And I don't think I've ever been this nervous standing in the pulpit to preach. And it's not that I ain't got anything to say. I don't want to say the right thing, but it is an honor to stand behind your pulpit, Brother Edward. And every time I get to see Brother Edward, I tell him, I say, you remind me of my father. And he don't like that compliment, but I just I mean, I just go around and adopt people. I mean, and I just adopted the Dixons. I'm just one of them. And so, amen. And but it is an honor to be here. I'm just trying to get direction on what I need to do this evening. And so y'all just hang on and wait for me to get hooked up with him and we'll be all right. But I just want to thank the Lord for his goodness in my life. God is so good. So many times we get to doing things in life, and Brother Jerry, we realize, you know what, I think I did that. I think I handled that pretty well, not realizing that God and His sovereignty is behind the scenes working it for my good and for His glory. And I just thank God for being so good to me. I couldn't do what I do if it wasn't for the Lord. Going up and down these roads, you pass tangled mess after tangled mess, the metal, and you think, that could have been me. That could have been my family. But God's good to protect me time and time again. I just want to say thank you. Praise His name. You have your Bibles this evening going into the book of Job. Job chapter number one. In the last few years, we hit this thing of COVID and now we're on the back side of it, but still trying to figure out what's going on. And I've never seen God's people as distressed and as fearful as they are. And my first response wants to be, what are you thinking? But not just Christians, but preachers that are calling me and saying, what do I do? And I ain't got no answer, Brother Alex. But for some reason, God's allowed them to call me and I sit there on the phone and they're saying, I'm done. I'm quitting. I'm through. In about five minutes of the conversation, somewhere between His line and my line. Oh, brother Jeff, God steps in and He says, you know what? I think I'm going to go a little further. And I know it ain't nothing to me, but I know that God's in heaven saying, don't quit. Don't quit. And here we find in the book of Job, chapter number 1, that God is allowing something to happen to His servant Job. Can I say this very quickly? We see in verse number one, we see the character of Job. Notice what it says. 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, and his substance also was seven thousand sheep. 300,000 camels, a 500 yoke of oxen and 500 sea asses in 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 wanted day and sent and called to their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. It was so when the days of their feasting were gone about that Job sent and sanctified them. rose up early in the morning and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them off. For Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, cursed God and their hearts. Thus did Job continually let us pray. Your heavenly Father, help us. God, we ask, Lord, that the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable, not to these before me, but to Thee. God, we'll be sure to thank you, praise you, glorify your holy name in Jesus' name. Amen and amen. I look at this passage and I've already said, but I see in verse number one, I see the character of Job. The Bible says that he was a man that was perfect, feared God and eschewed evil. Not only do I see his character, but I see his children. In verse number two, They were a representation of who he was. Not only do I see his character and his children, but I see his considerable wealth in verse number 4, verse number 3. God had blessed him. But then in verse number 5, I see his Christianity. He's here and he's worshipping God continually. He's sacrificing to the Lord. Before any news of any death, before the news of any loss, he's at an altar. And he's worshipping the God of heaven. Why do people get in such a rage when problems come, difficulties come, troubles come? Because before it ever starts, they're not at His feet worshipping. And when trouble comes, they begin to run. Say, where's God? Where's the help? Where were you before the help? See, Job knows it might not hit today, but there's a day coming when trouble will come. I believe we're living in a 21st century Christianity where they thought everything would be good, everything would be hunky-dory, everything would be fine. Hey, we're living a grand life, but they did not see the trouble on the horizon, and they had not prepared themselves for what was to come. As for me and my house, They had never nailed that down. So when Scrumble came, and the first time that they saw an opportunity, they jumped ship. They got out. Why? Because they were never in. But here he is, we see his Christianity. He's not one of those that stands up and says, well, I want to thank God for his goodness this week, but next week have the mulligrams and be down and out because nothing's going his way. But he said, the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh. Blessed be the name of the Lord. We see in this Christianity, can I say this? We see that he's sobering. The Bible says that he rose up early. We see that he's sanctifying. The Bible says that he sanctified not only for himself, but for his children. He's not only concerned about himself, but he's concerned about those around him. Oh, that's not 21st Christianity. 21st Christianity, it's all about me. It's all about mine. It's all about what I can get. If I ain't getting the glory, I ain't doing it. If it's not me in the central position, I ain't doing it. If it ain't me singing it, I don't want no part of it. And if it ain't me playing, I don't want to do it. And if it's not me getting glory, well, you can forget it. But here's Job. Oh, he ain't standing in priesthood. Oh, he ain't standing and singing. But day after day, just doing what God had called him to do and faithful to it. The greatest accomplishment a child of God can be is that that he is found faithful. Sobering, sanctifying. But then we see that he's sacrificing burnt offerings. Notice, if you will, the Bible says, according in verse number five to the number of them all, he was scoring. He said, God, this one, would you touch them and use them? God, this one, the first seven children, we don't know their names. We don't know who they are. God somehow decided not to put their names in there. But even so, Job's saying, I'm scoring and I'm praying and I'm asking God in my daily devotions and in my walk, God, this one would you help? God, this one would you touch? God, this one would you call? Can I ask you this question? How burdened are you for your family? How concerned are you? Well, it's just us having a good time and us having a great time. But no, it's more than that. It's souls in the balance between heaven and hell. He was sobering. When was he doing this? Before. Before it all started. There he was. Not only was he scoring, but he was feeling. He said, it may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts. What's your burden for your children? What's your burden for your family this evening? Then it was sustaining. Thus did Job continually. This was all before God and Satan had a conversation on the behalf of Job. But he had already made a point. He had already made up his mind. He had done, made it up, what he was going to do. But if you will, go into Job chapter number 23. Chapter number 23. Here we find that Satan has come. God has removed this anvil, some things in Job's life, and it looks like Satan has turned his world upside down. Notice that now, verse number eight, behold, he says, I'll go forward, but he's not there. And backward, but I cannot perceive him. Hold the left hand where he does work, but I cannot behold him. He hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him. But he knoweth But He knoweth the way that I take. And when He hath tried me, I shall. Well, glory to God. I'm glad that He didn't say, well, maybe. Well, we'll look and see how it turns out. But it's a promise. I shall come forth as gold. Here we find Job, not before, but beneath. And he's doing the same thing that he was doing before. Here he is, worshiping God beneath the load, beneath the trowel, beneath the valley, saying, God, I don't know what you've done. God, I don't know where you're at, but I know this. You're still God. You are who you said you are. And when I can't trust anything, when I can't rest anything, I can rest in the fact that you'll do what you said you'll do. And some way, somehow, church, we forgot what He said. And we're throwing up our hands and saying it's over. It's done. We might as well just close the doors and go to the house. And can I tell you, preacher, it ain't time to shut it down. It ain't time to close the doors. It's time to ramp it up. It's time to build the fire. It's time to do some more. Why? Because the day's approaching. Here's Joe beneath it, and he's doing what he was doing before, worshiping God. No answers, no revelation, no direction. Seven tons, three daughters buried on the hillside in the graveyard. His mind full of unanswered questions. But Job stacking rocks over graves saying, blessed be the name of the Lord. I don't understand how Job could go through what he went through and do what he did and not lose his ever-loving mind other than the fact that God was over him. God was hovering over him. God was there. God was protected. But I look at Job. They say that Job is the oldest book in the Bible, predates Genesis. So there's Job in the midst, beneath the burdens of his life, without any recording of the Word of God, and yet he's steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of God, got his eyes fixed on Jesus. saying, I'm not going anywhere. His wife says, just curse God and die. I'd rather bury you than to see you go through what you're going through. And he says, oh, honey, it's all right. It's OK. We will come forth. And he didn't even have a copy of the Word of God. What's our excuse? He didn't even have the finitude, but he had a word from God. And we got 66 books telling everything that what he's doing right now. Hey, what he's doing right now. And we still lose faith, lose hope. We're torn in pieces saying, where's God? What's he doing? And we've got the answer. But still fearful. Beneath it. He said, though He slay me. Yes, can I trust Him? Beneath the burden of Job, we see that He's got a solid foundation. He said, my foot hath held His steps. We see a strong form. He says, His way that I kept cannot decline. We see a spoken formula. He says neither have I gone back from the commandment of His lips. We've gotten so separated from God that we can't hear what He's saying. And then we're looking for answers within ourselves. Well, we've got to change this. If we got to do this, we ain't got to change nothing. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. And I understand there's some things that we might need to do. But hey, there's a whole lot that we ain't got to fix. There's a whole lot that we ain't got to change. Hey, let them go the way they're going. Hey, but I like the old book. And praise God, I like the old way. He's got a spoken formula. He said it ain't failed me yet. I ain't moving. His friend's trying to convince him everything that's wrong with him. He says, well, say what you want to say. He says, but hey, I've got what I need. We see a sustaining feasting. He said, I've esteemed the words of his mouth more than necessary food. Oh, he ain't saying that before the trouble. He's saying it beneath the trouble. He ain't forgot who God is. Praise. I got a text this afternoon. Somebody I don't even know messaged me and said, I've been going through some stuff, facing depression and anxiety. It ain't nothing about me, Brother Josh, but he said, he said, I got a hold of your music. And I've been listening to your CDs. And he said, your seedings have brought me through that anxiety and that depression. And where once I was teaching to take my life, just by listening to the words and the songs, sister, of that music, it's changed me. And it's helped me. And I just want to reach out and say, keep on. Just keep doing what you're doing. Oh, do you know what that does to me here in November when I'm ready to quit and I'm ready to go to the house, Jared, and say, forget it all, dragging my family across this country and saying, God, is it even worth it? Here's somebody I ain't never met in my life. Whoa! You don't know how many times I've been sitting in the hotel room with my wife and she look at me with tears in her eyes and say, I'm quitting, I'm done, I'm going to the house and just that time somebody called me and it's a youth group singing, I'll just bring it all to him. Said they, the songs don't help them, but they wanted to send this to you. There in the room with my wife, we're weeping and crying and realize God ain't done yet, but he's still working. And it ain't for nothing, but it's for a greater work. What I know, I say praise his name. Last year, Saturday night singing, Jared decided to do it. He called and said, we'll put y'all on there. We got a spot just for y'all. I said, praise God. Amen. It's like hee haw all over. We got on there and sang our bit and we got off. Soon as we got off, dang, my phone hit. Facebook message or somebody said, I sit in there, my wife's in the hospital with terminal ill cancer. My son's laying in his room with cancer as well. And I'm looking at these bills in front of me on the kitchen table, trying to figure out what I'm going to do. And he said, the only thought that came through my mind was if I end my life, my insurance policy will take care of him. And he said, I had my gun sitting right there. He said, I was fixing to put it in my mouth and blow my brains into eternity. And he said, about that time, Dane, my phone went off and I got a notification Saturday night singing. He said, I turned it on. And he said, y'all are singing If It Matters to You. If it matters to you. He said, right there, right then, God came in. Brother Mike, and he said, I knew that I ain't got to pull the trigger on that thing, because God's got me. I'm saying beneath it all, you want to end things, and you want to do things, and the devil's telling you, pull the trigger. Beneath it, here's Job. Oh, looking for answers that his friends can't help him with. But he's resting in one thing and one thing alone. And that is God. Chapter 1, Job was worshipping God. Before the trouble he was at an altar. Then we find him beneath the load of his trouble. Not wavering, not crumbling, but beneath. He's still worshipping. Proclaiming who it is that holds him steadfast, unmovable. Not fearful, but looking to the hills. Go with me one more time. Job chapter 42. Here we find him at the end. He was worshiping God before. He was worshipping God beneath, and so many times, we can't get through the beneath. Because it's too hard. It hurts too bad. I ain't looking at you like I'm some super spiritual person. I'm not. Because we all face it. We all want to quit. We're all tired. We're all give up. You say, well, I ain't there yet. Well, just hang on, honey. It's a coming. But notice at the end. Notice verse 16. After this. There is. But after this. Oh, after this lived Job. 140 years. And so it's sons, it's sons, sons, even for generations. Can I say it ain't over? There is an after this. It may get a little rough in this. It may get a little harder in this. It may get difficult in this. But there will be an after this. The same thing he was doing before, beneath his affliction, and the same thing he was doing before his affliction is the same thing that he's doing beyond his affliction. I'm glad that he's God before. I'm glad that he's God beneath. But I'm glad that he's God beyond what we're going through. How can I say that he's my advocate before? He's my advocate beneath. He's my advocate beyond, hallelujah. He's the anchor of days. He's the beloved. He's the begotten. He's the bread. He's the bright and morning star, when, before, beneath, and beyond. He's the captain. He's the chief cornerstone. He's the counselor. He's the covenant. He's the, I owe Him, the elect, the everlasting Father. He's the finisher of faith. He's the friend. He's the fountain of life. He's the glorious Lord. He's the help. He's the hoard of salvation, the head of the church, the high priest. He's heaven's wonder, the Holy One. You say, when is He this? Before, beneath, and beyond. He doesn't change. He's never changing. He's I Am. He's the Inheritance. He's the Immortal, the Invisible, the Intercessor. He's the King of Israel, the King of Kings, King of Glory, King of Salem. He's the King of Righteousness. He's the Life. He's the Light. He's the Lily. He's the Lawgiver. He's the Message. He's the Messenger. He's the Mercy, the Mighty God, when, before, beneath and beyond. He's the Omega. He's the Altogether Lovely. He's the Potentate. He's the Physician. He's the Rose of Sharon, the Resurrection. He is the Redeemer. He's the Rock of Ages, before, beneath and beyond. He's the Shepherd. He's the Shield. He's the Savior, the Security, the Sacrifice, the Savior of the shallow. He's the Teacher, the Treasure. He's the True Vine. He is very God and beside Him there is no else. He learned this. before, beneath and beyond. So many times we get stuck in what we're facing in real life. And when we think, we think, we think that, God, this is just me. But we fail to realize, Brother Dax, that it's not just me. Let me finish this up. Let me finish this up. At the end of his life, God gives him ten more children. The first ten, we don't know no name of who they are. The last ten, all we get is the last three daughters that he has. Now begin to look at these daughters and notice their names here in verse number 14. Jemima, Tezia, and Karen Hapuch. Jemima means he will seal. He will spoil. He will warm. It speaks of affection. and being affectionate like a dove. It speaks in the masculine noun of being fermented like wine, to be intoxicated. I believe that was Job before. Blessed by God. Enjoying the things of God, the blessings of God. Intoxicated with his presence, with who he was. living what seems to be a prosperous life. Can I tell you the day that I met Jesus, I got intoxicated with who he was and what he had done for me, Brother Jeff. And I ain't never got over. Somebody once said, I don't understand these people. All they can do is shout about their salvation. Well, honey, I got saved off a church. He was going to church nine months before I ever went to church for the day. All I know is church. But the day I got saved, business picked up and church got a little different. Because it wasn't just people shouting, but it was people shouting about something that I understood about. So the chow spilled over on me a little bit, Brother Alex. And I got intoxicated with the love of Christ, with the mercy of God, with His longsufferingness and His gentleness. Not toward mom and daddy anymore, but toward me. Oh, I'm reminded of David in Psalms 145. At the end of his life, he said, the Lord's great and his greatness is unsearchable. The day I got saved, I realized and got a little taste of how great he was, that he would want to die and save an old boy like me. Well, glory to God. I feel like Reverend Foley and say, slap your neighbor. This is preaching right here. Hallelujah. It is a banqueting, this word, Jemima. But then he has a second daughter and he names her Kezia. This word means literally peeled, literally to be skinned out. It is the key to the tree where we get what is known as cinnamon. The way that cinnamon's harvested is they literally peel the bark off that tree. They bruise that tree. They wound that tree. And in wounding and in bruising, the sap that is harvested creates a most beautiful fragrance known as cinnamon. Here's Job that's just come through the darkest days of his life where the devil's trying to get him to die, to kill himself, just to point him in the face of God and say, look what he did. Some writers say that when his wife came saying, curse God and die, what she was really saying was, you end it. You commit suicide. And the devil knew that he couldn't take his life, but if he could convince Job to do it himself, he'd win. And God had enough confidence in Job that he said, here he is. Do what you will with him. Instead, he ain't going to waver. He ain't going to change. I know we've heard it. But what if you were Job? The word kinship literally means to kick your sin against a sharp object. As bad as that hurt was the pain that Job went through. But in going through that pain, there was a beautiful fragrance. that was released into the portals of glory. And there was God saying, there's my servant of whom I'm pleased. Then we see this last daughter, Karen Hoplitch. It means the horn of paint. It means to be beautiful and white like ivory. The definition carries the connotation of this, a woman that has adorned herself with beautiful makeup, has sat in the mirror for hours not torturing you but preparing herself to be presented to her husband. sitting in the car, honking the horns, saying, will you hurry up, woman? But there she is inside saying, I love him so much that I'm willing to take a little extra time, willing to prepare a little bit more, because I want to blow his socks off when I step out. And here's God adorning Job, saying, you're my bride. You're the one that I love so much. Just keep on. And in the pain, and in the heartache, God is the one with the paintbrush. And He's still painting. I'm reminded of this story I just heard a few days ago. A young couple that was out on vacation. They decided to hike this mountain. Not prepared for the journey ahead. Not knowing the elements as they rose higher in elevation. Facing wind, rain, sleet, snow. finally arriving on the pinnacle of that mountain, hiking over 4,000 feet. When they got to the top, they realized that there was a road and there were people that had drove vans up and buses up and cars up. And they looked at the struggle of the journey that they took. But as they set up there and they looked at the view that they were on, it was a little more sweeter because of the journey that it took for them to get up there. The other people then drove the road. It was easy. But when they got up there, it didn't mean as much. Here's Job. He's been adorned by God Himself. He says it was not all for naught, but I had a plan for you. Can I tell you, I don't know what you go through and I don't know what you face, but there's people represented here that have been through it. Can I tell you, it's just God adorning you. And it's God preparing you. And I'm saying to you, don't give up. Don't quit. For Jared, I'm telling you, don't give up and don't quit. There's people in here that I consider friends. And I'm telling you, don't give up, Brother Scotty. Brother Mike, has anybody told you today? They appreciate you. I got tired of hearing him tell me that, so I try and beat him to the punch. Brother Skip, all that you've been through, You can't preach like you used to preach. But keep on. Brother Josh, everything you've been through, just keep on. Well, glory to God. Hey, there's the prize at the end. Hallelujah. When everybody walks out, forgive. Woo! That's when he walks in. And when the devil's done told you, they all gone and they all hate you. And they all ran you down. There's the God in heaven, standing there with a paintbrush saying, I ain't through, brother Jim. But there's... Woo! And I'm here to tell you, though it seems as though there's times When it feels like people's kicking you, and people's stomping on you, and they're beating you and peeling you back and forth, there's the God in heaven saying, smells pretty good. They can't touch you. Because there was a God that hung on a tree, and they peeled Him. Brother Dash, the more they peeled Him, the more they bruised Him, the sweeter the fragrance was. And I'm here to tell you, you better make up your mind before, because when you're beneath, if you ain't made it up before, he'll shake you to pieces, throw you to part. But if you stay faithful... There'll be an after this. There'll be an after this. I'm glad to know that there's an after this. One day, Brother Joe, the eastern skies to flee. Every wrong will be made right. Hallelujah. Everything that I look at and say, God, why? will be answered, though we scream through a glass darkly, but being face to face. You say, why are you laughing? Because that's all I can do. No. Hallelujah. There'll be an after this. Stay faithful, child of God. Stay true. Don't give up! Don't give up. Y'all awake? I'm thankful that he's faithful before. He's faithful beneath. And he'll be faithful beyond. Let's all stand. You mind the Lord. These altars are open, Brother Jerry.