The next thing we are going to see is Chapter 2 verses 1 through 10:
1Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord.
2 And the Lord said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
3 And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.
4 And Satan answered the Lord, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.
5 But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.
6 And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.
7 So went Satan forth from the presence of the Lord, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.
8 And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes.
9 Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.
10 But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.
Job, over here, if you look at it, it’s like a movie, Satan coming and talking to the Lord, this is the reality that happens to all of us like what really happens in the world that we cannot see. Satan is trying to do everything he can to show God that Job is going to fall. God knows Job and He is saying I’m going to show you – now Job is in the midst of everything. But God knew that "Ok, even if take everything and I am going to give him back." Now, satan comes there to attack to his body, and give him pain. Already, he is in pain. He has lost everything and he has lost his children, that itself,… when you lose children... a lot of people they don’t even come out of it until the day they die. He has lost all his children. With that, like he does not even have time to mourn. There is no mourning because he is now covered with boils all over, he is scratching himself and he is in a lot of pain. And, on top of that, the wife who is supposed to be next to him and comfort him, basically, what she is saying is “you die.” Curse God and die, I don’t want you living like this. So, that’s no comfort... so now it’s is adding to physical pain with emotional pain. The one that he trusts, the one that he loves, she is coming against him, and she is saying, “curse God” the very person that he loves, and she is telling him to die. And so that’s so very painful thing that Job was going through. With all that was happening with Job, he didn’t curse God during all this time because he is a worshipper of the Lord. Job’s wife is telling, how long you’re going to hold on to your integrity, that means telling them how long, you are going to keep worshipping this God. How long you’re going to keep thanking God. When you are receiving so many bad things, that’s when he is saying, I thank God, I bless Him when I have good times, shouldn’t I not bless Him when I have bad times. That’s what he was telling her. So, you see Job’s integrity even when his body was affected. Now we are going to see how much more he was going through. It didn’t not stop over here. We turn to Job chapter 19 verses 1 and 2; and 13 through 21; how worse can it get for somebody, how much they can hold on till, and how long they can hold on till.
Job Chapter 19 verses 1 & 2:
1 Then Job answered and said,
2 How long will ye vex my soul, and break me in pieces with words?
Now we have Job’s friends come. They didn’t just stay at home They are coming there to hurt him, to break him into pieces. Already, his body is broken, he has lost everything and now they are coming in to accuse him. He is like vexed because they are constant, it’s not like a one-time thing they come, but they are constantly coming and they are vexing him. Now we’re going to read verses 13 through 21 of the same chapter.
Job 19: 13 through 21
13 He hath put my brethren far from me, and mine acquaintance are verily estranged from me.
14 My kinsfolk have failed, and my familiar friends have forgotten me.
15 They that dwell in mine house, and my maids, count me for a stranger: I am an alien in their sight.
16 I called my servant, and he gave me no answer; I intreated him with my mouth.
17 My breath is strange to my wife, though I intreated for the children's sake of mine own body.
18 Yea, young children despised me; I arose, and they spake against me.
19 All my inward friends abhorred me: and they whom I loved are turned against me.
20 My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth.
Here we see, how much he is going through. His wife, his friends, his close friends, his relatives, people in his neighborhood, and even the little children, they all despise him and his servants. Even when he is so sick and he is in pain when he is calling his servant for something, even if they are not coming. So, imagine the pain that he is going through. Like in addition to everything, he does not even have a chance to even think about what he was actually going through. So, he is so much in torment physically, mentally, and emotionally, and so much pain he is going through and he is being persecuted from every side, from his wife to his friends. We have to put ourselves in his shoes and see what he actually went through. So even one (a thing like) - a lot of times if our friends don’t talk to us properly that is enough to sink us down for a couple of days. Like, "they said this, he said this, she said this, how can they say that I didn’t really mean that!" you know. But, look what he is going through. The closest friend, his own spouse, and his servant, Job was a man who was esteemed by all. Now, even his servants, they are speaking they are not even doing anything for him, they are despising him. And Imagine the little children who come and make fun of him when he is suffering. So the extent to which Job really suffered like horrible. We have not really seen anybody going through all of this. Job went through so much, but Job was a man of character. He was not some extraordinary superman like we said, he was an ordinary person; he felt physical, emotional, and mental pain just like all of us. He was not above physical pain. He was not above emotional pain. He was not somebody like who didn’t feel anything. When you read the book of Job you will see all of his talks. How much pain he went through! Even in the verse we saw, he is basically saying, “stop tormenting me.” That’s what he is telling his friends, so much he was being tormented. But he made a choice, made a very specific choice to worship God, to be a worshipper of God at all times, I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. So even going through extreme circumstances, Job made a choice to praise God.
Now, he certified about Job when he had good times, now we have to see what did God say about Job during his bad times. Did Job change anywhere? We are going to look at Job Chapter 42 verse 7 and 8; you see what is God telling us about Job, verse 7 and 8. God is saying verse 7
7 And it was so, that after the Lord had spoken these words unto Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath.
So, He is basically saying that Job didn’t speak anything wrong. All you people who came and seemingly spoke righteous things about God yet you spoke bad things. Job was the one who spoke right things. And now God is telling them,
8 Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job.
Now we see twice God is saying in verse 7 once and verse 8 once time, twice God is telling. The same thing we saw in Chapter 1 where God says in verse 1 and then God says again “have you seen my servant Job?” In chapter 42, we are seeing twice what God is saying about Job, “you see his words, no matter what he went through, he was a worshipper of me. He blessed me at all times. He never spoke anything bad.” And that should be said of us. We have to strive for that. We have to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord and live a life of worship. I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth. When that becomes our lifestyle, no matter what we go through, nothing will move us. It’s not that we will not feel any pain, even though we feel pain, we make a choice to worship God, we make a choice to bless God. So that is what we are learning from the life of Job and the life of David tonight and God is such a faithful God. He is not a God who likes to torment his people. If we look at it, all these people who we see in the book of Job like his own brethren who stayed away who didn’t come and his own friends and his family, all of them came. In the last chapter of Job, they all came, you know how they came, they came with gifts, they all brought gifts to Job and God blessed him to that extent, and children they were nobody as beautiful as his daughters, and God blessed him with everything and he blessed him double. So God is such a faithful God. In Deuteronomy Chapter 6 Verses 3 to 12, we have to have this in our minds because sometimes we can think, “okay, when we go through difficult times, it is difficult to worship God, it is difficult to bless God, but when I am happy I will definitely praise God.” But a lot of times, it’s the opposite also. A lot of times we can forget. That’s why God knows us. He knows humans.
That’s why He says in Deuteronomy Chapter 6 verses 3 through 12
3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey.
4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:
5 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
10 And it shall be, when the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not,
11 And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full;
12 Then beware lest thou forget the Lord, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. 13 Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.
We see over here, how the Lord is saying, now you are going through the desert when I bring you into the promised land when you are full, it is possible for you to forget the Lord your God, it’s very possible for you to forget everything that God has done. That’s what the Lord is saying. Remember! Remember from where I brought you, remember what I have done. It’s always good to recollect and that’s why he says to write it, write it all over, teach your children, tell your children what the Lord did. Tell them all the miracles that the Lord did and tell them how he brought you out of the land of Egypt and all the wonderful things that the Lord has done so that you don’t forget and they don’t forget; it’s not just for them it’s for us also, for us to remember what the Lord has done. And the key verse over here is verse 5
5 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
And saying, if we do this, we can never fall. If we love the Lord as Job did, if we love the Lord with all our heart like David did, in good times and in bad times, we will always praise Him. A simple example is a marriage, when the marriage is a very strong marriage when the husband and wife are like very loving, no matter what sickness the spouse goes through, the wife will always be there, the husband will always be there. They will not be waiting okay, when will this person die. They will always be there. It will be like they’re both going through it together. The same thing with the Lord is, that when we love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength no matter what we go through, we will bless Him at all times. Because we know Him and He knows us. It is that tight relationship that we have is the practical relationship, a living walk with the living Lord will give us that strength to praise Him and He will give us the courage when we go through, just like David said, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me, thy rod, and thy staff they comfort me. So that is David’s secret even though he walked through everything, God was with him. And even though Job went through everything, he knew “my redeemer lives.” It looked like God forsook him, but he knew that God was there and God could trust him, that’s why the Lord says, even when he went through everything, Job did not sin. So we have to be like that and the last verse we are going to see in Psalm 103 verse 2, the very familiar verse that we all know, 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
That means it is very possible for us to forget all His benefits. When we get full and the Lord blesses us, when He answers our prayer, it is very possible for us to receive everything and completely forget who blessed us, who gave us. So we have to have these two things in our minds. One is when we go through bad times, do we bless the Lord? When we go through good times, do we bless the Lord? So I will bless the Lord at all times we have to like remember this verse. Lord, I will bless you at all times, no matter what we go through, Lord no matter if have a job, if I lose my job, if I lose my house, if I lose everything, all the money, lose the vehicle, lose our very life, lose everything we have just like Job, even if we have to go through just like Job, we should be able to bless the Lord at all times. We can have a month full of blessings and totally forget the Lord and keep enjoying and completely leave our relationship with the Lord. So whatever we are going to face this month, we have to keep this in our hearts, like a slogan, I will bless the Lord at all times, Lord tomorrow whatever I’m going to go through if my friends forsake me if my neighbor comes and screams at me, if little children come and make fun of me, and if I get sick from head to toe if I lose everything I will bless the Lord at all times. Tomorrow I will bless the Lord at all times. Day after tomorrow I will bless the Lord at all times. Lord, next month I will bless the Lord at all times, good times and bad times. That’s how we’re going to remember when we think about this verse, it’s a good thing to meditate further, go home, and meditate on this verse. I will bless the Lord at all times, good times and bad times, and whether we eat, whether we don’t eat, whether we have anything, whether we don’t have anything, whether people love us, whether people hate us, whether we are sick, whether we are healthy, whether we are rich, or whether we are poor, I will bless the Lord at all times.
We are just gonna close our eyes and we are gonna thank the Lord for His word for this month. Even though it may not look like a promise, it is a strengthening promise for our souls that the Lord is giving us to bless Him regardless of what we are going to go through this month. What is awaiting us, we do not know, but we know what we have to do. We have to make a choice just like Job, how Job made a choice that I will bless the Lord at all times, how David made a choice I will bless the Lord at all times. No matter what happens, I will worship Him. We have to make that clear in ourselves and in our hearts, resolve before the Lord, Lord I will bless you at all times, Father. Lord, whether I have a headache, whether I have body pain, whether I can breathe, Lord whether I can walk, even if I am bedridden, Lord I will bless you at all times. Lord whether I have food, whether I have the clothing, Lord I will bless you at all times. Lord even when I am full, Lord even if I become the king I will bless you, I will be like David. Lord, I will not think about myself. I will think about you. Lord I will bless you at all times. I will not be shy, I will not be embarrassed to proclaim your goodness when you lift me up. I will bless the Lord at all times, in my good times. I will bless you, Lord, I will bless you, Lord, I will bless you, Lord. Let’s make a promise to the Lord, Lord I will bless you at all times. Lord, no matter how high you lift me up, I will bless you at all times before the congregation like David says, before the nations, before the heathen, before God’s people, I will bless Him with all my heart, with all my strength. David danced before the Lord with all his might, he gave everything to the Lord. I will bless the Lord at all times, whether we go through difficult times like Job went through, or as David went through a period of wandering, Lord I will bless you at all times, in life and in death. Lord in sickness and health. Lord I will bless you at all times, Jesus. Whatever I go through, even if I have to walk through the valley of the shadow of death, Lord I will bless you, I will bless you, I will bless you, Lord when you multiply me, Lord when you increase my riches, Lord when you give me a promotion, Lord I will bless you at all times. Lord where you have me, Lord working right now. Lord in the midst of the persecution, Lord in the midst of the family I am in, Lord wherever you have placed me, whatever our situation is, wherever we are right now, are we blessing the Lord? so ask ourselves a question. Lord, I will bless you, Lord throughout this month I will bless you. Lord today I will bless you, tonight I will bless you. Lord, tomorrow when I go to work I’ll bless you. Lord, whatever work I’m doing Lord, even at home while I’m cooking Lord, I’m going to bless you. Lord, I’ll have a thankful heart. Lord, whether I have anything or not, I will thank you, Lord, I will bless you. I will bless you at all times, Jesus. I will bless you at all times, Lord. Lord, I praise you, praise you, praise you. Let’s open our mouths and praise the Lord. We thank you, Father, we praise you, praise you, praise you, praise you…
“I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth,” because God is the one, dear friends, who have cared for us all of these years. He is the One who has watched over us, for our own safety. He is the One who cares for our welfare. He is the One who has a wonderful plan for our lives, only God.
