God's Unwavering Love Despite Our Struggles

Job's unwavering love for God despite his struggles.

Jesus sanctifies all afflictions with his grace.

Apostle Paul's faith in the face of trials.

God's plan to bring good out of suffering.

Music The title of our message today is, Though you slay me, O God, yet will I love you. You see, when Job was going through his great afflictions, And the heavy trials, especially when his wife told him to curse God and die, and also in losing all of his children and everything he owned, he cried out to God and said in Job chapter 13, verse 15, Dear church, in this year of 2022, There are many heavy trials and burdens upon God's people all over the earth. While afflictions and trials may seem to be heavy and difficult, and our sorrows many, we must remember Jesus sanctifies them all with his grace and assurance that he will never give us more than we can bear, and there will be an end to all of these things in time. We think especially of Apostle Paul when he went through his trial and affliction with the thorn in the flesh, the episode that was given to him by the Lord himself to keep him humble because he had been shown such great and mighty things. All afflictions and trials are meant to lead us to him and prompt our souls to lean upon our precious Savior and cause our hearts to abide, to live in him, and compel our souls to say, Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him. All things work together for the good, and will be found in the end to be the light at the end of the tunnel. In Romans chapter 8, verses 37 through 39, Apostle Paul tells us, Yet amid all of these things, we are more than conquerors and gain a surpassing victory through him who loves us. And I am persuaded beyond a doubt, I'm sure, that neither death nor life nor angels or principalities nor things impending and threatening nor things to come nor powers, Verse 39, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Jesus Christ our Lord. When Job declares the words, though he slay me, yet will I love him and have hope in him. We need to understand, dear ones, that this is a faith-filled statement, and it is meant to encourage and yet challenge us as believers in Jesus Christ to strive for a similar trust in the Lord and in the face of trials. Job made this statement when he was in terrible time of pain and suffering. He lost all of his children, his wealth, and his health. His friends were of no help. His wife was no support to him in this time of need. In fact, it was stated before she told him to just curse God and die. In other words, just put an end to yourself and your misery. Oh, dear. I don't think love nor faith dwelled in her heart. Job felt as though his life was over and the only thing left to do was die. But as Job says, even if God did slay him, Job would still trust him. That is a key for all of us. Job realizes in the end the suffering he endures is allowed by God. It is God alone who has the right and the power to slay or kill Job. Even in the midst of his pain, Job knows that the Lord brings death and makes alive. And he brings down to the grave and he rises up. 1 Samuel 2.6 The Lord slays and makes alive. He brings down to Sheol and raises up. The Lord makes poor and makes rich. He brings low and he lifts high. Jesus said in Revelation 1.18, And the ever-living one, I am living in the eternities of eternity. I died, but see, I am alive forevermore. I possess the keys of death and Hades, the realm of the dead. Jesus Christ alone holds the keys of death. The faith of Job is seen in the fact that even if God's plan results in Job's death, Job will continue to trust in God. Dear listener, nothing at all can shake the faith or disturb the peace of someone so grounded in the deep revelation knowledge that God Almighty alone is all-powerful and full of goodness and love. Job may not understand what is happening to him and why, but he knows that God is good, loving, and trustworthy. We need to grab a hold of that. We see this when in Job chapter 13, verse 16, he declares, Indeed, this will turn out for my deliverance, for no godless person would dare come before him. he knew deep down in his soul by faith in God alone he was not a godless one he expressed true and genuine fear and awe of God in this statement and also that if he did die he would be with God and would enter into his presence hallelujah Job realizes his pain was not permanent with God there is a way of escape the scripture tells us. And the suffering of this life that we all live is temporary, and it will end for those who trust in the Lord. After this life, there's eternal life with our loving creator God in heaven for the true and genuine believers in Jesus Christ. That is very comforting. Jesus Christ came to offer eternal life to all who would believe and trust in him. John chapter 3 verse 16 tells us, for God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that he even gave up his only begotten unique son so that whoever believes and trusts in, clings to, relies on him, shall not perish, come to destruction and be lost, but have eternal everlasting life. Hallelujah. This is so wonderful and great. Salvation is nothing you or I can do in our own power because in Ephesians chapter 2 beginning in verse 8, the word declares, for it is by free grace, God's unmerited favor that you are saved, delivered from judgment, and made partakers of Christ's salvation through your faith. And this salvation is not of your own, of your own doing. It came not through your own striving, but it is a gift of God. Verse 9, not because of works, not the fulfillment of the law's demand, lest any man should boast. It is not the result of what anyone can possibly do, so no one can pride himself in it or take glory to himself. Verse 10, for we are God's own handiwork, his workmanship, recreated in Christ Jesus, born anew, that we may do those good works which God predestined, planned beforehand for us, taking paths which he prepared ahead of time, that we should walk in them, living the good life which he pre-rearranged and made ready for us to live. Ah, what an awesome God. What an awesome God. Well, using Job's example of one man who had lost everything, including his family except for his wife he also lost all that he owned and in fact he lost as well his health We see in the very end of his account that God raised him up from the ash heap and healed him and restored back a hundredfold all that he lost in his wealth and new family of children. And he says at the end, I know my Redeemer lives. In the New Testament, Apostle Paul was one who went through great trials and tribulation, even though he was chosen by God before the foundation of time to write most of the New Testament. Paul had great faith, just as we saw in the life and the account of Job. Paul's great faith led him to declare in the words in Philippians chapter 1, beginning in verse 19, I am well assured, indeed know, that through your prayers and bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ the Messiah, this will turn out for my preservation, for the spiritual health and welfare of my own soul, and avail towards the saving work of the gospel. Verse 20. This is in keeping with my own eager desires and persistent expectation and hope that I shall not disgrace myself nor be put to shame in anything, but that with the utmost freedom of speech and unfailing courage, now as always heretofore, Christ the Messiah will be magnified, get the glory and praise in this body of mine, and be boldly exalted in my person, whether through my life or through my death. Verse 21. For me to live is Christ, his life in me, and to die is gain, the gain of the glory of eternity. Verse 22. If, however, it is to be life in the flesh, I am to live on here. That means fruitful service for me so that I can say nothing as to my personal preference. I cannot choose. You see, Apostle Paul certainly demonstrated his great faith throughout his epistles and shows us that in Jesus Christ, we are given ample courage and abundant faith as we trust in our Lord and Master. Dear Church, many times when we are afflicted and suffering in body, soul, or spirit, we do not necessarily understand why, but we can trust that God has a greater plan at the end of it all. Both Job and Apostle Paul, their experiences show us that we can trust in the Lord rather than trust in ourselves. God has a greater and more perfect plan in all of this. Paul said, by life or by death, may Jesus Christ be exalted. As we live in this year of 2022 and are faced with many trials and troubles that are parallel or correlate with Matthew 24, verses 3 through 14, when Jesus gave the signs of the time and the end of the age. I do want to comment that in general these signs have been partially fulfilled in this present age and have characterized the period between the first and the second coming of Christ. We should, however, expect a complete fulfillment in the future as in the book of Revelation, chapter 6 through 18, they give further information concerning this time. Now back to what Jesus said regarding the signs of the time, beginning Matthew 24, verses 3 through 14. While he was seated on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately and said, Tell us, when will this take place? And what will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age, the completion, the consummation of the age? Jesus answered them, Be careful that no one misleads you, deceiving and leading you into air. For many will come in on the strength of my name, appropriating the name which belongs to me, saying, I am the Christ, the Messiah, and they will lead many astray. and you will hear wars and rumors of wars. See to it that you are not frightened or troubled, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. Verse 7, for nation will rise up against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in places after place. All of this is but the beginning, the early pains of the birth pains, the intolerable anguish. Verse 9. many into air, and the love of the great body of people will grow cold because of the multiplied lawlessness and iniquity, but he who endures to the end will be saved. Verse 14, and this good news of the kingdom of the gospel will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then will come the end. So when you see the appalling sacrilege, the abomination that astonishes and makes desolate, spoken by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place. Let the reader take notice and ponder and consider and heed this. As true believers in Jesus Christ, we can see the signs of the times being written in our present day history with many forms and ways where destruction is taking place in our nation by evil-minded people who cannot reason because they are demented. by saying they are demented. This is according to Webster's Dictionary, says they are deranged, which means they have a very abnormal or sick state of mind. You must know, dear Christian, that this is due to their rejection of Jesus Christ, their Savior, who would have saved them from the evil influence that originate from Satan the devil that dominated and influenced their minds. These evil-minded people are called the Cabal, which is an organized group of people who knowingly worship and serve Satan the devil. These people are the elite of the world in every nation around the world. They scheme the demise of God's human creation and think they rise above deciding who lives and who dies in their plot to arrange deadly vaccines they tout as safe and urgent to take. But the reality is, millions of people have died from taking these vaccines, and yet the number of deaths are hidden from the public by the mainstream news media. And if you've never heard of chemtrails, you need to do your homework and check it out. Basically, the mainstream news media have scrubbed this from the net. But there is the site that will tell you about it and how long they have been poisoning populations around the world, including the United States. And it is called geoengineeringwatch.net. Again, geoengineeringwatch.net. The mainstream news calls these chemtrails a conspiracy theory. But I can tell you, this is a real thing happening in our nation and other nations around the world. people are unaware that chemtrails are lethal poisons that are being dumped into our atmosphere to alter the weather and also poison we the people and the land in which we live and love and if you've noticed especially this year if you live in the south we have had spring and summer temperatures in the 70s in December. They have altered this to confirm their theory about global warming, which is a big lie. Global warming is all about control, just like the COVID-19 flu and the vaccinations were all contrived for a matter of controlling the populations of the earth and genocide of God precious creation called man The truth about all of these facts are coming to the light of people. They are waking up to see what the agents of Satan have been orchestrating for a long time. They are interfering with God's plan for the children when they are born into this world by grooming them for changing their gender. There are various names they attach to this sick perversion, but one of them is called gender fluid. These sick-minded, demented people are getting away with this by introducing it into the school curriculum. Many parents are ignorant of this outrageous agenda to take control of the children, and many stand before their school boards and protest in behalf of their children and the fact that it is immoral and perverted and against their Christian values. Prophet Isaiah in chapter 45 verse 9 he cried out woe to him who strives with his maker a worthless piece of broken pottery among other pieces equally worthless and yet presuming to strive with his maker. Shall the clay say to the potter who fashions it, What do you think you're making? Or your work has no handles? And in the New Testament, in Romans chapter 9, beginning in verse 20, Apostle Paul echoes, But who are you, a mere man, to criticize and contradict and answer back to God? will what his form say to him that formed it why have you made me thus has the potter no right over the clay to make out of the same mass the lump one vessel for beauty and distinction and honorable use and another for menial, ignoble and dishonorable use what if God although fully intended to show the awfulness of his wrath and to make known his power and authority has tolerated with much patience the vessels, objects of his anger, which are ripe for destruction. You see, people take it upon themselves to change and come against what God has created. They're writing out details for their funeral and burial in the lowest depths of hell. Books are being written about gender change for children, And this is called grooming the children for destruction and ruining their lives. In many states, children don't have to tell parents about this. All I can say is, come Lord Jesus, come. Maranatha, come Lord Jesus. But dear listener, there are so many other things which contribute to the heartaches and the concerns and great trials today, not only for parents, but for the working class and the elderly, who face great need due to fixed incomes and having to pay for groceries and other bills because the cost of living has spiraled out of control. These are very real concerns, not only for our citizens in the United States, but practically for every nation around the world. Yes, we are told that things will only get worse as far as our economy, which affect practically everyone. But dear believer, in Jesus Christ, I ask you, are you able to say in these times and in this day and hour when the world is so shaky and maybe you are in the midst of some great health trial or financial trial or affliction of some kind. And can you say, oh God, though you slay me, yet will I love you? Can we say that we know for sure that there is a blessing in suffering as a believer in Jesus Christ? Paul said he lost everything and considered all that he lost as mere rubbish in comparison to gaining or winning Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ and fellowship with him is all that Paul needed in continuing on in faith. Apostle Paul tells us this in his epistle found in Philippians chapter three, beginning in verse eight. Yes, furthermore, I count everything as a loss compared to the possession and the priceless privilege, the overwhelming preciousness, the surpassing worth and supreme advantage of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord and progressively becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with him, of perceiving and recognizing and understanding him more fully and clearly. For his sake, I have lost everything and consider it all to be mere rubbish, refuge and dregs in order that I may win, gain Christ the Anointed One. Verse 9. and that I may actually be found and known as in him, not having any self-achieved righteousness that can be called my own based on my obedience to the law's demands, ritualistic uprightness and supposed right standing with God, but possessing that genuine righteousness which comes through faith in Jesus Christ, the anointed one, the truly right standing with God which comes from God by saving faith. Verse 10, for my intended purpose is that I may know him. I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of his person more strongly and more clearly that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from his resurrection which it exerts over believers, and that I may share also in his sufferings as to be continually transformed in spirit into his likeness, even to his death. That, if possible, I may attain to the spiritual and moral resurrection that lifts me out from among the dead, even while in the body. Not that I have now attained this ideal, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to lay a hold of, to grasp and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus the Messiah has laid hold of me and made me his own. I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own yet, but one thing that I do, it is my one aspiration, forgetting all that lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on towards the goal to win the supreme and heavenly prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward. Hallelujah. We are told that we will have suffering as a believer in Jesus Christ. Jesus told us in our opening scripture regarding the signs of the times that some of our brothers and sisters in Christ will even be killed. But no matter what our loving Father in heaven has for each one of his sincere believers who are vitally attached to his Son, we know his plans for us is good. His plans for our lives are tailor-made in heaven, dear one. This is why we can say, though you slay me, O God, yet will I love you. Even though there are general blessings for all people, believers and unbelievers alike, There are general sufferings and trials shared by both parties too. But the difference is, and please know, that unbelievers must go through suffering by themselves because God does not share in their trials and their afflictions. They walk through that alone. But let it be known that we, as believers who share in Christ's suffering, he shares in our sufferings. And although God may not directly ordain suffering, he does use it and he turns it into a blessing, even as Christ's suffering became a blessing for all of mankind. Hallelujah. In Philippians chapter 1 verse 29, Paul makes this point clear when he says, For you have been granted the privilege for Christ's sake, not only to believe, to adhere in, to rely on and trust in him, but also to suffer in his behalf. So you are engaged in the same conflict which you saw me wage and which you now hear to be mine. In a genuine believer there are two things that make up God gift to us as believers One of them is to believe in Jesus Christ and have faith in who he is and what he says The second thing is to suffer for him Dear church salvation did not come to us as something cheap that you can buy and earn. Jesus did not die to give you salvation. Jesus Christ is salvation himself. Salvation in the highest sense is the person of Jesus Christ. He is the Savior of all those who choose him as their hope of glory. And Paul declared in 1 Timothy chapter 4, beginning in verse 8, for physical training is of some value, useful for a little while, But godliness, spiritual training, is useful and of value in everything, in every way, for it holds promise for the present life and also for the life which is to come. Verse 9, this saying is reliable and worthy of complete acceptance by everyone. With a view to this, we toil and strive, yes, and suffer reproach, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior, the Preserver, the Maintainer, the Deliverer of all men, especially those who believe, trust in, adhere to him. Paul's words to Timothy. Continue to command these things and teach them. In other words, be diligent. So you can see that in this short teaching today that salvation is a gift of God's grace and also so is suffering part of God's plan for every genuine believer in Jesus Christ. Paul's desire expressed in Philippians 3, verse 10 when he said, To know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his suffering being made conformable unto his death. Dear church, suffering cannot be a blessing unless we have first partaken of the power of Christ's resurrection, and that means becoming a new creature in Jesus Christ. Before Jesus went to the cross, he promised his disciples that they were going to experience tribulation, but they would have inner peace as they did experience it. Believers in the New Testament are never said to be exempt from suffering. In fact, we can read of the many trials and persecutions that they went through and endured. It is said that they became stronger and had great faith and endured all that they were confronted with and in regards to the afflictions and the trials that they faced. Have you ever felt that yourself as you have gone through a trial and you relied on, you leaned on your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and he brought you through? You saw the light of the tunnel and you are walking in that light right now. And all you can do is say, I know that my Redeemer lives. Hallelujah. Dear church, the reason that they were able to endure trials and afflictions they went through is because they kept their eyes and their hearts fixed on Jesus Christ. Apostle Paul teaches us in Hebrews chapter 12, verse 2. by saying that we must keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, and also reminds us that Jesus went to the cross with great joy in obtaining the prize that awaited him. Hallelujah! And may I tell you, that all true and genuine believers who will fast to their Savior to the end of their lives, are that great prize that Jesus saw and had great joy as he was about to go to the cross and die on behalf of the multitudes throughout the generations who would choose him as their Savior and Redeemer and the lover of their souls. Hebrews chapter 12 verse 2 declares, Looking away from all that will distract to Jesus, who is the leader and the source of our faith, giving the first incentive for our belief, and is also its finisher bringing it to maturity and perfection, He, for the joy of obtaining the prize that was set before him, endured the cross, despising and ignoring the shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Hallelujah. Praise be to our wonderful, precious Savior, the name above all names, Jesus Christ. Dear ones, Jesus Christ is the only one who can save a fallen sinner and become the author and finisher of one's faith. He paid the price on the cross when he suffered humiliation of hanging from the cross naked and endured the horrible, excruciating pain and suffering on our behalf. He asked the Father to forgive all the mockers and God-haters who were standing around that cross throwing insults at him on that day. he knew before the foundation of time what and where and when he would die on that cross for sinners who would be brought back to God his father and would become his children and inherit eternal life and spend eternity with him forever Jesus was fully God and fully man though God his father had slayed him on the cross that day yet he loved the father above all things and was obedient to do the will of his father in dying on the cross for all sinners Jesus Christ set the greatest example for sincere believers to follow as they suffer afflictions and griefs or sickness and persecution and the thing that Jesus regretted the most in going to the cross was not the suffering he knew that he was going to endure on our behalf. It was the brief spiritual separation that he would go through when his father turned his back on him as he carried all the sins and sickness upon himself on that day on behalf of all of us sinners. Scripture tells us that glory followed Jesus' suffering. We too are told that through our sufferings, We become refined like fine gold. And this is God's way of perfecting his chosen people. Remember, dear one, love went to the cross for you personally. Our Heavenly Father gave his beloved Son on our behalf. If we fight against God's dealings with us, however painful they might be, then we abort God's very best for us. as a Christian who suffers for Christ's sake as reason to glorify God because they are reaching their God-intended goal of becoming established and strengthened in God's love. 1 Peter 2, verse 20 declares, after all, what kind of glory is there in if when you do wrong, are punished for it and you take it patiently? What glory is there in that? But if you bear patiently with suffering, which results when you do right, and that is undeserved, it is acceptable and pleasing to God. Praise the Lord. Let us always remember the words of Job when he was going through his great trial when he said, Though you slay me, O God, yet will I love you. Also he said, indeed, this will turn out for my deliverance, for no godless person would dare come and stand before him. And above all, let us always remember Jesus' words when he said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. God promises he will never leave us nor forsake us. He is all-powerful and almighty, and he is the God of love. Remember always, God loves you more than you or I will ever know. Remain faithful to him. Then he will surround you and bring you through every trial and affliction that comes your way. And he will bring you into the eternity of eternities. Hallelujah. Thank you.

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