Scripture: Revelation 21:1-5 Job 1, 2, 3, 42
Hurricanes, Tropical Storms, Flooding, Earthquakes, Wild Fires, Tornadoes, Plane crashes, automobile accidents, drug overdoses, gun violence, Nuclear missile testing, Sin, Anger, Hatred, Divorce, Cancer, Stroke, Unemployment, Depression, Loss – Need I go on…?
CHIPPIE NEVER SAW IT COMING
"Chippie the parakeet never saw it coming. One second he was peacefully perched in his cage, sending a song into the air; the next second he was sucked in, washed up, and blown over.
"His problem began when his owner decided to clean his cage with a vacuum. She had stuck the nozzle in to suck up the seeds and feathers at the bottom of the cage when the nearby telephone rang. Instinctively she turned to pick it up. She had barely said hello when--ssswwwwwpppppp! Chippie got sucked in. She gasped, let the phone drop, and switched off the vacuum. With her heart in her mouth, she unzipped the bag.
"There was Chippie--alive but stunned--covered with heavy gray dust. She grabbed him and rushed to the bathtub, turned on the faucet full blast, and held Chippie under a torrent of ice-cold water, power washing him clean. Then it dawned on her that Chippie was soaking wet and shivering. So, she did what any compassionate pet owner would do: she snatched up the hair dryer and blasted him with hot air.
"Did Chippie survive? Yes, but he doesn't sing much anymore. He just sits and stares a lot. It's not hard to see why. Sucked in, washed up, and blown over! It's enough to steal the song from any stout heart." Life is like that sometimes. You don’t see it coming, but life just sucks you up, washes you up and blows you over.
JOB: THE BLESSED ONE
Chapter 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. He had seven sons and three daughters, and he owned 7000 sheep, 3000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen and 500 donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.
His sons used to take turns holding feasts in their homes, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would send and have them purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, "Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts." This was Job's regular custom.
SATAN WANTS TO PROVE GOD WRONG
One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. The Lord said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Satan answered the Lord, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it." Then the Lord said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil." "Does Job fear God for nothing?" Satan replied. "Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face." The Lord said to Satan, "Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger." Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.
ATTACKS ON JOB
1) One day when Job's sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother's house, a messenger came to Job and said, "The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, and the Sabeans attacked and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"
2) While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, "The fire of God fell from the sky and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"
3) While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, "The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"
4) 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, 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!"
20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 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." In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.
Chapter 2 On another day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them to present himself before him. And the Lord said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Satan answered the Lord, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it." Then the Lord said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason." "Skin for skin!" Satan replied. "A man will give all he has for his own life. But stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face." The Lord said to Satan, "Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life."
JOB PHYSICALLY AFFLICTED
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. Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes. His wife said to him, "Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!" 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.
SOME FRIENDS
11 When Job's three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, 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. 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. Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.
Chapter 3 After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. He said: "May the day of my birth perish, and the night it was said, 'A boy is born!' That day — may it turn to darkness; may God above not care about it; may no light shine upon it. May darkness and deep shadow claim it once more; may a cloud settle over it; may blackness overwhelm its light. That night — may thick darkness seize it; may it not be included among the days of the yearn or be entered in any of the months. May that night be barren; may no shout of joy be heard in it. May those who curse days curse that day, those who are ready to rouse Leviathan. May its morning stars become dark; may it wait for daylight in vain and not see the first rays of dawn, for it did not shut the doors of the womb on me to hide trouble from my eyes.
11 "Why did I not perish at birth, and die as I came from the womb?
JOBS TRIALS CHANGED HIS APPEARANCE
The reason that burdens and trials can change us in the way we appear is simply because we allow them to! God desires that we learn to handle our trials by a biblical model instead of allowing them to handle us. Notice what the Lord would have us to do.
1. Learn To Refrain From Worry - Phil. 4:6-7; Matt. 6:25-33.
2. Learn To Rest In The Yoke - Matt. 11:28-30.
3. Learn To Rely On The Lord's Plans - Rom. 8:28.
4. Learn To Remember His Promises - 2 Cor. 4:17; Rom. 8:18; Phil. 4:19.
5. Learn To Regularly Pray About Our Trials - Col. 4:2; 1 Thes. 5:17 (Psa. 55:22).
6. Learn To Rejoice In The Midst Of Trials - 1 Thes. 5:18; Eph. 5:20.
God asks Job 77 questions that can be broken down into 3 basic ones
1) Do you comprehend my creation? (Job 38:1-38) God begins by laying out for Job the intricacies of His creation. And there is a purposeful sarcasm because the wisdom involved in the creation of the world man simply does not possess. But God asks Job, do you understand it all, were you there, you seem to think and speak like you do!
2) Can you care for my creation? (Job 38:39-39:30) God brings up six animals and 5 birds and lays out for Job how they operate in life and are cared for. Then the question is posed to Job, could you do this? You question my wisdom in dealing with you, but do you have the wisdom to deal with all of this?
3) Can you control my creation? (Job 40:6-41:34) God then selects two animals at the top of the creation chain; the Behemoth and the Leviathan. God’s point is: I have the power and wisdom to control these two magnificent animals. Do you Job? Do you they listen to you, are you able to control them?
RESTORATION
Chapter 42:1 Then 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.
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. After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before. The Lord blessed the latter part of Job's life more than the first. He had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen and 1,000 donkeys. And he also had seven sons and three daughters. After this, Job lived a 140 years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. And so he died, old and full of years.
THINGS ARE BETTER HIGHER UP
There was a Christian woman who was always bright, cheerful, and optimistic, even though she was confined to her room because of illness. She lived in an attic apartment on the fifth floor of an old, rundown building. A friend decided to visit her one day and brought along another woman -- a person of great wealth. Since there was no elevator, the two ladies began the long climb upward. When they reached the second floor, the well-to-do woman commented, "What a dark and filthy place!" Her friend replied, "It's better higher up." When they arrived at the third landing, the remark was made, "Things look even worse here." Again, the reply, "It's better higher up." The two women finally reached the attic level, where they found the bedridden saint of God. A smile on her face radiated the joy that filled her heart. Although the room was clean and flowers were on the window sill, the wealthy visitor could not get over the stark surroundings in which this woman lived. She blurted out, "It must be very difficult for you to be here like this!" Without a moment's hesitation, the shut-in responded, "It's better higher up." She was not looking at temporal things. With the eye of faith fixed on the eternal, she had found the secret of true satisfaction and contentment.
Even when we suffer – we can trust the God who created us and has given us new life through his son because even if suffering in this life remains- things are better higher up.
Rev 21:1-5 I saw Heaven and earth new-created. Gone the first Heaven, gone the first earth, gone the sea. I saw Holy Jerusalem, new-created, descending resplendent out of Heaven, as ready for God as a bride for her husband. I heard a voice thunder from the Throne: "Look! Look! God has moved into the neighborhood, making his home with men and women! They're his people, he's their God. He'll wipe every tear from their eyes. Death is gone for good — tears gone, crying gone, pain gone (Hurricanes, Tropical Storms, Flooding, Earthquakes, GONE Wild Fires, Tornadoes, Plane crashes, automobile accidents, GONE drug overdoses, gun violence, Nuclear missile testing, GONE Sin, Anger, Hatred, GONE Divorce, Cancer, Stroke, GONE Unemployment, Depression, Loss GONE) — all the first order of things GONE." The Enthroned continued, "Look! I'm making everything new.
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