-+Did You Ever Think About Giving Up?
Job 1:1-1:3
ILL.- In November 1988, Marie Balter began work as an administrator of Danvers State
Hospital in Boston. It is a mental hospital. AND IT IS THE SAME HOSPITAL WHERE
SHE SPENT 17 YEARS.
At age 17, Marie went through some very difficult personal ordeals and became clinically
depressed. She was misdiagnosed, labeled schizophrenic and sent to Danvers Hospital.
She stayed there for the next 17 years of her life.
After persistent friends worked to get her out, she was finally released from the hospital in
1964. She went back to school. she lectured across the nation. She worked with
psychiatric patients. She earned a master’s degree from Harvard. Now she is at work as
community affairs director at the hospital which was once her prison.
A. It would have been very easy for Marie Balter to …..have given on life as a result of her …..hospitalization.
B. We must admit that sometimes life is tough. And ….for some people, life just plain sinks.
C. Life is not easy. We all experience problems Family …..problems
1. children problems,
2. work problems,
3. financial problems,
4. health problems,
5. loss of loved ones, and so on.
ILL.- A man by the name of Joseph Bayly and his wife lost three of their children: one at the age of 18 days after surgery. Another at 5 years with Leukemia. And a third at the age of 18 years from a sledding accident.
D. It’s hard to imagine the depth of their loss.
Job 1:1-31 In the land of Uz there lived a man name Job. blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. 2 He had seven sons and three daughters, 3 and he owned 7,000sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen and 500donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.
E. Job had the respect of everyone.
1. Job was upright, God-fearing, and clean-living.
2. He had 10 children, fields of livestock, an abundance of land, a house full of servants and
a big bank account.
F. Job was “the greatest man of the East.”
1. He had earned that title through years of hard work and ………honest dealings with others. BUT THEN, SUDDENLY, ………WITHOUT ANY WARNING, DISASTER HIT HIM LIKE A TON ……..OF BRICKS!
G. It’s hard to understand how anyone in their …..right mind could handle such a tremendous …..amount of suffering and grief! Bankruptcy, …..pain, 10 graves and the loneliness of those …..empty rooms! AND YET WE READ SOMETHING …..ABOUT JOB THAT ALMOST BORDERS ON THE …..MIRACULOUS!
Job 1:20-22 Job worshipped God! He didn’t blame God! And he didn’t sin in his sorrow!
"Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. [c] The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised." 22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.
H. It would have been so easy for Job to have given …..up on life at this point and time.
I. WOULD WE HAVE GIVEN UP?
1. Job did not give up!!
J. And then JOB LOST HIS HEALTH! His trials didn’t …..end with the loss of his children and
all his …..wealth!
Job 2:5-7
5 But stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your
face."
7 So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Job with painful sores from
the soles of his feet to the top of his head.
J. Job’s body was covered with itchy, irritating, …..ulcerated sores.
1. He became so sickly that unrecognizable.
2. His body was filled with sharp agonizing pain. His sleep was destroyed.
3. His cancerous type boils burst open and were filled with maggots.
Job 2:11-12, ,
11 When Job's three friends heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him.
12 When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads.
3:26 26 I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil."
7:5 5 My body is clothed with worms and scabs, my skin is broken and festering.
How was it possible for Job to be able to survive such extreme suffering? How was he able to ward off all bitterness and thoughts of suicide?
PROP.- I believe that three answers are given in this book as to how Job kept from giving up.
1- Job looked up
2- Job looked ahead
3- Job looked within
I. JOB LOOKED UP
ILL.- The story is told about a minister visiting a racetrack for the first time in his life, hoping to win enough money to help make some badly need repairs in his church.
The preacher was near the stables where he saw a priest bless a horse. He decided to bet on that horse and it won! For the next three races, the priest did the same thing. He blessed certain horses and the minister bet on those horses and they won. He absolutely delighted at his good fortune.
The preacher was now about a thousand dollars ahead and since he had been winning on all those horses which the priest blessed, he decided to put all his money on the next horse. As the gun was fired, the horse jumped out of the gate but suddenly dropped dead only a few feet away.
The preacher went to the priest and said, “I don’t understand this. The first four horses that you blessed won their races. And this 5th horse just dropped dead. What went wrong?”
The priest said, “Reverend, I’m afraid what you don’t understand is the difference between a blessing and the last rites.”
A. That minister shouldn’t have been at that ….racetrack.
1. THAT WAS NOT THE PLACE TO SOLVES HIS ………..CHURCHES’ PROBLEMS.
Many people when confronted with difficult problems in life, they often go to the wrong places looking for help with their problems. Some either look out into the world or within themselves for the answers instead of looking up.
1. Some people belly up to some bar,
2. Talk to some ungodly or unchristian neighbor or friend.
3. Or some people may even try to handle the situation with their own human wisdom, which is generally deficient.
B. BUT JOB IMMEDIATELY LOOKED UP TO THE LORD!
ILLUSTRATION: Capt. David M. Cronin was piloting United Airlines Flight 811 from Honolulu, Hawaii to Auckland, New Zealand, on Feb. 24, 1989. The Boeing 747 jet had just reached 22,000 feet. Passing through some thunderstorms, everything seem routine.
Suddenly there was a tremendous decompression explosion as an 11-by-20-foot opening was ripped in the right side of the plane. Apparently, a cargo door had not been properly closed or a latch on the door was faulty. Nine people were sucked from the jet to their deaths over the Pacific Ocean.
Captain Cronin, due to take mandatory retirement at age 60 on March 23, managed to get the plane back to Honolulu during the next 18 minutes which must have seemed like an eternity.
Using everything he knew from 38 years of flying, he dealt with the loss of two of his four engines, a stuck right wing flap, and a huge hole in the side of the plane which sent tornado-like winds through the plane, shaking it violently. 345 passengers and crew members praised him for making the right decisions. The plane’s landing was gentle and took only 2/3’s of the runways.
When there is a crisis you want the right person at the controls of a jumbo jet!
C. The Lord is AT THE CONTROLS OF THE …..UNIVERSE!
1. He has all the answers and he pulls all the right levers.
2. AND JOB WAS SMART ENOUGH TO LOOK UP TO HIM!
Job 1:21 “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.”
D. Job sincerely believed that the Lord who gave
everything to him also had the right to take it
away.
1. That’s humble submission to Lord!
2. When are we ever going to learn that the Lord
is always the right person to seek when we’re
having Problems?!
3. Instead of looking out into the world for
worldly answers we must look always look up
to the Lord and seek His will
HIS WILL IS ALWAYS THE RIGHT THING TO
DO! It’s always right to go by the Bible!
E. We must not question His authority. We must
learn to submit to His authority BECAUSE HE IS
AT THE CONTROLS OF THE UNIVERSE.
1. Because He is God and always knows the right
things to do and besides, He loves us more
than anyone.
1- Job looked up
II. JOB LOOKED AHEAD
ILL.- Someone wrote: Patience is a virtue, Possess it if you can, Seldom in a woman, Never in a man.
A. Most of us are not very patient when it comes to
getting answers to life’s problems.
1. We want something done right now.
a. It doesn’t make any different whether it’s our car,
b. our house or our life.
c. We want it fixed and we want it fixed last week.
ILL.- Preacher Phillips Brooks was known for his poise and quiet manner. At times, like most of us, he suffered with frustration and irritability. One day a friend saw him pacing the floor liked a caged lion. He asked, “What’s the trouble, Mr. Brooks?” Brooks replied, “I’m in a hurry, but God isn’t!”
B. We are like that. When it comes to getting our problems solved we’re not too patient.
1. Job had GREAT Faith.
2. He counted on the Lord to work out everything
How Long Do You Think The Situation with Job lasted?
C. He looked forward to a time when all pain,
death, sorrow, tears, and trials would be
removed.
1. JOB LIVED BY FAITH IN GOD. PERIOD!!
Job 19:25-26 “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, YET IN MY FLESH I WILL SEE GOD.”
2. Job believed in and counted on the resurrection from the dead!
That’s astounding, considering the time and era in which he lived.
3.He knew nothing of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus at that time
Job believed in the resurrection and he apparently believed that if God wouldn’t cure his problems right here and now, then He would there and then!
ILL.- A woman was diagnosed with a terminal illness and had been given three months to live. As she was getting her things in order, she contacted her preacher and asked him to come to her house to discuss some of her final wishes.
She told him which songs she wanted sung at her funeral service, what Scriptures she would like read, and what outfit she wanted to be buried in. She also requested that her favorite Bible be buried with her.
As the preacher was about to leave, the woman suddenly remembered something else. She said, “There’s one more thing.” “What’s that?” asked her preacher.
“This is important,” she said, “I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand.” Her preacher stood looking at her, not knowing what to say.
She explained, “In all my years of attending church socials and potluck dinners, when the dishes of the main course were being cleared, someone would inevitably lean over and say, ‘KEEP YOUR FORK.’ It was my favorite part of the meal because I knew something better was coming - like velvety chocolate cake or deep-dish applie pie.”
“So, when people see me in that casket with a fork in my hand and they ask, ‘What’s with the fork?’ I want you to tell them: ‘KEEP YOUR FORK. THE BEST IS YET TO COME!’
The woman had the right idea! And so did our friend Job! He knew the best was yet to come and he was looking forward to that day! WHAT ABOUT YOU?
BUT GOD HAS PREPARED SOMETHING BETTER FOR US.
Please don’t let your burdens and trials get you down! Some day they will all be over and we will experience the best God has for us! We have a bright and beautiful future waiting for us!
1- Job looked up
2- Job looked ahead
III. JOB LOOKED WITHIN
Job 42:1-4 “Job replied to the Lord. I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak...’”
A. Job didn’t understand all the “whys” of his life!
1. What a relief to know that.
2. that must make us feel a lot better.
3. There are just so many things in life that we
humans don’t understand.
ILL.- Bill and Tammy Powell’s first baby, little Billy, was born completely mentally retarded. He lived to be only 2 and a half years old. He showed no emotion, never smiled, never laughed and had to be fed through a tube in his nose.
After little Billy died, Bill and Tammy were told by the doctor that the chance of having another child like Billy was at least 50/50. As it turned out, Bill and Tammy had 3 more children, BUT PRAISE THE LORD, EACH ONE WAS BORN HEALTHY!
a. Why was little Billy the only one who didn’t turn out
to be healthy?
b. That’s just one of those tough questions that we will
never understand in this life
B. Many things happen in our lives that we just don’t
understand.
C. I believe that God doesn’t intend for us to under-
stand in this life
This is what happened to our friend Job.
God tells Job to pray for his friends for God is displeased with them
Job 42:10 “After Job prayed for his friends, the Lord made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before.”
D. Even though his friends were dead wrong, Job
prayed for them and that’s when God turned his life
around.
1. We need to stop carrying grudges around!
2. We need to stop harboring ill will toward others because of what they did or said to us.
3. We need to stop the anger and hatred toward others and learn to demonstrate mercy.
Jesus said, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Matthew 5:44
E. Any time someone has hurt you, offended you, criticized you, disturbed you, etc. then it is
time for you to get on your knees and pray, “God, have mercy on so and so. Please forgive
him because he doesn’t know what he is doing.”
1. God turned Job’s life around when he looked within and realized he needed to pray for
his negative, critical friends.
2. PERHAPS GOD WILL DO THE SAME FOR US IF WE DO WHAT JOB DID!
1- Job looked up
2- Job looked ahead
3- Job looked within
CONCLUSION:
When your walking turns to stumbling,
And your stumbling to a fall,
When you’ve climbed above the mountains,
Don’t quit! Because Jesus is Lord of ALL!!
1. Look up.
2. Look ahead.
3. Look within.
Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
