Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Music has always been a passion of mine and the piano specifically was something that fascinated me growing up because my mom played the piano at FBC Springfield and continues to play piano to this day.

Whenever you talk to someone who plays the piano, especially someone in college or someone who is playing for concerts and recitals, a lot of practice goes into the fundamentals day in and day out so that the pianist has scales and patterns down by muscle memory.

Training is extremely important to lots of things, but it’s especially important for musicians!

If the pianist has to think about every single note, chord, as well as dynamic change and tempo transition the concert will not be a success because the fingers are not acting subconsciously… The only way a recital will be a success is if the pianist has disciplined their fingers and brain to work in tandem at a moments notice.

The book of Job is not the musical piece that we perform at a concert… It isn’t our piece to perform in the first place.

Rather, the book of Job and other passages in the Bible serve as scales and exercises that we learn from and use to discipline ourselves.

The book of Job is the practice material that helps prepare us for the performance.

The book isn’t a step-by-step guide that gives us all the answers, but it gives us the tools and foundation to pass our test just as musical scales and exercises help a pianist prepare for and succeed at their recital piece.

Last week we began looking at the book of Job and how he handled serious suffering not once, but twice in the opening 2 chapters of this book.

We looked at the background of suffering and why it exists and I pray that in your suffering it is a blessing to know that you’re never walking through it by yourself!

Today as we continue this study we’re going to look at what comes after the suffering and how we deal with future suffering that comes our way.

It’s been shared before that there are 3 fundamental truths that we must hold on to whenever we suffer: 1.

We trust in God. 2. We know God is good.

3. We know God loves us

Whenever we do those 3 things we set ourselves up to trust in God’s perfect plan regardless of what comes to pass!

Studies like this in Job help us grow in our trust in the Lord as we see clear evidence that God is in control and that He loves His children.

He has a plan and a purpose, even when we can’t fully see or understand what it might be.

Today let’s look at some of what follows in this book

After Job’s tragedy, he struggles with what to make of what has happened… just as many of us would!

In the midst of Job’s suffering, though, God is present.

Even in the middle of your doubt and concern, He promises to be near to the brokenhearted and to continue to guide you in the ways of righteousness.

As we study from God’s Word this morning, let’s pray and ask the Lord to guide us as we trust in Him.

God Doesn’t Always Immediately Remove Suffering (Job 1-37)

From chapters 3-31, Job is discussing what has happened with his friends Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar.

These 3 individuals ask Job questions and provide their explanations.

Yet, each time they share that he must’ve done something wrong, Job maintains that he is innocent.

This cycle occurs 3 times with these 3 men as they say something and Job responds and then the next steps up and does the same thing.

This process goes on for weeks and months and the suffering continues to exist.

Job had faith in the Lord in chapters 1-2 and was faithful to worship God in the midst of loss and suffering!

Yet, he was not rewarded by immediate or complete healing as many would desire today!

Job asks the question, “Why” numerous times and this is what we often ask in our suffering.

Why is this happening and how much longer will this last?

As we began last week, we have much to learn about God in times of suffering and one of those things is that God has a purpose in our suffering and sometimes doesn’t take the suffering away, or at least not immediately.

I’m reminded of the suffering experienced by so many in church history.

Take Adoniram Judson for one - some of you have heard of Judson, the 19th century missionary to Burma, or present day Myanmar.

Judson graduated from seminary and had the opportunity to stay close to home and be the associate pastor to a large church in Boston.

He felt God calling him to Burma, though, and he and his wife Ann set sail to Southeast Asia 2 weeks after marrying one another and believing full and well that they’d likely never see their family once again.

They were obedient to following the Lord’s will for their life.

You’d expect God to bless their obedience, right?

They arrived in Burma and it took Judson, a brilliant individual, over 3 years to learn the language.

It took over 7 years until a single person converted to Christianity and 12 years into their mission work and only 18 people had converted in a country of millions.

He was imprisoned, tortured, and forced to do slave labor while in jail.

After a year and a half he was released only to discover that his wife was sick and within 2 months she passed away.

This couple knew suffering well.

Judson was faithful to follow God’s plan for his life and it cost him so much suffering that he might not have experienced had he simply stayed close to home in Boston… Yet, that wasn’t God’s plan for his life.

In your moment of suffering, it’s natural to ask the “why” question and it’s natural to long for suffering to cease.

Yet, as we see in the book of Job, God doesn’t always answer our prayers the way that we’d like in the moment.

Even though suffering exists, there’s a purpose in our pain.

Think to the Garden of Gethsemane as Jesus knew that His time was almost up.

Jesus took his disciples to the Garden and then He took Peter, James, and John deeper into the Garden, and then He went alone to pray with His Father.

Jesus knew what was coming - He knew why He had come in the first place… and this was His prayer

What was in the cup?

The wrath of God against our sin.

Jesus knew He’d have to suffer this punishment and He prayed that if there was any other way, that God would use that method… But each time Jesus said, “your will be done.”

It’s not always God’s will to eliminate suffering in our daily lives.

Church, suffering breaks our heart at times.

It breaks our heart whenever our family suffers.

It breaks our heart whenever we suffer.

It breaks our heart whenever suffering exists on a large scale and we see bad things taking place left and right!

Yet, we can take heart even in the worst of suffering as we understand that suffering one day will cease.

For Job that wasn’t immediately.

It took a long time… Maybe that’s where you’re at today with suffering… You’ve been suffering for a period of time and you’re wondering when it’ll stop.

If this is you today, understand that 2nd...

God Has a Universal View in Our Suffering (Job 38-41)

As Job continues to defend himself before his 3 friends, eventually a 4th friend shows up named Elihu.

His statements and questions are different from the first 3 who approached Job’s suffering as though he deserved the suffering he was enduring because of some sort of sin in his life.

They believed in the logical flow of suffering being a result of disobedience and prosperity being the direct result of righteousness.

Job has successfully defended himself against the principle of Retributive Justice which states that we get what we deserve… But even in defending himself from that conclusion, he hasn’t found an overall answer to his suffering.

In comes Elihu in chapters 32-37 with a different explanation behind his suffering.

Rather than saying that Job had done something wrong - Elihu posits that Job has said something that is not true about God.

Job has said that he is completely blameless and without transgression.

Elihu explains that this is not true!

Even if he was righteous and tried his best to follow God, he was not sinless.

What was Job’s problem in his suffering?

His pride.

What’s going on here?

Why is Job suffering?

God, in His infinite wisdom, has a purpose not to punish but to save.

As one pastor put it, “The pain God causes is like the surgeon’s knife… not like the executioner’s whip.”

If you’ve ever had a major surgery you can imagine the pain that you’d be in without the help of anesthesia!

That would hurt, yet it’s necessary to help our bodies from much more serious injury, pain, or death.

God doesn’t throw purposeless suffering our way… After all, there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus!

If you’re a Christian, you can rejoice that Jesus bore your eternal punishment.

So what happens whenever we suffer?

We suffer because God has a plan in His infinite wisdom to use things like suffering to refine our lives and to mold us to look more like Jesus.

How do we know this?

Let’s look at what God says in His response in chapter 38

God gives Job a virtual tour of the universe thousands of years before virtual reality became a thing in our world!

God shows Job all the things happening in the universe.

The things on the earth, the things in the sea, the things in the heavens, and even the mysteries that puzzle people today.

God asks Job a simple but pointed question, “Where were you when I established the earth?”

What’s the best answer you have for that question?

I have nothing remotely good up my sleeve there.

God doesn’t stop there, though, because God didn’t just create all things and abandon all things… He is actively involved in the lives of His people and His creation.

He provides order in the universe.

He provides shelter and food for these animals.

He puts wisdom in our mind.

Look through chapters 38-39 and you see all of the different things that God is doing every single second.

There are at least 50 things in these 2 chapters that God does and Job has no idea how to do and this is just God’s starting point!