwardly constructed in nerve and tissue, brain cell and soul, for faith and not for fear. God made us that way. To live by worry is to live against reality.
1)Job makes two requests during his longsuffering. (13:20-21)
a)“Subside the sufferings long enough so I can clearly communicate with you”.
i)Help me not to weaken under the circumstances or cause them to be so heavy that they interfere with my relationship with you God.
b)“Speak to me or let me speak”.
i)Job wanted to plead his case directly to the Lord himself.
ii)Or he wanted to hear directly from God why things were the way they were.
c)This was not doubt on his part, but was honest questioning in a confusing time.
i)Take the pain away God so I can see clearly.
ii)Let me know why this is happening to me.
2)How do we trust God in times of “Longsuffering”
a)Keep your relationship strong during these times.
i)Now is not the time to pull away from God, it is a time to draw close to Him the book of James tells us, “Draw nigh to God and He will draw nigh to you.”
b)How to draw close;
i)Spend more time in prayer.
Phil 4:6-7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Ps 86:4-7 “Rejoice the soul of Your servant, For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive,
And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You. Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer; And attend to the voice of my supplications. In the day of my trouble I will call upon You, For You will answer me.
i)Spend more time in His word.
(1)The closer your relationship is with God the easier times like these are. Vice versa the further away you are from God the harder they will be. Because it’s not a matter of IF we will be confronted with adversity and “Longsuffering” it’s a matter of when.
b)Claim the promises found in the Bible.
i)God tells us in Heb 13:5 that He will never leave us nor forsake us.
ii)During these times we must trust those promises.
c)Don’t let doubt sidetrack your relationship.
i)The devil tried to dishearten and destroy Job’s relationship with God, but instead Job turned to God.
ii)The devil planted confusion in Job’s life by using circumstances, friends, and even his wife.
iii)We must stay focused not on the problem, but on the one that is bigger than the problem.
III. LASTLY, LEARN FROM THE SITUATION AND GROW STRONGER.
Malcolm Muggeridge said, Contrary to what might be expected, I look back on experiences that at the time seemed especially desolating and painful with particular satisfaction. Indeed, I can say with complete truthfulness that everything I have learned in my 75 years in this world, everything that has truly enhanced and enlightened my experience, has been through affliction and not through happiness.
1)Problems often provide us with greater opportunities
a)Problems can promote our spiritual maturity (Ps 105:16ff)
b)Problems improve our integrity (1 Pt 3:15)
c)Problems produce a sense of dependence
2)Problems grow us.
a)Grow cognitively. (42:1-3)
i)Here we have Job after all this looking back and saying to God, now I understand what you were trying to show me. And the same is true today, God wants to teach all of us through our situations!
b)Grow spiritually. (42:4-6)
i)Job realized his own limitations through the trials.
ii)Job understood God in a whole new way.
c)Grow emotionally.
i)Job went through a lot of emotions I am sure he never thought he could.
ii)He chose to let them strengthen him and not weaken him.
d)Be careful of running to the medicines.
Conclusion:
Maybe you’re here today facing a problem that you’re not sure how much more you can take or how much longer you can go on.
·Remember don’t push God away but draw close He will get you through it.
Maybe you’re here and you have given up, just remember God can restore you if you let Him.
Maybe you’re here and you feel that you have failed God, remember He will forgive you.
In chapter 42 we see that God restored Job. God did not allow Job’s suffering go on indefinitely. He won’t let you either if you turn to Him.
James 4:8-10
8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.
10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
