368 Job cursed his day 369 I loathe my very life

Sermon adapted from, Discovering Christ Day by Day, David Fortner

1. “Job cursed his day.” Sermon adapted from, Discovering Christ Day by Day, David Fortner June 4 Today’s Reading: Job 3-7

2. Job 3:1 NIV After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. 2 He said 3 "May the day of my birth perish, and the night that said, 'A boy is conceived!'

3. This portion of Holy Scripture begins with that perfect and upright man, Job, who feared God and hated evil, cursing the day of his birth, and ends with that same man confessing to the Lord God, apparently in the hearing of Eliphaz, his great sin.

4. Job 7:20 NIV If I have sinned, what have I done to you, you who sees everything we do? Why have you made me your target? Have I become a burden to you? Eliphaz obviously misjudged God’s servant Job, and was a miserable comforter. Job 16:2 NIV "I have heard many things like these; you are miserable comforters, all of you! 3 Will your long-winded speeches never end? What ails you that you keep on arguing?

5. Though this Temanite , of the seed of Esau, accused Job, as did Satan, of hypocrisy, he had many good, instructive words we would be wise to observe. Job 2:4 NIV “Skin for skin!" Satan replied. "A man will give all he has for his own life. 5 But now stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.“

6. Job 15:1 NIV Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied: 2 "Would a wise person answer with empty notions or fill their belly with the hot east wind? 3 Would they argue with useless words, with speeches that have no value? 4 But you even undermine piety and hinder devotion to God. 5 Your sin prompts your mouth; you adopt the tongue of the crafty.

7. God the Holy Spirit can and does make use of men with evil designs to serve the interest of His glory and the good of His elect. Proverbs 8:33 NIV Listen to my instruction and be wise; do not disregard it.

8. This account of Job is one of the most important things revealed in this inspired record of his life. It shows us, even in this earliest book of Holy Scripture, that God’s saints in this world are sinners still. In the examples of great and good men, the Spirit of God graciously and wisely shows us their frailties, imperfections, and sins. While we are called upon to behold the patience of Job, we are to be taught that he was a man of like passions with ourselves. Sinners Still

9. James 5:11 NIV As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. The same was true of Noah, Lot, David, Peter, Paul, and others. Jeremiah behaved just like Job when he was severely afflicted.

10. Jeremiah 20:14 NIV Cursed be the day I was born! May the day my mother bore me not be blessed! 15 Cursed be the man who brought my father the news, who made him very glad, saying, "A child is born to you—a son!" 16 May that man be like the towns the LORD overthrew without pity.

11. May he hear wailing in the morning, a battle cry at noon. 17 For he did not kill me in the womb, with my mother as my grave, her womb enlarged forever. 18 Why did I ever come out of the womb to see trouble and sorrow and to end my days in shame?

12. No excuses are given for the faults, failures, and sins of these men in the Book of God. They are recorded as facts. Nothing more is said about them than the facts themselves.

13. Why are these things written out in bold letters in the Sacred Volume? They are written to teach us that though chosen, redeemed, justified, and sanctified by the grace of God, as long as we live in this world, all saved sinners are people with two warring natures: flesh and spirit, the old man and the new. Our only righteousness is Christ our Savior.

14. Knowing these things, let us ever look to Christ, begging Him to keep us from the evil that is in us. And let us ask of God grace to be gracious to our fallen brothers and sisters, restoring the fallen in the spirit of meekness and bearing one another’s burdens, in the fulfilling of the law of Christ.

15. Galatians 6:1 NIV Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. 2 Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3 If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves.

16. What Job said about the day of a man’s birth, as it concerns our being born in sin, is certainly true. And in this spiritual sense, the day of our death, when we die to sin and are new born unto a life of righteousness in Christ Jesus, by the regenerating work of God the Holy Spirit, is far better. Ecclesiastes 7:1 NIV A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth. Birth and Death

17. If in His infinite mercy the Lord God has given you and me a new life in Christ, we should ever remember and give thanks to Him for His great blessings of grace upon us, both in our old creation and in our new. Many have cursed the day of their birth in nature, including me, I must confess to my shame. Oh, how I now bless God for the day of my new birth in Christ!

18. What Job says of the grave for those dying in the Lord, is true indeed and most blessed. For the believer, death is entering into rest and the ceasing of all trouble. But without Christ, death like that of an infant, who never saw the light of day, would be indescribably more desirable. If the damned in hell could speak to men upon earth, all would say, “Amen.” The Grave

19. Though Job complained bitterly in his pain of body and soul, God graciously restrained him and kept him from Satan’s designs against him. Though he was provoked by the adversary to curse the day of his birth, we do not hear a word of him cursing God. No Hypocrisy

20. That was Satan’s accusation. He had said that if the Lord God touched all he had, Job would curse God to His face; but that never happened. God prevented it by His grace working mightily in and upon the object of His love. God permitted the devil to afflict Job severely, because he had accused Job of hypocrisy, and said that he had no real love of God in his heart.

21. But the accuser was cast down! Job never forsook his Redeemer, or gave up his hope in Christ. Under all his great and long trials, this man of exemplary faith never spoke a word against God, though in honesty he so despised himself that he said to the God he loved and trusted.

22. Job 7:16 NIV I despise my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone; my days have no meaning. Spirit of God, give me grace so to despise myself, and trust my God, while I await my appointed deliverance into heavenly glory, and freedom from my sin, the source of all my sorrows here.

23. “I loathe my very life!” Sermon adapted from, Discovering Christ Day by Day, David Fortner June 5 Today’s Reading: Job 8-11

24. Job 10:1 NIV "I loathe my very life; therefore I will give free rein to my complaint and speak out in the bitterness of my soul.

25. Poor Job! What mere mortal has known such trials as those he was afflicted? The Lord God had, by the instrumentality of Satan’s hellish cruelty, taken away all his family, all his wealth, his health and his reputation of high esteem.

26. Added to that are these three friends who became his tormentors. Both Eliphaz and Bildad groundlessly accused God’s servant of hypocrisy. Satan used Job’s friends to try to expose Job as the hypocrite he accused him of being.

27. Then Zophar spoke. Of Job’s three friends, he seems to have been the most cruel. Eliphaz and Bildad had, in some measure, softened their speech. Zophar called Job a hypocrite and a liar, and accused him of mocking God. Let us ever be aware of this fact.

28. When other devices fail, Satan makes even our friends a snare for our souls. Our Lord Jesus tells us plainly a man’s foes are those of his own house and here we see that friends are sometimes our foes. Matthew 10:26 NIV "So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.

29. Again, Bildad gives words of instruction that declare the truth of God as clearly as any inspired apostle, though he spoke for the purpose of condemning one who was just. Job 8:3 NIV Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right?... 20 "Surely God does not reject one who is blameless or strengthen the hands of evildoers. 21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy. Just God

30. Truly, he who is God is both, “ a righteous God and a Savior .” Isaiah 45:21 NIV Declare what is to be, present it— let them take counsel together. Who foretold this long ago, who declared it from the distant past? Was it not I, the LORD? And there is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none but me.

31. Nowhere is this seen so clearly as it is seen in the sacrifice of His Son as our Substitute. God will not save at the expense of His justice. Therefore He sent His own dear Son to Calvary to die in the place of His elect, to declare His righteousness, that He might be both just and the Justifier of His people.

32. Romans 3:23 NIV for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

33. Because the Almighty cannot and will not pervert judgment and justice, because He will not cast away a perfect man, before He could impute sin to the Holy Lord Jesus…. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV

34. What stupendous grace, what wondrous mystery these words contain I cannot tell you. God the Father, — in holy justice and infinite mercy, — “ made ,” to become, created, — “ Him ,” the Lord Jesus Christ, his infinite, well-beloved, only begotten, immaculate Son, — “ sin ,” an awful mass of iniquity, — “ for us ,” helpless, condemned, sinful rebels!

35. Should any ask, “Why was the Holy One made sin? Why did Christ have to die?” The answer is this: God is just. 2 Corinthians 9:15 NIV Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! Then Job replied: "Indeed, I know that this is true. But how can mere mortals prove their innocence before God? Job 9:1,2 NIV

36. No other answer can be given, but this. 2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

37. Job was but a man, like you and me, a man struggling with his flesh, tormented by his miserable comforters, tempted by Satan, and afflicted by his heavenly Father. Much weakness may be seen in this poor, weary soul. His sins are not hidden from us. Yet, Job was God’s. He believed God and loved Him. He knew, contrary to his friend’s accusations, that he was a sinful man, and frankly confessed that fact. Comfort for the Weary

38. Job 9:20 NIV Even if I were innocent, my mouth would condemn me; if I were blameless, it would pronounce me guilty. Those are not the words of a self-righteous man, but the words of a humbled, broken sinner whose only hope is Christ. Yet, Job was weary with his trials, weary with the woes heaped upon him by God’s providence, so he turned to the Lord and pleaded for comfort.

39. Job 10:15 NIV If I am guilty—woe to me! Even if I am innocent, I cannot lift my head, for I am full of shame and drowned in my affliction. Job 10:20 NIV Are not my few days almost over? Turn away from me so I can have a moment's joy

40. Though full of confusion, he knew he was the object of divine favor. Though greatly afflicted, he found comfort in the fact the God who tried him was God his Preserver. He said, You gave me life and showed me kindness, and in your providence watched over my spirit. Job 10:12 NIV

41. How sweet it is for God’s elect to know that in the midst of a thousand afflictions there is no curse! Our dear Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, our Beloved, took all the curse away when He was made a curse for us! What a sweet, soul-reviving, soul-comforting thought for God’s weary ones!

42. Blessed, dearest Redeemer, you took the cup of trembling and drank it all, that your people might drink the cup of salvation, all of it! Receive now our thanks and praise; and give us grace, though we may at times be weary with our lives in this world, never to forget you.

43. You gave me life and showed me kindness, and in your providence watched over my spirit. Job 10:12

44. HAVE YOU HEARD THE GOOD NEWS?

45. Jesus died on the cross for our sins.

46. He was buried and rose on the third day.

47. When He did this He solved 2 problems we all have. He solved our sin problem because He nailed our sins to the cross; & He solved our grave problem when He rose from the dead because it proved we could also rise from the dead.

48. Jesus said, if we want to get in on of all this we must . . . BE BORN AGAIN. FOLLOW HIM; &

49. ISN’T THAT GREAT NEWS? WHO ARE YOU GOING TO SHARE THE GOOD NEWS WITH TODAY?

50. He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. Mark 16:15,16 NIV   This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

51. "Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people." "Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles; let all the peoples extol him." "The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; in him the Gentiles will hope." May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. I myself am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with knowledge and competent to instruct one another. Romans 15:10b,11bc,12bcd-14   NIV  

52. Numbers 6:24 NIV '"The LORD bless you and keep you; 25 the LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace."'