Study the Word

Host (Male): Here's how Job reacted when he lost everything.

Pastor Thom Keller: He tore his robe in grief, then he shaved his head, then he fell to the ground, and he said, this is sounds like within a minute or two of this discovery, praise the name of the Lord, not blessed be the name of the Lord, not hallelujah to the name of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord.

Host (Male): What do you do when your world falls apart? In our survey of the scriptures, we find a man named Job who experienced just that. Unfortunately for him, there was no handbook on suffering. Thankfully for us, we do have a handbook. It's the book of Job. God used Job's life and tragedies to teach us how to react when life comes crashing down. And this is Study the Word with Pastor Tom Keller. Today's message originated in Calvary Chapel Lebanon, Pennsylvania. We may not enjoy the sufferings of life, but we learn that we can rejoice that God is in control.

Here's Pastor Tom beginning in Job chapter 1 verse 13.

Pastor Thom Keller: Job 1:13. One day when Job's sons and daughters were dining at the oldest brother's house, a messenger arrived at Job's home with this news. Your oxen were plowing with the donkeys feeding beside them. When the Sabeans raided us, they stole all the animals and killed all the farm hands. I am the only one who escaped to tell you. And again, this should be underlined in and bold print. While he was still speaking, another messenger arrived with this news. The fire of God has fallen from heaven and burned up all your sheep and all the shepherds.

I am the only one who escaped to tell you. While he was still speaking, a third messenger arrived with this news. Three bands of Chaldean raiders have stolen your camels and killed your servants. I am the only one who escaped to tell you. While he was still speaking, another messenger arrived with this news. Your sons and daughters were feasting in their oldest brother's home. Suddenly, a powerful wind swept in from the desert on his house on all sides. The house collapsed and all your children are dead. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.

Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground before God and he said, it's amazing he could come to this thought so quickly. I came naked from my mother's womb and I will be stripped of everything when I die. The Lord gave me everything I had and the Lord has taken it all away. Praise the name of the Lord. And in all this, Job did not sin by blaming God. And we said this last week, but just keep in mind Job has no idea what happened in the heavenlies.

He has no idea of Satan's challenge. All he knows is that he's lost everything. He has no idea why. We're privy to that beginning of the chapter which tells us that he had no idea why any of this happened. So my my starting question is, what would your response be? Cuz I told you last week I read this out loud at home. It takes 45 seconds to read all those things that those guys said. And we know it's 45 seconds because it says as soon as he was done speaking, before he was done speaking, the next one arrives.

Before he was done speaking, the next one arrives. So we can time out how long it took to for all of them, those four messengers to say those four things. And it's 45 seconds. So here's my question. You you're the wealthiest person in a large geographical area. You have a wonderful family. You have grandchildren. You're prosperous. You're your later years in your life. Everything's set. You have a great relationship with God. And in in in four four in four a total of 45 second messages, you have lost everything. Everything is gone. All that you love except your wife, all that you own is gone.

It's not missing. You're not going to retrieve it. You're not going to find it. This isn't like David when Ziklag, I think it was, where they stole all his stuff and he went out and recaptured. Abraham when they stole all his stuff and he he went and recaptured. It's gone. It's not to be There's no recapturing this. It's not missing. It's gone. You know, I I when I studied this at home, I tried to process this if this was happened to me. And I can't even begin to imagine what how you what you do with that.

Your children, your grandchildren gone all in the matter of a 45 second. What would that What would your response to that have been? Well, his response is amazing. And I would imagine it got Satan flaming mad because this isn't what he expected to happen. In verse 20 it says, Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground and he said, now this shaved his head, that was a common practice and was usual in mourning to tear your robe. Some says rent his mantle. This was the outer garment which was thick.

If you think of a winter coat, that's what this would have been. It would have been sleeveless, would not have had sleeves. It would have been down to the ankles but thick. And so he tore that in grief. And because of this indescribable pain, sorrow, shock, loss, and devastation, McLaren the commentator said this quote, it is worth our while It is worth our while to stay a moment with the thought that we are meant to feel grief. God sends sorrow in order that we may know pain. Sorrow has many uses in our lives and on our hearts.

Sorrow is natural. That's enough. God set the fountain of tears in our souls. So we are bidden not to despise the chastening of the Lord. And McLaren ends by saying, and it is it is sanctioned by Christ. Jesus wept. Jesus bade the women of Jerusalem to weep for themselves and for their children. So Jesus gave the example. Jesus sanctioned that in telling the women to to weep for themselves and for their children. And then after expressing his grief and sorrows, Job's first words are, after he rents it, I came naked from my mother's womb. I will be stripped of everything when I die.

The Lord gave me everything I had and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord. Wow, isn't that amazing? He said I came into the world with nothing and ultimately, regardless of what happens, you can't fight this logic. Regardless of what happens during those decades between my first breath and my last breath, in the end I will leave this world with nothing. That's his conclusion. And so Job's bottom line is this. Since God gave me everything, it's his right to ungive it anytime he likes. It's all his. It's not mine. And besides, here's the logic.

It will be I will be stripped of all of it anyway when I die. So ultimately, it's not a matter of if, just a matter of when. And that 's a mature viewpoint of that. You know, we said this before, he's making this point that, you know, probably the starting place on managing your finances is they come to understanding that God owns it all. It's all his. It all belongs to him. Right? Nothing What do you have that he hasn't first given you? Right? What do you have that he couldn't blow on and take it away just like Job?

It's all his. And so the the point in all that, I think, is God knows how greedy we are to hold on. And I think that understanding that God owns it all is designed to cause us to start to loosen up our grip on our fingers and to hold it with open hands. There's a lot of good There's a lot good about that. In Ezekiel it says that they're going to celebrate the year of Jubilee during the thousand year reign. And the year of Jubilee is that everything goes back to the original families. So they divided the land out per tribe, per family within the tribe.

And it's like you play Monopoly for 50 years and then at the end all the pieces go back to the original families and you start all over again. But the idea is The same idea is to is to teach people not to hold on with clenched fists cuz you're not going to pass it on to your kids. Or you might for a decade or two. I mean, if you're 30, you could give them 20 years head start, but how much are you going to have built up in 30 years? You know? So if you if you have your fortune built up by the time you're 40 years, you're just going to be able to give them 10 years of a head start cuz then it all goes back.

And so the point is What's really cool about this, think of a family that that has done well in the 50 years. And now it's your 48 and they've got a million dollars. You're 48. They're going to get They're going to have to give it back to the original family. What do you think they're going to start doing? Giving it away. That's what I think. Now the the other people have to give it back, but they'll have the benefit of it. There's an equality that starts to happen in all that because they get the joy of giving in those last couple years when they realize I can't keep it.

I can't pass it on. I think that's really cool. And the McLaren says this, the truth picturesquely set forth here is the old and simple one that all possessions are transient. They don't last. He says the naked self gets clothed and then runs around the world with his possessions, but they are all outside of it apart from its individuality. It is He It has been without them. The soul has been without him. It will be without them. Death in the end will rob us of all of them. He ends by saying this, the inevitable law of loss is fixed and certain.

We are losing something every moment, not only possessions but our dearest ties to people are knit together for but a time and sure to be snapped. They'll go and then after a while we'll go. And so as Job says, blessed be the name of the Lord. Again, in the second part of 21 Job recognizes that in loss and sorrow there is a reason for praise. He says, I came naked from my mother's womb. The Lord gave me everything I had. The Lord has taken away. Praise the name of the Lord. Now Job recognizes that even in this loss and sorrow there's a reason to praise God.

You know, if if you would if you would be, if I would be, and I would not be, but if I was mature enough in my faith to say those first two sentences, that would be a stretch. But then to add at the end praise the name of the Lord, that is amazing. 45 second message and it doesn't sound like there's a long delay in this. He tore his robe in grief, then he shaved his head, then he fell to the ground and he said, this is sounds like within a minute or two of this discovery.

Praise the name of the Lord, not blessed be the name of the Lord, not hallelujah to the name of the Lord. Praise the name of the Lord. Why? Again, McLaren says this, because we may be sure that all loss is for our good. Does that make sense? All loss is for our good. McLaren says because we may be sure that all loss is from a loving God. In loss of dear ones and things, our gain in losing is to draw nearer to God in being taught more to long for heaven. Isn't that good? To learn to long more for heaven.

And then I like this. This doesn't fit in too closely, but it says do not blame God for having created the tiger, but thank him for not giving the tiger wings. That's pretty good. The point is you can always find something to praise God for, right? And it's wise to look for that. I shared the story I have an uncle one of the most positive men I've ever known. And I've told this story in church before, but he was at an airport one time trying to get back home in the middle of a snow storm and went to the ticket counter of This way I remember the story of the last airline that could have given him a flight home.

And she said, we're all sold out. The last seat's been sold. I 'm sorry. You're not going to get out of this city tonight. And he said, praise God. He said this to the woman at the counter. Praise God. The Lord must have something for me to do in this city. Now who does that? There are people pounding on the table. I got to get home. I got to get out of this place, you know? Praise God. He must have something for me to do in this in this city. And so look for reasons to praise God.

And again, I said that before. I think that makes really makes Satan mad. When he tries to sail you and you praise God in it, oh, I think that really makes him mad. Really makes him mad. Job lost everything. Through all this Job did not sin, nor did he blame God. Verse 22 it says that in all of this Job did not sin by blaming God. Now this is very telling. You may skip over this, but think about what it says. Here we discover that it is a sin to blame God. There are a lot of people that blame God, aren't there?

Maybe you blame God for something. I've heard a lot of people tell me they've blamed God for what has happened in their life. A man that I met, his brother died and he blamed God and he and God didn't talk for 20 years. And it ended in talking to him and and suggesting that he asked God to forgive him for having held that against him all those years. And that was the starting point of that relationship. So the takeaway here is when things go wrong, don't blame God because you can dismiss it, but it is a sin.

And sin gives Satan an open door in our lives. So just be careful when things go wrong in your life, don't blame God. And if you've done this, if there's something in your past that you still blame God for, I would strongly suggest you pray about that, confess it a sin to God, ask God to forgive you and he will, and let God be God and let him explain to you when you get to heaven why what happened happened. Because he will have an explanation. You know, God is not in heaven afraid of you getting there because he can't explain why what happened to you happened to you.

Listen again. God is not in heaven afraid of you showing up because he doesn't he doesn't he won't be able to explain to you why what happened happened. You will understand for the first time what was going on, what was really going on in the background of all of that. So try not to to blame God. Then going on to chapter two, it says one day the angels came again to present themselves before the Lord. And Satan the accuser came with them. Where have you come from? the Lord asked Satan. Now we don't know the time frame here.

It could be an hour, could be a day, a week, a year, several years. We just don't know. And Satan answered the Lord, I have been going back and forth across the earth watching everything that's going on. Now those are the exact same words as in chapter one, except the angels came again. Except for that, the exact same words. And you know, it made me wonder it sounds like this is kind of a standard question and answer period between God and Satan. This is maybe a standard exchange that takes place before before God. Satan, where were you today?

I've been looking patrolling The the Hebrew really means I've been patrolling the earth watching everything that's going on. So what does that mean today if he's patrolling the earth watching everything that's going on? He has a lot of opportunities with all that he sees. Verse three it says, then the Lord asked Satan, have you noticed my servant Job? He's the finest man in all the earth, a man of complete integrity. And by the way, these are the exact words from the first chapter. A man of complete integrity, he fears God and will have nothing to do with evil.

Now it changes. This is addition and he has maintained his integrity even though you persuaded me to harm him without cause. Same words except even though you persuaded me to harm him without cause. And Satan is already for this, isn't he? He's already. He lost his bed with God because he said, if you let me take every all of his possessions away, he'll curse you to your face. So he lost his bed with God and so Satan isn't the smartest man in the room like he thought he was. He thought he was going to get God on this one and Job came through, but Satan is not done with Job yet.

In verse four he comes back with his reply. Satan replied to the Lord, skin for skin. He blesses you only because you bless him. A man will give up everything he has to save his life. Now just think about that. This was Satan's thinking then. This is Satan's thinking now. A man will give everything up he has to save his life. You know, I'm thinking of this as I'm talking, but I love what I do. I love being a pastor. It's such an honor to sit with people when they're going through life threatening illnesses and talk with them and pray with them about that, to anoint them.

It's such an honor. But to think about the fact that when these illnesses hit them that Satan's strategy is that a man will give up everything he has to save his life. That when someone comes down with cancer, Satan looks at that man and says, he'll give up everything he has to save his life. He'll do anything he has to to save his life. And so you know, if that ever happens to you, what a challenge that is for us to live a godly life through that trial because you know what he's thinking. You know, in Revelation it says they overcame uh the enemy by their their testimony and by the word of the and the word of God and that they did not love their life on the death or something like that, but they're not afraid of dying.

If you're not afraid of dying, there's really nothing Satan can do to you. If if you're saved and you love the Lord, you love the word, and you're not afraid of dying, that's what Revelation says. That's that's what gives you protection, not afraid of that not afraid to die. And then verse four again, skin for skin. Commentators talk about that. What Did no one's really sure what that means skin for skin. Does he mean the skin that he's going to take away, the the blisters of boils he's going to get on his skin? But to me it always made sense, skin for skin.

He blesses you only because you bless him. A man will give up everything he has to save his life. Take away his health and he will surely curse you to your face. And Satan knows us so well. We'll talk about that in a moment. You know, when this is seen as taking place here, I picture Ebenezer Scrooge being put to the test on this one. Imagine Ebenezer Scrooge converting all of his assets to gold coins. And he's holding them in a box in his arms. And Satan comes up to the table. And Satan says, Ebenezer, would you give up all that you own, all of your gold for your job?

No. Would you give up your gold for your brothers and sisters? No. Would you give up all your gold for your children? No. Would you give up all your gold for your wife? No. Would you give up all of your gold for your life if you're going to die in one minute? Probably yes. Right? So Satan's attack here is pretty accurate. You know, you you take a greedy man and he probably wouldn't give up give up his assets for anything but this to save your life. There's a lot to this. And it's true. It's true for us too.

A loss of health, a threatening life condition causes And I've seen this being a pastor. It'll cause you to ask questions you've never asked before. It will. It'll It'll cause you to go places you've never been before, dark places. It'll cause you to question things you've never questioned before. And Satan knows us. But once again, Satan cannot touch your health unless God allows it. Remember that. Satan cannot If you're a believer, Satan cannot touch your health unless God allows it. But can you get sick otherwise? Can you get sick without Satan creating it, organizing it, masterminding it?

Of course. As an example, let's say there are 50 people in a room and you knowingly put yourself in that room for 48 hours and all of those people have the flu except you or something else that might be going around at the present time. So 50 people have the flu. You're in the room for 48 hours with them. Will you get the flu? Probably. Why? Did God Did Satan send it? Well, you might have sent the idea to go into the room, but he didn't send it. No. You You made a choice to go into a place you shouldn't have gone into.

He didn't need to. Did God give you the flu? No. You exposed yourself to the flu. And here's the truth. Because we are human and because Adam sinned, you and I are exposed to death and illness and decay that entered the world the day Adam and Eve ate of the fruit. That's a part of the curse. In fact, that's called the curse. And cancer is a part of the curse. You can get cancer passively without either Satan or God giving it to you. But the trump card is on this passivity. On this passivity getting cancer is Romans 8:28 Trumps the cancer.

Right? Romans 8:28 Trumps the cancer. If God can't use the cancer for your good, he won't send it. All things work together for good to those that love the Lord and and are the called according to his purpose. All things.

Host (Male): You've been listening to Pastor Tom Keller on Study the Word and part of a Study in Job. Would you like to give this a second listen? Either go to our website at ccleb.com or visit our YouTube page. Simply subscribe to our channel at Calvary Chapel Lebanon and you can watch our services live or on demand. For those interested in a CD copy, call us at 717 273 5633. Once again, that's 717 273 5633. It takes a team to bring Study the Word to this station and many others like it. Please consider sending in a gift today.

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