If you would, find your place in the book of Job. The book of Job. While you're finding your place there, I'd just like to say it's a, believe it or not, it is a long and difficult journey from there to here. So your prayers are much appreciated. We'll be reading the first chapter of Job. There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. And that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God and eschewed evil. And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters. His substance also was 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, and 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 she-asses, and a very great household, so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the East. And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one on his day, and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. And it was so when the days of their feasting were gone about that Job sent and sanctified them and rose up early in the morning and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually. Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also among them. And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. 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. Then Satan answered the Lord and said, Doth Job fear God for naught? Hast thou not made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power. Only upon himself put not forth thine hand, So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord. And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house. And there came a messenger unto Job and said, the oxen were plowing and the asses feeding beside them. And the Sabians fell upon them and took them away. Yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword. And I only am escaped alone to tell thee. While he was yet speaking, there came also another and said, The fire of God has fallen from heaven and have burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them. And I only am escaped alone to tell thee. While he was yet speaking, there came also another and said, the Chaldeans made out three bands and fell upon the camels and have carried them away. Yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword. And I only am escaped alone to tell thee. While he was yet speaking, there came also another and said, thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house. And behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead. And I only am escaped alone to tell thee. Then Job arose and rent his mantle and shaved his head and fell down upon the ground and worshiped. and said, naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither. The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. In all this, Joe sinned not, nor charged God foolishly. Let us pray. Father, you are good in all times and you have been far better to me than I deserve. Father, I pray you guard my words tonight and bless what you have prepared in my heart that your people will be blessed and you glorified. In Jesus' name, amen. Follow with me a moment. Once upon a time, there was a high school student who had a dream of becoming a millionaire by buying and selling houses. As soon as he graduated, he studied for his real estate license. passed the board exam, and received his accreditation as a licensed real estate agent. He went to college and discovered the world of commercial real estate and corporate tax exemptions. By the time he was in his mid-20s, his portfolio was in the multiple millions, and his income was about $20,000 a month. Now, have I made up a story to fit my sermon? Or is this person real? That's one of the first issues we face with Job. Could this even be a real person, a real situation? We are brought to the natural reality of verses 1 through 5. You see many modern scholars and preachers occupying pulpits across the country want you to believe that this is simply a story with good morals, an extended parable like Jesus taught, but certainly not something to be taken as factual. In fact, there is a pastor in Greensboro. I visited that church sometime back, and some of you have heard me use this example. I admit it, it was concerning the Book of Jonah, but the premise is the same. And so, she began her sermon, excuse me, she began her sermon with this. Among all biblical scholars, there is no longer any debate that the Book of Jonah is fictional. No one even questions that fact anymore. Beloved, today that is one of the things that we are facing throughout all of Scripture. It just has some good morals. There are no facts there. God, however, is going out of His way to make it clear to today's doubting world that this is an actual historical account Let's consider the details. He lives in an actual place. He lives in a place called Us. This story is not about a nameless character. It's about a man named Job. In fact, he is referenced by Ezekiel and by James. Thus, other biblical writers considered him to be a real man and not a fictional character. He has a family, has a wife and children, ten children in fact. He has a job. He's a farmer. He's wealthy. Details of his wealth are provided, a pretty good portfolio we see. In fact, we find out that he is the wealthiest man around. In fact, God even lets us see the family scrapbook. There's a snapshot of events in their lives. We see what appears to be a birthday party, and the children have come and gathered in one house and are celebrating. To go even further, God tells us what religion he is. Verse 1 tells us what denomination he is. He's a Baptist. He feared God and eschewed evil. Let's look at this Baptist in verse 1. There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job and that man was perfect and upright One that feared God and eschewed evil. Pretty much every sermon in the book of Job has to deal with that word perfect or blameless. The basic idea behind the word in the Hebrew is the idea of completeness. Job was right with God. He was faithful. He was a devout Christian, committed to following God no matter what the cost. Job is a man who has been carved and chiseled by the hand of God until he is complete. And now God is about to remove the veil and reveal his masterpiece to the world. Another thing with this word perfect, and this is absolutely crucial, please remember it, it is the same word used to describe the sacrificial lamb. Leviticus chapter 22 and 21 reads such. When anyone offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering from the herd or from the flock, to be accepted, it must be perfect. There shall be no blemish in it. Thus, we come to an irony. As Job examines his flock to find the perfect sacrifice on earth, we are catapulted into heaven where we find God examining his flock for sacrifice. And that sacrifice will be the perfect Job. Follow with me into this supernatural reality of verses 6 through 12. Verse 6, Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them. We're introduced to Satan here. The the word Satan has two basic ideas or he has two basic purposes in Scripture to be an adversary and an accuser The name Satan appears 14 times in the book of Job more than anywhere else in Scripture Interesting point that you might, you would not notice, but in the Hebrew, when we see the word Satan and God in the book of Job, it is preceded with the, the Satan and the God. We are seeing a picture of a line being drawn through heaven between these two spiritual superpowers. A war between God and Satan, between good and evil is brewing, and the overflow of that battle will come down and show itself tremendously in one man's life. We see that there's far more going on than just what meets the eye. Verse six also tells us, that the angels came to present themselves. The general idea of the word is to stand, but it is always, almost always, used to mean more than that. Two basic uses. To stand passively as to watch the mighty deliverance of God, or to take a stand, to fight as a military array. Two very different things, to stand passively by, or to stand ready to fight. A couple of examples, Exodus 14, 13, as Moses and the children of Israel have come out of Egypt, we read, Moses said to the people, Fear ye not Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord Which will show to you today which he will show to you today for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today You shall see them again no more forever What was he calling them to? to stand passively by and watch God do His work. Then we see the word used in a battle situation concerning Goliath. The Philistine drew near morning and evening and presented himself forty days. We can recall that story as he called them to come down and do battle. We see clearly two different uses of the word to present, and that is going to come into play if you would follow with me as I try to give you a picture of what's happening in heaven. God's angelic army gathers in the heavenly arena and they stand passively as to watch their heavenly commander-in-chief perform one of his great works of salvation. But in their midst is the Satan, and he steps out from among them as an invader and stands defiantly ready to challenge God to a spiritual duel. God asks, where has he been? And Satan responds, walking through your flock like a lion seeking whom I might destroy. Then God offers one of his finest, the perfect Job, to Satan for a sacrifice. But Satan argues, The only reason He serves you is because you have been so good to Him. You have built a wall of protection around Him, His family and everything He has. You have blessed Him too much, but strike Him now and He will curse you to your face. Satan stands opposed to God with his chest bowed and his finger in God's face. The threat has been issued and the silence penetrates the heavens. God turns towards his angelic army and they have tensed with their arms crossing their bodies, gripping their swords, anticipating the command to attack this blasphemer. But God will give them what they came for instead, to see the mighty salvation of the Lord. And then God hands Job over to Satan. Consider this. Satan is still roaming the earth, seeking whom he might destroy. As a Christian, I hope we would all agree, we should all desire to be used by God. So I have a question. Why aren't we being used more than we are? Could it be that while Satan is roaming the earth, seeking whom he might destroy, that he has already made a mockery of us through our sin. I've met many people who claim to be a Christian. They're active in church and can even hold a decent theological conversation. And then, when I see them at another time. I heard them spewing profane words out of their mouths. I realize that in corporate America, profanity is the norm. That doesn't surprise me. In fact, the Lord tells us, an evil man, out of the evil treasure of his heart, bringeth forth that which is evil. For of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh." Beloved, just because it is normal according to society doesn't mean that we can excuse ourselves and behave as they do. We have not been called to normal. When we give ourselves a pass on sin because everyone else considers it normal, what we are doing is exposing what type of treasure is in our hearts. And they know that. The people we work with, they know that. Your coworker no longer sees you as any different than themselves. Your religion has no power. It is only empty words. Why doesn't God use us any more, any more than he is? He can't even trust us to go to work and hold our tongues to speak good and righteous. And hopefully, At this point, many of you are relieved and saying, I don't have that problem. I don't use profane words or profane anything. I'm good to go. I'm not finished. Let's talk about pornography. It is estimated that over 50% of the men sitting in churches today across America engage in pornography. Promise Keepers men, excuse me, 53% of Promise Keepers men viewed porn the week before they were given a survey and asked that question, 53%. Focus on the Family reported that one in seven calls to their helpline is for internet pornography. And this one really struck me. Seventeen percent of women now admit to struggling with pornography. Now, I know that there aren't any porn users in our church. We are the single exception to the largest sin problem facing the modern church today. I'm not even gullible enough to believe that. Statistically speaking, Every other man in this church has viewed pornography this year. And we wonder why God isn't working mighty, mighty ways in our lives. Now I know this has mostly been geared towards men, but ladies you're not exempt either. You know those magazine racks as you walk down the grocery line getting ready to check out and they have all those magazines sitting there? Almost all of them are aimed at women. So I looked and I read some. I read some of the covers. And I found three basic themes on every single one of them. Lose weight and look great. Sex tips and secrets. And movie star scandals. Vanity, immoral relationships, and gossip. Be careful. The adversary distracts you and then accuses you before God. God will not be mocked. Recall the young man I introduced to you earlier, the multi-million dollar portfolio experiencing the American dream, lives in a mansion, drives an exotic sports car, and vacations in Hawaii. But then something overpowers him, a sense of knowing that there is more to life than material things and money. He has a revelation. There must be a God. He starts visiting churches, and the Holy Spirit bathes him in the blood of Jesus Christ, and he becomes a born-again believer. Now he has all this world has to offer, and all the next world has to offer. What could be better, right? But imagine in heaven this scene. Satan says to God, The only reason he has turned to you is because you have given him all of this wealth. Take it away and he will curse you to your face. Beloved, this drags us back to earth for the tragic reality that we find in verses 13 through 19. Satan leaves the presence of God and begins his fully God-authorized assault on Job. First, he loses his oxen and mules and servants. Beloved, this would be like losing your multi-million dollar manufacturing facility and all of your workers. Second, Job loses his sheep and those servants. And this would represent the warehouses full of raw materials, and all of those workers. Millions of dollars gone and many lives taken. Third, Job loses his camels. Imagine your entire fleet of trucks that haul all of your merchandise around the country to be sold, your personal vehicles, your yacht docked down the bay. all of it gone. Utter ruin. Last, Job loses his children. A tragic accident kills all of your children at one time. It is more than I could bear. Joe, a far better man than me. I once met a man who lost his son when he was 12 years old. A man who was once a stallion of a Christian. When his son died, he quit going to church and was only a shell of the man he once was. He was alive, but only bodily. When I tried to talk to him about God, he only said, when I get up there, he is going to have a lot of explaining to do to me. Several years later, I bumped into his wife, so I asked how he was doing. She just dropped her eyes and shook her head. Beloved, That is very close to cursing God. On the other hand, I know a dear lady who lost one of her children. And while it tore her and her family to pieces at the funeral service, I watched her. raise her hands and worship God as she watched her little son go into the ground. What about the young millionaire? Wouldn't you know it, he turned to God and Satan turned on him. Through a series of very special events, all of his real estate investors stopped paying his monthly $20,000 a month income. Then the bank gives him 90 days to repay in full all of his debts, which were several million. Mid-20s, on top of the world. At 30, he's dead broke, no friends, and about to lose his marriage. Why would God hand over one of his own children to Satan? It is because of that little word, perfect. Look with me at the faithful reality. Verses 20 and 21. We see Job worship God and bless God. He does not curse God after all of this happens. But why? But why? I have an answer. When God handed Job over to Satan to be sacrificed, Job was already covered in the blood of the only true perfect sacrifice, the eternal Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world. The perfection of Christ was his strength, the promise of Christ was his courage, and the faithfulness of Christ was his perseverance. Therefore, the Apostle Paul calls us sheep accounted for the slaughter. And as such, we should present ourselves as living sacrifices, which is our reasonable service, in order that we may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. What about our millionaire? He's lost everything. Where does he come out in his trial? After being devastated to his core, he did not run from God. He ran to God. He decided to use his disaster to help others. He started teaching people in his church how to use money to honor God. His first book was called Financial Peace with this slogan. The only way to true financial peace is to walk daily with the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ. He is America's single most popular Christian financial advisor with a daily radio program on over 350 stations with over 3.5 million listeners. Needless to say, he is now worth more than he ever was. He was sacrificed, but never cursed God. When he was cursed, he blessed. I ask you this, has the sacrifice of Christ made you worthy to be his living sacrifice? If you are going through a severe trial and have examined yourself, and it is not because of any sin, I would like to encourage you. It may be that God has chosen to make you His living sacrifice. Keep this in mind. You were not created to enjoy the things of this world. You were not brought into the fold of God for your own happiness, but for your holiness. If you're in a situation where it seems that you are being attacked from every side, do not give up. Stay the course. You may be facing sickness, disease, a wayward child, perhaps an unfaithful spouse. Now is not the time to lash out at God. God will be indebted to no man. Paul tells us, I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." Beloved, as we prepare to partake of the Lord's Supper, may we indeed examine ourselves if we find ourselves in a trial. Have I brought this on myself? Or would God be so kind as to mold and sculpt me to be put through a trial for all the world to see that He may bring me out, refined as gold. Heavenly Father, forgive me for any way that I have slaughtered Your Word. May You be glorified in all, in Jesus' name, amen.