Naylor Community Christian Church
Naylor, Georgia
I. Introduction
--
turn in Bibles to Job 1
--
this morning is the last Sunday before Thanksgiving -- and it’s kind of
expected that on this day we will gather together to reflect on God’s blessings
and give thanks for all He has done in the past year
--
so, in most churches this morning, you’re going to hear messages on one of the
more common passages in the Bible about thanksgiving -- for instance, the story
of the healing of the ten lepers by Jesus and how only one of the ten -- the Samaritan
leper -- returns to thank Jesus for what He has done -- a great story of
thankfulness and praise for healing and salvation through Christ
--
seldom are you going to hear a passage on Thanksgiving from the Book of Job because
when we think of Job, we think of tragedy and loss -- of sadness and despair --
you don’t think of praise and joy and thanksgiving
--
a couple of months ago, we looked at the Book of Job from the perspective of
hearing God through our circumstances -- but this morning, I wanted us to look
at the Book of Job again -- this time from the perspective of how Job gives
thanks to God, in spite of what was going on in his life
-- there’s a reason everybody knows the story
of Job, even non-Christians -- it’s because Job’s life resonates with us -- we
understand it -- we understand him -- because we understand how it feels to
walk through tragedy and loss and sorrow in our lives
--
we may not walk through pain and sorrow in the same depth that Job did, but we
still live this out in our lives today
--
pain and suffering -- trials and tribulations -- are part of living in this
fallen world -- and the further we get from the fall in the Garden of Eden and
the closer we get to the end of the age, the more we experience tragedies and
storms in our lives
--
the last several years have been some of the hardest years the people in this
church and in this community have ever had to face -- not only have we
experienced unprecedented natural disasters, with storms like hurricanes Idalia
and Helene, but also the personal storms of sickness and death -- every family
in here has been touched by a storm of some type over the past several years
--
and, so, this morning, we turn to the Book of Job because we can look at Job
and learn from him -- we can see how he endured with patience and faith the
trials that came upon him -- and we can see how he learned to thank God, not
only when God blessed him, but also when God allowed him to experience the hard
things
--
so, let's take a moment and see what we can learn about thanksgiving from the
example of Job -- join me in Job 1, and lets read verses 1-3 and 13-19 to get
us started
Job 1:1 In the land of Uz
there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he
feared God and shunned evil. 2 He had seven sons and three daughters, 3 and he
owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen
and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the
greatest man among all the people of the East.
Job 1:13 One day when Job’s
sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s
house, 14 a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the
donkeys were grazing nearby, 15 and the Sabeans attacked and made off with
them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped
to tell you!”
16 While he was still
speaking, another messenger came and said, “The fire of God fell from the
heavens and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has
escaped to tell you!”
17 While he was still
speaking, another messenger came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three raiding
parties and swept down on your camels and made off with them. They put the
servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
18 While he was still
speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were
feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 19 when suddenly a
mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house.
It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped
to tell you!”
--
as the story opens, we see Job as an extremely successful and spiritual man --
he was wealthy beyond belief -- had a large and loving family -- surrounded by
good friends -- and was a highly respected leader in his community -- people in
his community looked up to him and would seek him out for spiritual advice when
they had questions or problems
--
but all of a sudden, in the blink of an eye -- through no fault of his own -- Job
lost everything -- he lost all of his possessions -- he lost his livelihood --
he lost his family -- and he even lost his health -- without warning, all of
Job's hopes and dreams came crashing down
--
Job’s story reminds us that tragedy can occur at any time, at any place, to any
one -- this is what most of us think about when we think about the Book of Job
--
but there's more to the story than that
--
the majority of the Book of Job involves a conversation between Job and his
three friends -- Job's friends offer a multitude of reasons why Job has
suffered such terrible loss -- "You must have sinned against God,"
they say -- "You need to repent of your sin"
--
but Job steadfastly defends himself throughout his conversations with these men
-- "I have served God -- I have done what is right -- why is God punishing
me in this way when I have done nothing to deserve it? -- why is God letting
this happen to me, when I have been the most faithful of servants to Him?"
--
sound familiar? -- how many of us have had those same thoughts? -- how many of
us have had those same arguments? -- here I am serving God -- going to church
every week -- ministering to others in His name -- why am I going through this
when others who don't even about God are enjoying great prosperity and riches
in their lives?
--
that was Job's argument -- and he says he wants the opportunity to speak
directly to God -- one on one -- to plead his case to God and to tell Him that
what is going on is not right
--
and when we reach the end of the Book of Job, we see God grants Job's desire --
God comes to Job and speaks to him in the midst of a storm -- and as God
speaks, Job realizes that he is not as sinless as he supposed -- that he did
not deserve to be rewarded for doing what was right
--
in the presence of a holy and sinless God, Job recognizes himself for who he
really is -- a sinner -- unrighteous and impure in the eyes of God
--
in Job 42:6, Job repents of his sin in dust and ashes and apologizes to God for
his arrogance -- and God responds in a way we might not have expected
II. Praise and Thankfulness in the Book of Job
--
if you would, flip over to the last chapter in the Book of Job -- Job 42 -- and
let's read verses 7-17
Job
42:7 After the Lord had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the
Temanite, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not
spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has. 8 So now take seven bulls and
seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for
yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and
not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken the truth about
me, as my servant Job has.” 9 So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and
Zophar the Naamathite did what the Lord told them; and the Lord accepted Job’s
prayer.
10
After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave
him twice as much as he had before. 11 All his brothers and sisters and
everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They
comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the Lord had brought on him,
and each one gave him a piece of silver[a] and a gold ring.
12
The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part. He
had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a
thousand donkeys. 13 And he also had seven sons and three daughters. 14 The
first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch.
15 Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job’s
daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their
brothers.
16
After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their
children to the fourth generation. 17 And so Job died, an old man and full of
years.
--
this is what a lot of people forget -- the story of Job is not just the story
of tragedy and loss -- it is also the story of salvation and restoration and
blessing
--
when Job finally quit complaining to God and started realizing that everything
he had came from God in the first place -- that God is sovereign and has the
right to give and to take away -- then Job was finally able to repent of his
sin and to get right with God
--
and in these verses, we see God bless Job -- we see salvation and restoration
-- we see God give Job back double everything that he had lost
--
in the beginning, Job had 7,000 sheep -- God gives him back 14,000 -- he had
3,000 camels -- God gave him back 6,000 camels -- he had 500 yoke of oxen and
500 donkeys -- and God gave him back 1,000 of each
--
God even gave him back seven sons and three daughters -- now, you might be
thinking, "God didn't double the amount of children" -- but He did --
there is a lesson here we need to catch
--
just because your family members might die and be taken from you, that doesn't
mean they are not still your family -- Job's children had just gone ahead of
him to heaven -- they were still his children -- they were still alive, just in
a different place
--
and now God has given him more children to replace them on earth -- so, instead
of seven sons and three daughters, Job now has 14 sons and 6 daughters, with
half of them in heaven and the other half on earth
--
now don't take this as a principle from God -- when we walk through tragedy and
loss in our lives, God is not always going to bless you as He blessed Job -- He
is not always going to provide you with double for the troubles you have in
life -- but God will always bless us for our faithfulness as we walk with Him
through these times
--
remember this -- with the exception of the children -- everything Job lost was still
only things -- they were merely possessions -- Job still lost them in the end,
because you aren't carrying anything to heaven with you when you die -- God is
more concerned about your eternal life and the state of your soul than He is
your financial status -- but for His own reasons, God chose to bless Job in
this way at this time
--
now, since our theme for today is praise and thanksgiving, this is the point in
the story where you would expect to find Job praising and thanking God, isn't
it?
--
I mean, when do we normally praise and thank God? -- when things are going good, right? -- when we are blessed -- when
we are healed or protected or receive financial blessings
--
that's when we tend to thank God -- that's when we turn to Him in praise for
everything He has done -- for all that He has provided
--
think about your prayers -- if you're like me, when you thank God for the
things in your life, I would bet they're all praises for God's blessings in one
way or the other -- we thank Him for our food -- for our families -- for our
homes -- for our health -- for healings and the little miracles He does
everyday -- we thank Him for blessing us
--
so, if you were looking for an example of Job praising and thanking God, this
is where you would expect it, isn't it?
--
but the author of this book does not tell us that Job praised and thanked God
for blessing him here in such a bountiful way at the end of the story -- now, I
think there's no doubt that Job thanked God after this blessing, but that's not
real note-worthy, is it? -- isn't that what we all do when we're blessed? --
isn't that what Thanksgiving is all about?
--
but that's not what Job's known for -- Job is known for his patience and his
trust and faithfulness in the midst of trials and troubles -- patience and
trust and faith that were expressed in the form of praise and thanksgiving
--
if you want to see true thanksgiving displayed by Job, you won't find it here
in response to the blessing of God at the end of his life
--
to see true thanksgiving and praise displayed by Job, you have to go back to the
beginning of all his troubles
--
turn back to Chapter 1 and look with me at verses 20-22
Job
1:20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to
the ground in worship 21 and said:
“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.”
22
In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.
-- now flip over to Chapter 2:9
Job 2:9 His wife said to him,
“Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!”
10 He replied, “You are
talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”
In all this, Job did not sin
in what he said.
--
these are amazing examples of praise and thanksgiving -- "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."
--
this is the moment when Job has just been told that all of his possessions had
been taken away -- that all of his servants but a handful had been killed --
and that his very own children -- all seven of his sons and all three of his
daughters -- had died while they celebrated at the oldest brother's house
--
this is the moment when his health has been taken and Job is sitting in pain
and agony in the midst of an ash heap, scraping himself with a broken piece of
pottery for the slightest relief
--
and in the midst of total and complete chaos and loss, Job praised God
--
in the midst of the trials -- in the midst of the troubles -- Job didn’t shake
his fist at God and curse him as his wife told him to do -- instead, he
worshiped God and offered up praise and thanksgiving
--
now, keep in mind that we know two things that Job and his wife didn't -- we
know how the troubles began -- they all started when Satan asked for permission
to afflict Job as a test of Job's faith in God -- Satan contended that Job
would not continue to worship and follow God in the midst of trial and trouble,
so God gave Satan permission to take all of Job's possessions and family and
health as a test of Job’s faithfulness
--
just as an aside, have you ever noticed that Satan didn't take Job's wife and
friends? -- have you ever wondered why? -- if you've read the book, I think
it's obvious -- Satan knew that Job's wife and friends would not help him and
encourage him but would serve as a thorn in his side during this time of trial
and testing -- we all have friends like that, don’t we?
--
so now we know how the story started -- and we also know how it ends -- we know
that Job suffers for a while and then is blessed doubly by God -- getting back
all he had and more
--
but, at this point in his life -- here at the start of all his troubles -- Job
didn't know either of these two things -- he doesn’t know why he is suffering
and walking through such a tragedy in his life -- and he has no idea that God
is going to restore all of his possessions at the end of the story
--
all Job knows is that he has been trying to live a good and godly life and now,
for seemingly no reason at all, the bottom has dropped out and he has lost
everything
--
Job doesn't know how this is going to end -- it seems that he doesn't have much
hope of things ever getting better -- but, despite all of this, Job does
something that very few of us would do given similar situations
--
in the midst of his tragedy -- in the midst of his loss -- while he is sitting
in an ash heap and suffering from painful sores all across his body -- Job worships
God -- he praises God -- he offers thanks to God
--
how do we respond when troubles come our way? -- what do we do when it seems as
if all hope is lost? -- do we rant and rail against God? -- do we question why
this is happening?
--
or do we bow down like Job and say, "may the name of the Lord be
praised?"
--
are we only thankful for God when the sun is shining?
--
we need to learn from Job’s example and learn to thank God and worship and
praise and trust Him even in the midst of the storms
III. Closing
--
I want to bring this to a close by sharing with you a story about a woman named
Sandra who was at the lowest point she had ever been in her life
--
until recently, things had been going good for Sandra -- she lived a blessed
life with her husband and their child -- and then she got pregnant for the
second time -- but four months into the pregnancy, a "minor"
automobile accident stole her joy and she lost her baby
--
this week, Thanksgiving week, was the time she would have delivered their
infant son
--
she grieved over her loss -- and felt even worse as troubles in her life
multiplied -- her husband was having problems at work, and was being threatened
that he would be transferred if he didn't take a lower paying position
--
Her sister had called to say that she could not come for Thanksgiving -- and,
to make things worse, Sandra's best friend suggested that Sandra's grief was a
God-given path to maturity that would allow her to empathize with others who
suffer.
--
"She has no idea what I'm feeling," Sandra thought --
"Thanksgiving? Thankful for what?" she wondered. "For a careless
driver whose truck was hardly scratched when he rear-ended my car? For an
airbag that saved my life, but took my child's?"
--
she walked into a florist’s shop and told the florist that she needed a
Thanksgiving arrangement -- the florist asked, "do you want the beautiful
but ordinary -- or would you like to challenge the day with a favorite I call
the Thanksgiving Special? -- are you looking for something that conveys
gratitude this thanksgiving?"
--
"Not exactly!" Sandra blurted out. "In the last five months,
everything that could go wrong has gone wrong." -- Sandra regretted her
outburst, and was surprised when the clerk said, "I have the perfect
arrangement for you."
--
the bell on the door rang, and the clerk greeted the new customer, "Hi,
Barbara... let me get your order." -- She excused herself and walked back
to a small workroom, then quickly reappeared, carrying an arrangement of
greenery, bows, and what appeared to be long-stemmed thorny roses. -- Except
the ends of the rose stems were neatly snipped: there were no flowers.
--
"Do you want these in a box?" asked the clerk. -- Sandra watched for
the customer's response. -- Was this a joke? Who would want rose stems with no
flowers! -- She waited for laughter, but neither woman laughed.
--
"Yes, please," Barbara replied with an appreciative smile.
"You'd think after three years of getting the special, I wouldn't be so
moved by its significance, but I can feel it right here, all over again."
-- She said, as she gently tapped her chest.
--
Sandra stammered, "That lady just left with a bouquet of no flowers!"
-- "That's right, said the clerk. "I cut off the flowers. That's the
'Special'. I call it the Thanksgiving Thorns Bouquet."
--
"Oh, come on!" Sandra said. "You can't tell me someone is
willing to pay for that!"
--
"Barbara came into the shop three years ago, feeling much as you do,
today," explained the clerk. -- "She thought she had very little to
be thankful for. She had just lost her father to cancer; the family business
was failing; her son had gotten into drugs; and she was facing major
surgery."
--
"That same year I had lost my husband," continued the clerk.
"For the first time in my life, I had to spend the holidays alone. I had
no children, no husband, no family nearby, and too much debt to allow any
travel."
--
"So, what did you do?" asked Sandra. -- "I learned to be
thankful for the thorns," answered the clerk quietly. -- "I've always
thanked God for the good things in my life and I NEVER questioned Him why those
GOOD things happened to me, but when the bad stuff hit, I cried out, "WHY?
WHY Me?!"
--
“It took time for me to learn that the dark times are important to our faith!
-- I have always enjoyed the 'flowers' of my life, but it took the thorns to
show me the beauty of God's comfort! -- You know, the Bible says that God
comforts us when we're afflicted, and from His
consolation we learn to comfort others."
--
Sandra sucked in her breath, as she thought about what her friend had tried to
tell her. "I guess the truth is, I don't want comfort. -- I've lost a baby
and I'm angry with God." -- "I don't know if I can be thankful for
the thorns in my life." Sandra said to the clerk. "It's all too...
fresh."
--
"Well," the clerk replied carefully, "my experience has shown me
that the thorns make the roses more precious. -- We treasure God's providential
care more during trouble than at any other time. -- Remember that it was a
crown of thorns that Jesus wore so we might know His love. Don't resent the
thorns."
--
Tears rolled down Sandra's cheeks. For the first time since the accident, she
loosened her grip on her resentment. "I'll take those twelve long-stemmed
thorns, please," she managed to choke out.
--
"Take them as a gift for you from me" -- The clerk smiled and handed
a card to Sandra. "I'll attach this card to your arrangement, but maybe
you would like to read it first."
--
It read: "My God, I have never thanked You for my thorns -- I have thanked
You a thousand times for my roses, but never once for my thorns -- Teach me the
glory of the cross I bear; teach me the value of my thorns -- Show me that I
have climbed closer to You along the path of pain -- Show me that, through my
tears, the colors of Your rainbow look much more brilliant."
--
the familiar passage in James 1:2-4 says, "Consider it pure joy, my
brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the
testing of your faith develops perseverance.
Perseverance must finish its work so
that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."
--
the story of Job reminds us that we are called to praise and thank God for both
the flowers and the thorns -- for both the rain and the rainbow -- for both the
valley and the mountain
--
it is not for the weak of heart or for the weak in faith -- it is for the man
and woman of God -- the ones who are growing in grace and maturity and walking
with Christ down all the paths of life
--
we are called to look past the momentary trials of this life to the glorious
future that exists because of the atoning death of our Lord Jesus Christ
--
the lesson of Job reminds us that into every life, a little rain must fall --
because it is in the rain that we find nourishment -- it is in the rain that we
find faith -- it is in the rain that we learn to trust in God and God alone for
salvation -- it is in the rain that we learn to appreciate the sunshine all the
more
--
when all has been taken, on what will you stand? -- Job stood firmly on the
promise of God -- and he trusted that, no matter what happened, God would be
faithful to him to the very end
--
in Job 13:15, Job exclaimed to his friends, "Though He slay me, yet will I
trust in Him"
-- we find Job's thankfulness and
praise, not in the afterglow of a double-blessing at the end of the book, but
in the midst of the trial and heartache
--
Job praised and thanked God for both the flowers and the thorns -- and God
wants us to do the same -- He wants us to praise and thank Him, not only for
His blessings, but also for the trials that He allows to come into our lives to
draw us close to Him and to shape us into the people that He has called us to
be
--
as we close today on this Thanksgiving week and prepare to take a moment this
week to pause and thank God for His presence and His providence in our lives, I
want to encourage you to not only thank God for the blessings but to say a
prayer of thanksgiving to God for the trials that we experience on a daily
basis
--
thank God for loving you enough to let them come your way -- thank God for
being there with you in the midst of the storm to lead you through them safely
to the other side -- thank God for the way these trials and troubles helped
mature your faith and strengthen your trust in Him -- and thank God for the
certainty of eternal life with Him
--
on this last Sunday before Thanksgiving, let me share with you the words from a
familiar praise song that sums up well the attitude we should have on this day:
Blessed
Be Your Name
In
the land that is plentiful
Where
Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed
be Your name
Blessed
Be Your name
When
I'm found in the desert place
Though
I walk through the wilderness
Blessed
Be Your name
Every
blessing You pour out
I'll
turn back to praise
When
the darkness closes in, Lord
Still
I will say
Blessed
be the name of the Lord
Blessed
be Your name
Blessed
be the name of the Lord
Blessed
be Your glorious name
-- let us pray
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