00:00 The Joy and Challenge of Christmas

00:20 When Christmas Isn't Merry

00:35 Faith in Times of Trial

01:34 The Message of Job

02:02 The Yearning of Christmas Songs

05:42 Job's Story of Suffering

09:10 Trusting God in Dark Seasons

11:13 Job's Profound Trust

12:28 Grieving with Hope

15:05 Worship in the Midst of Suffering

16:17 Job's Humble Beginnings and Endings

17:17 Acknowledging God's Sovereignty

18:57 Understanding Christian Expectations

21:20 Gratitude for God's Blessings

23:17 Trusting God's Goodness in Suffering

30:01 Yearning for Jesus and Trusting God's Plan

31:30 Conclusion and Prayer

Well, one of the things that Christmas typically offers is the joy and

2

the, the, the caroling and the excitement.

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In fact, just think about most

of the songs that we just sang.

4

All of them have an upbeat.

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Tilted them where it feels like, man,

Christmas is just this blast of a day.

6

Uh, Merry Christmas.

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Happy holidays, Holly Jolly Christmas.

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We yet we sang all these things.

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But what about when Christmas isn't merry

or when Christmas isn't Holly and jolly?

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What about when there are seasons of

your life that happen to fall into the

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Christmas season where things aren't

going as well as they should go?

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Now, here's a reality of things.

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You might be young or old or

someplace in between, but here's

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what the Bible promises us.

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Every season of your life, you're

either in a time of trial and suffering,

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or you're going to go into one.

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You're between one of those two polls

and you're either resonating with this

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right now and you're saying, yeah,

this particular Christmas is hard.

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I lost a family member.

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I'm struggling with my spouse.

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You know, my kids are

having a difficult time.

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Or God is preparing you to go

back into a season of trial and

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suffering because this is the

regular rhythm of the Christian life.

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Christmas then poses us something

of a challenge, because what it does

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for us is it removes the immediate

context of our family lives and

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says, Hey, joyful, happy, excitement.

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Go to church and sing these awesome songs.

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And, and we should.

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We should, right?

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But how do we deal with these times?

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How do we, how do we actually enjoy

our Christmas when there might be a lot

32

of things pressing for our attention,

things that are heavy and difficult

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and really challenging to our faith?

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Well, I wanna show you this evening.

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Through our small passage in Job

that your faith in God doesn't

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hinder a true and real trust in God.

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Even during a joyful season, it informs

it and in fact it transforms it.

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So I want you to turn in your

Bible to Job chapter one.

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We're gonna look at just three

verses, turn on your Bible or turn

40

in your Bible, whichever one you got.

41

Job chapter one, 20 through 22

is what we're gonna look at.

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And as you're doing that, I just wanna

point out to you that Christmas actually.

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Meets us in this place.

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In fact, one of my favorite

Christmas songs is a song,

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oh, come, oh, come Emmanuel.

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You guys know this song?

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Skillet recently got a little bit

of hot, uh, a little bit of pressure

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and heat because they revamped the

song and they had this really great

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breakdown in the middle of it.

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People were unhappy about that

because they think Christmas song

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should, should have violins and

cellos and not guitars with distortion

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and sound effects like that.

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But let me just point to your

attention what this song says.

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Uh oh.

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Come.

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Oh, come Emmanuel.

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Ransom captive Israel.

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And by the way, you should

know as if you're a musician.

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This song's in a minor

key, uh, a minor key.

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Unlike a major key, has a yearning to it.

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It's begging for resolution.

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It feels like it's

aching towards something.

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And that's what this song is doing.

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Oh, come, oh, come Emanuel and Ransom

Captive Israel Redeem Israel Redeem Your

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People That Mourns in Lonely Exile Here.

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You, you remember Israel's history?

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Israel was exiled both in northern and

the Southern kingdom, and for hundreds of

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years they suffered under the brutal hand

and leadership of, of a foreign dictator

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where m mourning and lonely exile

here until the Son of God appear.

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And then the song crescendos.

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Rejoice, rejoice.

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Emmanuel shall come to the O Israel.

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Now notice here, that's a

yearning for the future.

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He's going to come.

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He's going to come now.

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Christmas is about his coming.

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Is it not?

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Christmas is about us celebrating.

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Jesus has come, he's

been born in the manger.

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He lives his life.

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He dies, uh, on the cross,

and then he resurrects himself

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and he ascends to the Father.

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But this song also sings not just

for the first coming of Emmanuel,

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but for his second coming.

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Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel.

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He shall come to the Oh, Israel.

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And so the song continues to yearn

and beg God, send Jesus back.

88

Things are broken.

89

We need you.

90

And I would argue with you,

not argue, I'd argue to you.

91

This actually is what Christmas is about.

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It is because we suffer.

93

It is because we struggle under the

curse of sin and under the difficulty

94

of this life that we're in, that

God sends Jesus to us for Christmas.

95

He sends it to us to resolve our issues,

to meet us where we are, to incarnate

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himself into our fallen flesh, our

fallen humanity, in order to identify

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with us, in order to redeem us, in

order to give us hope that transcends

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the darkest of Christmas seasons.

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Oh, come.

100

Oh, come Emmanuel.

101

This is a season of joy.

102

I'm not.

103

I'm not tone deaf.

104

This is Christmas and I realize

we just had this awesome time.

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We're having great food, but

Christmas is also a time of yearning.

106

Christmas reminds us that things are

not the way they're supposed to be.

107

In fact, can you relate to this?

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You have anticipation and excitement about

Christmas, and then Christmas comes, and

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Christmas goes and you feel like, wow.

110

I feel like that should have been

more, should have been bigger,

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should have been more satisfying.

112

It should have been better.

113

I had this itch that I really

wanted to scratch, and even

114

though Christmas was awesome.

115

I just didn't feel like I got everything

out of it that I really wanted.

116

There's a yearning that

Christmas brings to us.

117

There is a kind of, uh, a kind of

itching in our soul that is not gonna be

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scratched by the Christmas season, and

that's because Jesus coming to us for

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the first time is meant to point us to

our hope of his returning the next time.

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Songs like, oh, come o come

Emanuel, this Christmas yearning

121

help us grieve without unbelief.

122

They help us hope without denial, and

they give us joy without resolution.

123

The minor key, your life is probably

in a minor key, at least at some

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points in the season where things are

not resolving, things don't feel like

125

they're fitting in the place, and that's

part of what Christmas does for us.

126

It highlights things are not well,

things are broken and they need

127

to be fixed, and the only one

who can do that for us is Jesus.

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As we look at Job, I wanna show

you what it looks like to trust God

129

even in the midst of the darkness.

130

Christmas season, of course,

is often very dark, and that's

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why we put lights in our home.

132

The darkness in our world highlights

the fact that we need a light that

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is transcendent greater than just the

temporary lights that we have indoors.

134

We need a light that is permanent

and that changes everything.

135

Job didn't know about these things.

136

He had a concept, he had an idea.

137

He's probably, you know, uh,

several years before Abraham.

138

So before we even have the Abraham

Covenant in Genesis chapter 15, you have

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Job who knows a little bit about Yahweh.

140

We don't know how.

141

He has some understanding of

who God is and in his life,

142

you might know Job's story.

143

He's blessed.

144

He's called blameless.

145

He is honored by God as a man

who is righteous in his life.

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He takes care of his kids.

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He's got several kids.

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He's got several livestock.

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This man has got it all going on.

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Until one day, until one day God

picks a fight with the devil.

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And he says to him, have you

taken notice of my servant job?

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Now, I don't know about you, but I,

I count my godliness as something

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that protects me against evil.

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And yet it was Job's godliness

that thrusted him into that very

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season that he was about to suffer.

156

So God says to the devil, have you

taken notice of my servant job?

157

God, challenges the devil

says, have you noticed job?

158

And he says, well, of course,

of course Job's gonna follow you

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because you've given him everything.

160

God, he's got the Porsche, he's got

the, you know, he is got the big

161

house, he's got everything he wants.

162

Of course he's gonna follow you,

but I'll tell you what he challenges

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God, I'll tell you what, let me

take away the things that he loves.

164

Then let's see if he'll honor you, if

he'll give you the praise that you're due.

165

Now notice in this, God has to give

approval to the devil to do what he

166

wants to do, and that's what he does.

167

Surprisingly, God allows

a devil to afflict job.

168

We pick up in chapter one, verse 20, and

I wanna show you what happens immediately

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after the devil takes away everything

that he knows and loves his family.

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His kids gone.

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His livestock gone.

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Everything has just been stolen away

from job because he's a godly man.

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Verse 20, then job arose.

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He tore his robe, he shaved his

head, and he fell on the ground.

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And notice this, he worshiped.

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Here's what he said.

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In the midst of his worship, he

confesses to the Lord and perhaps to

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his wife, who's still alive, naked.

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I came from my mother's womb

and naked shall I return.

180

Lord gave and the Lord is taken away.

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Blessed be the name of the Lord.

182

Verse 22 says, in all this job did

not sin or charge God with wrong.

183

In verse 20, we see a

few things about Job.

184

He had just had, uh, evil

that we typically understand

185

as natural and human evil.

186

There was.

187

Fire from heaven, which could have been

lightning, which destroyed his kids.

188

There was winds that CR

caused the house to collapse.

189

And then there's these marauders

that come and kill his family.

190

They, they kidnap them.

191

So there's this blend of human and natural

evil that takes place in job's life.

192

And then on top of that, in

the next chapter, Satan is

193

preparing to steal job's health.

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So if it wasn't enough that his family's

now dead, his kids, that is, and his

195

wealth has been obliterated now his.

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His health.

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The thing that allows him to

keep living is also gonna be

198

threatened in the next chapter.

199

But his response to both of these

devastating losses are remarkable

200

because Joe models something for us

that we so we so infrequently see,

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and this is deep, profound trust.

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He stands in vivid juxtaposition

to this sentimentalized trust.

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We might see in some of the

bestselling Christian books that

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you can get today at the bookstore.

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Trusting God is sometimes.

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Characterized by this syrupy,

uh, I don't know, this, uh,

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serene and painless surrender.

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Uh, you might think about this when

you think of the, the terminology.

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Let go and Let God, or, or that

famous poem, footsteps where the,

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the poem says, oh, you know, uh,

there was only one set of footsteps.

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Why did you leave me, God?

212

And he said, oh, it wasn't that I left

you, it was then that I was carrying you.

213

And I understand what those

are meant to do, but I want you

214

to see Job's, raw trust here.

215

He has just been devastated.

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I want you to just imagine

for just a second, okay?

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Just let's just do a thought exercise.

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I want you to imagine that God allows

job's situation to happen to you.

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He steals your family away, and

on top of that, the stock market

220

crashes everything in your 401k gone.

221

Your savings account is not

very, very thick, so you

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don't have a lot to go off of.

223

Your family's gone.

224

Your, your, your wealth is gone, and

then in just a few short hours, I

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suspect your health is gonna be gone.

226

You're gonna have boils

all over your body.

227

You're gonna be incessantly in pain.

228

How would you feel about that?

229

You'll also notice here,

we don't have a timeframe.

230

We don't know what season

of job job's, life this is.

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Maybe it was, you know,

a time of celebration.

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Maybe there was a holiday

they were celebrating.

233

We don't understand what that is.

234

And I, I wanna point out to you this,

this, because pain doesn't knock

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on the door and say, Hey, is now

a good time for us to do business?

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Is it okay?

237

Is it fit on your calendar for,

for you to get cancer right now?

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Is that, is that a right?

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No one's asking us, right?

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No one's asking us these questions.

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For job.

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He stands here as a shining example

of what a heartfelt trust looks like

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in God, even in the darkest season.

244

The first point I want to give to you is

I wanna show you something in Job's life.

245

I'm just gonna put it this way.

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Point number one is to allow trust.

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Full expression, allow

trust, full express.

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Job's trusting God was

not one dimensional.

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And my fear is that for many

Christians today, our trust is one

250

dimensional and perhaps even slightly,

if not largely transactional.

251

That is when, when things are going

well, it's really easy to trust God.

252

When your bank account is rich, when

your friends are many, when your

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health issues are few, it is then

that you can say, thank you Lord.

254

I'm so grateful and that's true.

255

You should be thankful.

256

But job's trust is not one

dimensional and it's not

257

contingent upon things going well.

258

He surrenders to God.

259

He arose, he tore his robe,

he shaved his head, fell on

260

the ground and worshiped God.

261

Notice the, the, the way

that his, his trust works.

262

It, it wasn't, it wasn't just him saying,

well, I guess this is the way things go.

263

Job does gr he does grieve, he does mourn.

264

And one book that I read recently,

uh, the simple phrase was,

265

this true hope is realistic.

266

It doesn't look at life

through a rose colored lens.

267

It allows life to be what life is.

268

Again, this is what Christmas is about.

269

Jesus was sent into our pain, into

our hardship, into our struggle,

270

and so you have three, three

characteristics of Job's response.

271

Let me just point them out to you.

272

Number one, job grieves.

273

Look here.

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Then job arose.

275

Tore his robe and shaved

his head and fell on the.

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That is not job having a good day

tearing your clothes, shaving your head.

277

These are all signs of mourning of grief.

278

Lamenting this shows us that true

trust is not divorce from grief.

279

It is okay to grieve.

280

In fact, you should grieve.

281

And Paul says, as much to the

Thessalonians, he just says, don't grieve

282

as those without hope, true trust, grieve.

283

Notice also a, as he falls down on the

floor, he is subjecting himself before

284

God, recognizing God is the sovereign.

285

So Job falls down.

286

Another elements of true trust and perhaps

one of the biggest ones is humility.

287

Job recognizes that he is

humbled before the Lord, and

288

it's not like he has a choice.

289

God has told God has

taken everything from him.

290

Trust doesn't often walk

with bravado or swagger.

291

Like trust is not walking in slow motion

as the building behind is exploding.

292

Christians are not action stars.

293

Christians are humble, and just

like Job here, we need to be able to

294

say, Lord, you're the one who leads.

295

Or even as the father said to Jesus, I

believe, help my unbelief job prostrates

296

himself before the Lord in surrender

and trust, almost reminding me of what

297

Peter says to Jesus in John chapter six,

when Jesus just gets done talking about

298

eating my flesh and drinking my blood.

299

His a a lot of his disciples decided,

you know, we can't handle this.

300

You're saying weird things.

301

Jesus, we don't like this.

302

We need, we need to go somewhere else.

303

And then he turns and looks at

his disciples and he says to them,

304

are you guys gonna go away too?

305

And I love what Peter says, because Peter,

Peter expresses my heart in these words.

306

He says, where else are we gonna go?

307

Like you alone have the words of life,

and that's what trust looks like.

308

If I had another place to

go, Jesus, I might do that.

309

But where else do I go?

310

I don't, there's nowhere else to go.

311

You're it's, you're all, I got true trust.

312

Trusting Jesus in every season of

life is acknowledging your grief,

313

humbling yourself before him, and

recognizing he knows better than

314

you do, man, for some of you.

315

You're gonna have a

devastating loss this year.

316

If the statistics bear out,

you're gonna lose somebody.

317

Many of you at some point are

gonna find some kind of diagnosis

318

that's gonna put you in a situation

that you don't wanna be in.

319

Some of you are gonna lose your fortune

because of something that happened.

320

Some of you are gonna have a

devastating loss, a devastating issue.

321

Something's gonna happen in your life.

322

We know that this takes place, right?

323

We need to be ready for that.

324

We need to be ready to

grieve as those with hope.

325

We need to be willing and able,

like Job to humble himself.

326

He shaved his head, fell on

the ground before the Lord.

327

And thirdly, one of job's responses

here is that he worships the Lord.

328

He worships the Lord, he turns to the Lord

and he says, uh, he, he shaves his head,

329

falls down to the ground and worships him.

330

He opens his mouth to the Lord.

331

He gives him what he's due.

332

Even though and later Job's gonna

say this, though, you slay me.

333

Yet, will I trust you, man?

334

I need you to ask yourself a question.

335

Am I ready for the Lord to slay me?

336

If that's what his will is?

337

If, if the Lord should Terry and

338

He decides I'm going to send you

through a very difficult season.

339

I'm gonna take away everything

that you find comfortable.

340

If I take the beauty of your eyes away

from you, if I afflict you with some kind

341

of physical maldy, can you trust me there?

342

Job says, though, you slay

me, yet will I trust you?

343

This is what a genuine and sincere,

fully orb trust looks like in God.

344

It's not one dimensional.

345

Trust persists even through

the challenging times.

346

So I need you to give yourself

or give trust full expression.

347

Give yourself the ability to trust God

even when things aren't going well.

348

It's not trite.

349

It's not simplistic, but

this is what it looks like.

350

So that's verse 20.

351

Let me show you verse 21.

352

Job's not done responding

to this situation.

353

Let me look at verse 21.

354

Again, this is so important and

this might be the most important

355

thing I say to you this year.

356

This is profoundly helpful.

357

Look at what he says.

358

He says in verse 21, naked I came from my

mother's womb and naked I shall return.

359

The Lord gave and the Lord is taken away.

360

Blessed be the name of the Lord.

361

Now you'll notice here,

job acknowledges his humble

362

beginnings and his humble endings.

363

Naked I came, right?

364

This is the idea.

365

You've all been, many of you rather,

not all of you have seen a baby born.

366

You come out stark naked.

367

Then when you die, your clothes are

removed so that they can process your

368

body and they put you in the ground,

maybe wearing something nice, something

369

that you would've worn, but you're,

you're leaving with that at all.

370

The clothes stay in the box, the

mementos that your family gives

371

to you, they stay in the box.

372

They don't go with you.

373

They stay there.

374

So job is acknowledging a reality for

all of us, which is we come empty handed

375

and we're gonna leave empty handed,

save the spiritual rewards that you

376

and I accumulate through this life.

377

Here's what's important about this job

acknowledges these things, and they're so

378

important because no notice in the second

half of verse 21, he says, the Lord gave,

379

and the Lord take away, took, took away.

380

He doesn't blame the weather.

381

Remember, that's how the, that's

how the devil crushed his family.

382

The four winds, the lightning.

383

He doesn't blame the marauders.

384

He could have said, well, those evil

people, they came and they did the thing.

385

He doesn't blame the devil.

386

He doesn't say, well, the devil

did all these awful things to me.

387

He says, the Lord.

388

And the Lord has taken away.

389

This is so important.

390

This is so incredibly profound

because what this tells us then is

391

that it is the Lord who introduces

blessing into her life, and he's

392

also the same one, one and the same,

who takes it away at his pleasure.

393

I need you to be prepared for that.

394

The Lord is under no obligation to give

us anything more than what he's given us.

395

Your full belly tonight are a

cred, an incredible gift of God.

396

Your healthy bodies are a gift of

God and he's under no obligation

397

to give us those things with any

regularity, even though he often does.

398

Point number two, I want you to

agree with Job that you are owed.

399

Nothing.

400

Whew.

401

That gives a shiver down my spine.

402

Agree with Job that you

are owed nothing naked.

403

I came from my mother's womb and naked.

404

I shall return.

405

The Lord gave and the Lord is taken away.

406

Blessed be the name of the

Lord is what he's gonna say.

407

We don't,

408

can't demand of God to give

us things that we want.

409

I was thinking about this.

410

I was thinking, okay,

in the New Testament.

411

We're looking at the Old Testament

Bible's in two parts Old Testaments,

412

under largely Israel's book.

413

It's how God communicated to

them under the Old Covenant.

414

The new covenant is obviously for

Christians, those who are under the new,

415

uh, arrangement of things through Christ

dying in the cross, rising from the dead.

416

So I started asking myself, okay,

what does a Christian expect?

417

So does God promise to the

Christian under the new covenant?

418

'cause this point's a pretty big deal.

419

Agree that you are owed nothing

that's saying a lot here.

420

Here's two things that I

think the Bible gives us.

421

Regular reason to believe

that he'll provide for us.

422

But even then it's qualified.

423

Jesus says he, he says, um,

even the flowers of the field,

424

they're, they're clothed.

425

Right?

426

And how will he not much more

cloth you, owe you a little faith.

427

So God does through Jesus promise

that he'll give us clothing, right?

428

It's promise.

429

Um, Jesus also says, uh, to pray.

430

Give us this day what Or daily bread.

431

So at least clothing and food

Jesus promises to give us.

432

At least with some regularity

later in the New Testament.

433

Paul the Apostle in one Timothy chapter

six, is gonna say, but if we have food and

434

clothing with these, we will be content.

435

And yet Paul was also able to say

in Romans chapter eight, he says.

436

We've been persecuted and we're

going around naked and you know

437

we're in first Philippians four.

438

I know how to abound.

439

I know how to be having needs.

440

So even Paul, even though he says

if we have food and clothing,

441

let's be content with these.

442

He recognizes that God can sometimes

say, I'm gonna give you a lot of food

443

and, and have a lot of resources in

the bank account, and have wonderful

444

relationships with your family.

445

And there's other times where

Paul knew what it was to be

446

hungry and naked and shipwrecked.

447

This was Paul the Apostle.

448

This was one of God's favorite guys.

449

Yet.

450

To go back to a prior point I

made, it is Paul's godliness that

451

actually led him into that direction.

452

I need you to see that if I, if we're

gonna agree with Job and God, that we

453

are owed nothing, that means everything

in our lives that we so frequently

454

take for granted are not permanent.

455

The temporary blessings that God gives

us are qualified temporary blessings.

456

Your food and your clothing are what God.

457

Ordinarily promises to provide to you.

458

He does.

459

And and you'll notice today,

he's fulfilling that promise.

460

He's given you your daily bread.

461

He's given you close to where,

and for many of us, he's

462

given us a lot more than that.

463

Now, if we endorse this idea, if we

take in this idea, agree that we're

464

owed nothing from God, what will

that do to the way that we perceive

465

the blessings that we do enjoy the

people that God has put in our.

466

The things that into the car that

you're driving, the shoes that you're

467

wearing, the job that you have, what

would that do if you believed God owes

468

you nothing and yet gave you so much?

469

What would that do to your

response this Christmas?

470

Grateful man, you would be grateful.

471

Feels like that.

472

Puts it too mildly, doesn't it?

473

I would be beaming with gratitude

toward God and saying, thank you,

474

God for these people in my life.

475

Thank you for my wife.

476

Thank you for my kids.

477

Thank you for my car.

478

Thank you for my socks.

479

I'm not owed anything, Lord, and

yet you give me everything to enjoy.

480

Now, God's not a miser.

481

He's not Scrooge.

482

He's very generous.

483

And I, I know you know

that I hope, hope you do.

484

But I'm trying to point out to you here

is that everything that you enjoy, these

485

temporal blessings are often means that

God uses to deepen your trust in him.

486

And that will often mean that

he'll give them to you as often

487

as they will benefit your soul.

488

And he'll remove them as often as he

thinks that will also benefit your soul.

489

And of course, he knows better than we do.

490

We trust him.

491

Trusting God means to

agree, I, I owe nothing.

492

And he knows better than I do.

493

God knows better than I do.

494

And we can say that verbally.

495

It's different to believe that,

especially when he says, okay, now's

496

the time I'm taking these things away.

497

I want you this, this year meant

to, to trust God and prepare

498

for whatever God has for you.

499

Whatever God decides to diagnose

you with, or whatever affliction he

500

decides to bring into your life, I

need you to be prepared for that.

501

Prepared to say, I owe nothing.

502

I can smile in this because I know that

the God that I serve is not a bad God.

503

He's not a miser, he's not a scrooge.

504

He's not this, uh,

tyrannical, evil dictator.

505

And that's really what

changes the equation for us.

506

If we were Christians who simply

believed God was a maniac, just

507

kind of sending lightning bolts

here and there, it'd be terrifying.

508

But that's not what's

happening in job's life.

509

In fact, what's happening, the reason

Job can respond in these ways is

510

because job, job knows something

that we need to never forget.

511

Verse 22 verse 22.

512

Job says it.

513

I just wanna point it out to you.

514

This is so critical to understanding

how this whole thing fits together.

515

This hope that we have in the

Lord is not air, uh, airy fairy.

516

It's not pie in the sky.

517

It's built on something critical to your

518

22 in all this, that is in all of job's

losses, in all the things that he just

519

suffered in all this job did not sin.

520

Or charge God with wrong.

521

And the critical part of that verse there

is that he didn't charge God with wrong.

522

Let's start off with the sin part.

523

He didn't respond in sin.

524

He could have, he didn't have

the Bible that you and I do.

525

We don't even know if Job had

any written revelation from God.

526

His book is so early before Abraham

that we don't know what joke knew.

527

In fact, we don't understand how Job

has a theology that he does have, which,

528

which makes him even more remarkable.

529

But here's the thing, you and I have

the riches of the word from Genesis to

530

Revelation available to us where we can

build our hope on what's true about God.

531

So Job doesn't charge God with sin, and

yet we wouldn't hold it against him.

532

If he did, we wouldn't

hold it against him.

533

We'd say, well, that makes sense.

534

He didn't have the Bible.

535

He didn't have an angel

telling him what to do.

536

So Job doesn't charge God with wrong.

537

It doesn't say he's a sinner.

538

In fact, his wife, just one chapter later.

539

Famously says something that I

hope your wife never says, says

540

to you, what does she say to him?

541

You know this one right?

542

Curse God and die.

543

Now, if your beloved is at the

place where she's telling you to

544

curse God and die, that's a bad day.

545

That's not a good day.

546

That's gonna cause an argument later on.

547

I'm sure you don't want that

happening, but here's the thing.

548

Job didn't worship God for the prosperity.

549

Job is not coming to God just because

God would give him happy times.

550

Second part is so important.

551

Job didn't sin or charge God with wrong.

552

He could have easily done so and

yet in Job's faith, the the cause

553

of his agony was not just the

loss of his family and his wealth.

554

It was precisely because God knows,

because Job knows God is good and

555

trustworthy that he faces this trial.

556

It's because Job knows God is good.

557

He's now at a loss and say,

what do I do with this?

558

If God is good, how can all

these things take place?

559

He had to surrender his position

and his trust that God would

560

be good even in this scenario.

561

Point number three.

562

I want you to surrender to

the good purposes of God.

563

If you're going to make it through this

next year, and you're gonna have joy and

564

you're gonna worship God the way that you

should, you need to have the kind of joy

565

that is bigger than your circumstance.

566

That comes from a confidence

that you know God is good

567

despite everything that happens.

568

Irrevocably good.

569

That is everything God does

is good even in your pain.

570

I trust him to be good.

571

One of the things that Job does here,

and again we don't know how he knows

572

is theologically, but he confesses

to himself, I'm guessing as much

573

as he does to us and everyone else.

574

That God can't be wrong.

575

Whatever happens in your

life, God can't be wrong.

576

You understand that, right?

577

Even if the worst evil takes

place, God can't be wrong.

578

It's our job to trust him in these things.

579

Well, what that means for us then

practically, is that we're, we're,

580

we're not gonna compound the problem.

581

Um, I'm not a prophet nor the

son of a prophet, but, but when

582

God brings difficulty in your

life, you compound the problem.

583

When you say, well, God.

584

You just, if you, if you would

just, why don't you, if, if God,

585

ah, you know, why don't you just

blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

586

We, we, we get worked up, we complain,

we bicker, we talk to other people

587

about our complaints, and we really

compound the problem by encouraging

588

God to make the trial longer.

589

If we're not gonna learn, God's gonna

respond to us and say, well, if you're

590

not getting it, let me increase the

circumstances and turn up the heat

591

so that you're humbled by this.

592

Um, the response that God often

wants is the job, job response.

593

Now, lemme qualify that.

594

Did job's trial end after job

confessed that God was good?

595

No, it got worse before it got better.

596

So this is no guarantee that God's

gonna change your circumstances.

597

You understand?

598

But he will change you.

599

And that really is the point.

600

Don't compound the problem by

complaining or responding and sin.

601

That's one thing that Job teaches us.

602

The second thing that Job teaches

us that I think is helpful for.

603

That we can always

affirm God's good plans.

604

Romans 8 31 and 32 are, are such

a, are such a famous passage

605

together because they've given

Christians hope for millennia.

606

This is the, the truth that we confess,

that all things do work together for good.

607

That's Romans 8 28 and verse 32 says, he

who did not spare his own son but gave

608

him up for us all, how will he not also

with him graciously give us all things.

609

God gave us his son to live and

die in our place to be born of a

610

virgin, only to die 30 years later.

611

If God would give us his own

son, what else should he give

612

us to prove His love for us?

613

What else can he do to demonstrate

that he cares about us?

614

This is where we have to stand.

615

This is where we have to stake

our eternity this Christmas.

616

I don't know what's gonna

happen to your life.

617

I don't know what God is doing in you,

but I do know at any season there's

618

always people suffering and there's

always people preparing to suffer.

619

Some are graciously exiting outta

suffering for a season, and maybe

620

God gives you a reprieve, a time

to breathe and come up for air,

621

but you're always going back in.

622

You know that, right?

623

It's like being the boxer or or being

one of the fighters in the octagon.

624

The bell rings.

625

You get a few, you get a minute to breathe

before you have to get back into the

626

ring and start slugging it out again.

627

Christians are promised that we, we

have everything we need to endure

628

through the duration of our lives.

629

Remember how Paul describes

the Christian faith?

630

He says, fight the what?

631

Good, fine.

632

He doesn't use any analogies about re

relaxation, you know, hanging up your

633

hat, you know, sitting on your lazy boy.

634

It's fine.

635

God gives us rest and we

praise God for those things.

636

But I just want you to know, even

though we will suffer and we're all

637

gonna go through it at different times

and in different ways, God is good.

638

And you have to believe that

and trust that Christmas is

639

a reminder that God is good.

640

He sends Jesus into our sin,

into our darkness, to be

641

our light, to give us hope.

642

That transcends any time of season,

any time of year, Christmas,

643

new Year, Easter, all of that,

it points to Jesus being good.

644

I need you to feel in your heart of hearts

that Jesus is good and he is trustworthy.

645

This is what's gonna guard you and protect

you against the seasons of suffering

646

that you are inevitably gonna face.

647

Christmas reminds us that God is

good to send his son on our behalf.

648

There's more than one

yearning Christmas song.

649

Oh, come.

650

Come.

651

Emanuel is one of them.

652

There's actually several.

653

I was looking them up because

I started to become fascinated.

654

How many Christmas songs are there

that show yearning for Jesus to return?

655

Oh, come.

656

Come.

657

Emanuel is probably the most famous

one, but there's others out there.

658

Uh, what they teach us though is that

some of the yearning is a good yearning.

659

It's good to yearn.

660

It's good not to be satisfied.

661

That's what I'm trying to say.

662

It's good not to be satisfied

with the Christmases here and now.

663

It's good to love and appreciate all

the good gifts that God has given us.

664

Again, 'cause we're owed nothing.

665

But it's good to feel a yearning

in your soul to say, this isn't it.

666

This isn't everything.

667

Ecclesiastes tell us because God

has written eternity on our hearts.

668

That's part of what makes us up.

669

That's part of what gives us

the yearning that Christmas

670

doesn't quite scratch the itch.

671

Christmas teaches us to yearn.

672

I'll just end with that.

673

Teaches us to yearn and to trust him.

674

Whatever's coming this, this

year, man, I hope that you'll.

675

Take advantage of the, the resources

and the ministries that we have here.

676

Men's Bible Study is a resource that we do

monthly for your sake, where sermons like

677

this are preached because we care that

you are equipped and empowered to live

678

the life that God has called you to live.

679

So if you're with us for the

first time or the first time in a

680

long time, thanks for being here.

681

Grateful for you regulars as well,

that you're here all the time.

682

We encourage you to be here with regular.

683

We do this once a month.

684

Usually it's up in the lofts, but

we're not gonna be here any longer.

685

We're gonna be at a new place,

uh, lighthouse, right next

686

to the school and prosper.

687

We'd love to have you join us for that,

uh, so that whatever happens this year,

688

God can continue to encourage you and

deepen your love and affection for him.

689

And with that, let me pray for us

as we finish up the night together.

690

God, thank you so much for giving us a,

a lesson in hope from our brother Job.

691

At least we trusted our brother Job.

692

I asked Lord that you would help

us to take nothing for granted.

693

But to recognize that we are yours.

694

We belong to you, body and soul,

and that every aspect of our lives,

695

from the very first time we draw

our breath until our dying breath

696

is all under your sovereign control.

697

Your leadership, this gives us great

confidence and trust because you are

698

good, so that even if you were to take

everything away, we can sing that song.

699

Yes, I will give you, I'll give you

praise even in the lowest battle.

700

I can trust you.

701

Help us to possess that mentality,

Lord, all year long Christmas

702

New Year, every time of the year.

703

Let us love you and trust you because

you're good and because you're worth it.

704

Thank you for demonstrating your

reliability and your goodness by sending

705

Jesus to live and die in her place.

706

It is in His name that we pray.

707

Amen.